Graphic design is the technical art of using art, text, images, and graphics to communicate to a mass audience. This encompasses everything from company logos and print advertisements to digital graphic designs and infographics, to branding merchandise and campaign posters. Almost all the visual designs you encounter in your daily life, even down to the buttons on the web browser you are viewing this page with, were built in part by graphic designers who are trained in the art of visual communication. Owing to this ubiquity, graphic design is an in-demand career field. While the BLS reports that overall jobs are set to grow slower than the national average, a number of fields, particularly related to digital design and the entertainment industry, are expected to rapidly expand over the next decade.
Graphic design exists at the intersection of creative expression and technical proficiency. Very few graphic design jobs in the modern economy work with traditional physical media, like pen and paper design or canvas painting. Most graphic design work is done with digital design software applications, such as the suite of products that comprise the Adobe Creative Cloud. These include tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, XD, and others. While individual subfields of graphic design will prioritize certain tools (a magazine editor is unlikely to need to learn XD and a graphic designer working on brand management may not need InDesign), all professional Graphic Designers will need to learn how to use the functionalities of a few computer design applications. They will then need to learn basic principles of design to know how to best utilize those applications to create vibrant and evocative graphic designs that communicate what they or their client wants to be communicated. This means that Graphic Designers of all ages will benefit from guided instruction and focused assistance in order to become comfortable with the tools and techniques of the trade.
Why Summer is the Perfect Time to Learn Graphic Design
No matter how old you are, summer is an excellent time to learn graphic design skills. While most commonly associated with children’s summer camps, high school students, college students and adults may find that summer training sessions offer them the assistance and support that they need to succeed at their long-term goals. On the other hand, anyone looking to learn graphic design skills will want to consider enrolling in one of these programs.
Summer is an excellent time for parents to enroll their children in specialized summer training programs since they are out of school and may need some guided leisure time to avoid becoming bored and listless. Summer art camps are a wonderful way to nurture a child’s creativity in a way that balances artistic expression and guided instruction. These courses will teach students important tech skills, and provide them with an understanding of the kinds of artistic projects that technology like the Adobe Creative Cloud makes possible.
High school students can use summer graphic design courses to supplement their existing graphic design skills or learn new programs. By the time a student reaches high school, they may have a greater idea of whether or not they want to pursue an arts education, meaning that they can be more discerning about the courses they enroll in, since they won’t need to spend time learning the basics of what any given program is capable of. This makes summer training ideal since the lessons can be more targeted to their interests and needs, rather than the cursory training that younger students receive.
Adults and college students won’t have the freedom of a summer break to take advantage of, but there are still reasons that they may want to explore summer graphic design training opportunities. Since many of these courses are taught through design schools and art colleges, there will be more options for open enrollment in the summer since instructors will have greater availability during these months. In addition, many students find that they simply have more energy and the ability to focus during the summer months since the weather is nicer and the days are longer. It might seem trivial, but taking an online lesson after the sun has gone down just hits differently than taking a lesson when the sun is still shining through your window.
What Will Students Learn in a Summer Graphic Design Course?
A summer graphic design class will teach you the basic prin ciples of design and introduce you to the tools Graphic Designers use to create logos, advertisements, packaging, or publications. The class will cover visual design concepts, typography, images, popular tools, and branding. You will also hone soft skills, like creativity and communication.
Visual Design
Graphic Designers study the principles of visual design that affect how elements are put together to create an attractive and effective design. These principles include balance, spacing, color, proportion, and hierarchy. Visual design is about aesthetics, and the elements need to work together in harmony or the design will feel "off." Good visual design makes a product easy, intuitive, and comfortable to use.
Typography
Students will also learn about typography, the are of arranging and spacing letters. Typography involves knowing how to choose the right font and typeface, provide contrast, align everything correctly, and provide a hierarchy to lead the reader through the piece. Graphic Designers use their knowledge of typography to produce text that is easy to read, clear, and visually appealing.
Images
Another graphic design skill students learn is how to choose images and work them into designs. A class will teach you how to resize, move, and alter images for layouts, plus how to choose the right image for a design, where to put it, and how it relates to the other elements around it.
Accessibility
Graphic Designers need to consider the needs of all users when creating a design. Accessibilty includes elements like typography, color, and navigation. For instance, users with pooGraphic Designers need to choose typefaces that are easy to read and scale up well for users with poor eyesight. Color contrasts should be strong, and color should not be the only indicator of a status change because some users are color-blind. Text should be divided into chunks according to subject, with headings and bullet points.
Graphic Design Tools
After the basic principles of design, a class will also teach you how to use the industry-standard tools for creating designs. These include the many apps included in the Adobe Creative Cloud, such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Other choices include GIMP, Canva, and Behance.
Branding
Graphic Designers often produce materials that follow a company's brand, which includes a company logo, packaging, and advertising that all follow the design so customers will recognize the product as part of a brand. A graphic design class will teach you how to develop a style sheet for a particular brand made up of a typeface, colors, image styles, and spacing.
Creativity
Like most professions, graphic design involves both hard skills and soft. A graphic design course can help you find and tap into your creativity with class assignments designed to demonstrate your creativity to future employers.
Communication
Graphic Designers also need to be good communicators. Many Graphic Designers are part of a team and being able to communicateideas effectively is an important skill on the job.
What Industries Hire Graphic Designers?
Graphic Designers can find jobs in many industries designing logos, creating packaging materials, or putting together advertising. Publishing, branding, advertising, social media management, and game development hire the most Graphic Designers.
Publishing
Graphic Designers employed in the publishing industry work on text and image layouts for print publications and online magazines and newspapers. They design covers for print and digital books. Graphic Designers work as part of a larger publishing team that includes Illustrators, Editors, and Marketers.
Brand Development
Graphic designers play a crucial role in assisting companies to establish and uphold their brand by crafting logos, packaging, and advertisements that make it easy for customers to recognize the company's products. They use typefaces, colors, image styles, and spacing to create designs that align with the brand.
Advertising
Graphic Designers in the advertising industry work within the art department to design ads and produce layouts for advertising. This can involve anything from simple illustrations to creating scalable logos with programs like Adobe Illustrator.
Social Media Management
Graphic Designers often work with Social Media Managers to produce visually appealing materials to post on social media. This includes designing posts with particular typefaces, colors, and images to fit into a company's brand.
Game Development
Graphic Designers contribute to visually stunning graphics, character design, and branding in the game development industry to produce captivating and immersive gaming experiences. They work with a team that may include artists, designers, and programmers.
Graphic Design Job Titles
Graphic Designer
Graphic Designers use tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign to create ads, logos, brochures, websites, and social media posts. Graphic Designers need to learn about color theory, typography, layout, and hierarchies as well as working with images. Most Graphic Designers work in the publishing industry, but they can also find jobs in advertising, web development, and game development. Graphic Designers in the U.S. make around $60,000 annually.
Visual Designer
Visual Designers use graphic design principles and software applications like Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe XD, and Figma to create web pages, icons, banner ads, and overlays. Some Visual Designers focus on branding, while others work to improve the usability of digital products. Visual Designers in the U.S. earn roughly $80,000 a year.
Digital Designer
Digital Designers work on webpages, animations, and other visual effects for advertisements, infographics, or publications on the Internet. Many Digital Designers also edit videos and add motion graphics. Digital Designers often work for gaming companies, web design, TV and video production, animation studios, digital and social media marketing companies, and advertising firms. In the U.S., Digital Designers make an average of $85,000 a year.
UX Designer
User Experience Designers (UX) create websites and mobile apps focusing on providing a smooth and enjoyable user experience. They research user behavior, create prototypes and user personas to test designs, and repeat the design process to constantly improve the product. The average yearly salary for UX Designers in the U.S. is about $102,000.
UI Designer
User Interface Designers (UI) focus on the visual aspects of a web page or mobile app and what users do when they are there. They work with UX Designers to improve user experience mostly in the software, computing, education, insurance, and finance industries. UI Designers make an average annual salary of $89,000 in the U.S.
Web Designer
Web Designers work exclusively on websites and pages. They create web pages that are optimized and easy to use. Web Designers often use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create interactive websites. Web Designers often work in computing and game development. U.S. Web Designers earn an average yearly salary of $60,000.
How to Choose the Right Summer Graphic Design Course
Choosing the right summer graphic design course can be challenging since there are so many options, and they aim to teach many of the same skills. However, all of these courses have subtle but important differences to consider when looking for a course to enroll in. Additionally, you’ll want to consider the age group the camp focuses on, since the goals of a summer camp for preteens differs greatly from one for adults, meaning each age group has different considerations when looking at training options.
Parents looking to enroll their children in a graphic design summer camp are unlikely to be doing so to teach their younger children immediately applicable skills. Instead, they will be looking for a course that guides their children through the basics of graphic design in a way that is both accessible and approachable. Children are unlikely to want to spend their summer doing something that they imagine is just more school, so parents will want to find a summer program that appeals to their childrens’ desire for leisure and play during the summer. These courses are more about teaching students to enjoy art than practical art skills. That training will come later.
High school students are likely to be looking for focused art training in specific tools or techniques. Some students may be looking to build a design portfolio for college applications. These students will want to look for summer classes focusing on portfolio-building exercises and practical hands-on project work. Other students may have already been accepted to an art school and are looking for either summer credit courses or classes designed with pre-college training in mind. These students should consider looking for classes offered through college art schools since many teach pre-college summer programs for high school students either in-person or online. Noble Desktop has collected a list of the best Summer Graphic Design programs available for high school students.
Adults and college students are far more likely than high school students to take a summer graphic design course for professional development reasons. Owing to this, students should look for classes that teach them the practical career skills needed to achieve their goals. Students looking to shift into a new career in graphic design will want to receive significant guided training, such as the kind you’ll receive in Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate program. These classes are aimed at students with little formal design training looking to start a new career in the field. Students who are only looking to build up existing skills or who want to learn graphic design tools without a major investment should consider enrolling in one of Noble’s focused Creative Cloud bootcamps; Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp, Adobe InDesign Bootcamp, and Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp.
Classes For Adults & College Students
While summer training programs are most commonly associated with high school or middle school students, adults and college students can still benefit from live in-person or online summer graphic design courses. These classes range from career-centered certificate programs intended to give students the tools to enter a new profession to more directed bootcamps that teach students how to use single programs, like Adobe Photoshop. Regardless of the kind of class you take though, summer graphic design training programs can help you learn valuable skills that can be used across a number of personal and professional contexts.
1. Noble Desktop: Graphic Design Certificate Program
Students looking for a well-rounded graphic design education should consider enrolling in Noble’s Graphic Design Certificate program. This course is intended for students who are looking to shift into a new career as a Graphic Designer and it covers all of the major design applications you’ll be expected to know. Students will receive hands-on training in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator from experienced instructors who can provide them with personalized feedback on their work. In addition, students will receive focused design theory training so that they know why designers make certain decisions when creating a new graphic design. This course also provides students with one-on-one career mentoring sessions during which students will have the opportunity to ask questions as they prepare their job materials.
2. Noble Desktop: Digital Design Certificate Program
Noble’s Digital Design Certificate program takes all of the lessons students learn in the Graphic Design Certificate program and complements that training with lessons in digital design, Figma and Adobe XD. Increasingly, graphic design work is migrating to digital spaces as more and more companies and organizations eschew print advertising and physical storefronts in favor of digital advertising. This means that learning how to optimize your graphic designs for being displayed on web applications and internet browsers is an important skill to learn. In this class, students will learn how to create graphic assets using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Then, they will learn how to use Figma and Adobe XD to build frameworks for user interfaces that they will then populate with those assets. This course is designed to teach students how to design (but not code) webpages and other user interfaces, so anyone interested in a career in the field of digital design should consider enrolling.
3. Noble Desktop: Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp
Students who aren’t sure that they want to start a new career or who just want to improve their graphic design skills with training in a new program may want to consider enrolling in Noble’s Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp. In this class, students will learn how to use the world’s most popular photo manipulation tool to create, edit, and publish digital photographs and images. Students will learn how to make minor alterations to an image, like altering color or brightness, and how to make major alterations like removing objects or combining multiple images into one. This course is ideal for students who are looking to regularly use Photoshop in their professional or personal lives but don’t plan to make a career out of the program. Since it is a relatively short bootcamp, students can pick up useful and applicable skills without spending too much time and money.
4. Noble Desktop: Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp
While Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics manipulation tool (used on images made out of pixels), its counterpart, Adobe Illustrator, is a vector graphics manipulation tool. This means that it creates images that are composed of points, lines, shapes, and arcs, the advantage of which is that the images created in Illustrator are nearly infinitely resizable. Illustrator-created images are used on everything from billboards to branded merchandise because there is no detail lost as the image is expanded or compacted to fit onto whatever object it is being placed on. This resizable means that Illustrator is one of the most commonly used tools for building commercial logos, brand identification images, and other advertising merchandise. Students enrolling in Noble’s Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp can learn to use this versatile and in-demand graphic design tool.
5. Lumenbrite: Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp
Lumenbrite is a certified Adobe Creative Cloud training center that teaches a wide array of focused and generalist courses. Their Adobe Illustrator Bootcamp covers all of the major aspects of using Adobe Illustrator to design practical, real-world projects using the vector-graphics design application. In this class, students will learn how to create and modify simple illustrations, add color and formatting to aspects of an image, build and combine basic shapes, and transform 2D artwork into 3D artwork. By the end of this course, students will be equipped to start using Illustrator in their personal and professional lives.
6. Lumenbrite: Adobe InDesign Bootcamp
Adobe InDesign is a page layout software application that is used in virtually every facet of the print industry. The tool is used to build everything from single-page advertisements to multi-page brochures to books and newspapers. Lumenbrite’s Adobe InDesign Bootcamp will guide students through the process of learning how to use this tool to create everything from basic layouts to complicated multi-page designs. Students will learn how to design pages that take into account the necessity of incorporating text and images and they will learn how to prepare those designs for final publication.
7. Lumenbrite: Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp
Adobe Photoshop is the most well-known of the Adobe Creative Cloud programs and has become synonymous with photo manipulation tools. Students looking to learn Photoshop may want to consider enrolling in the Adobe Photoshop Bootcamp offered through Lumenbrite. In this online course, students will learn the basics of photo retouching, how to use the layers tool, and how to make minor adjustments to colors, gradients, and fades. Once students are familiar with the basics of the program they will learn advanced features, such as the use of custom brushes and Photoshop’s GIF-making capabilities. Students who complete this course will have the guided training that they need to use Photoshop as hobbyists or as professional photo editors.
8. Ledet Training: Creative Design Bundle
Ledet Training offers a half-dozen individual classes covering the basic and intermediate functionalities of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign that can be combined into their Creative Design Bundle. In this class, students will learn how each individual program functions and what its major uses are in the graphic design industry. Then, students will learn how to integrate the functionalities of each program to produce vibrant and evocative visual designs. This course primarily focused on the use of these programs in traditional print media, but all of the lessons that you learn will be applicable to future training in digital graphic design skills.
9. General Assembly: Part-time Visual Design
General Assembly offers part-time learners the chance to learn graphic and digital design skills in their Visual Design course offerings. This class teaches students how to build digital assets using programs like Photoshop and Illustrator and how to use tools like Sketch and Adobe XD to build model web applications that are populated by their digital assets. This course aims to teach students the principles of UX & UI design with a focus on how visual and tactile elements interact on modern web applications. Students will complete the course with a capstone project that serves as the centerpiece of a digital design portfolio that students can take with them onto the job market.
Classes For High School Students & Teenagers
High school students who are looking to learn new technical skills while still flexing their creative muscles may want to consider enrolling in a high school summer graphic design program. These courses provide students with the chance to learn a wide array of graphic design tools and techniques while they build their design portfolio in preparation for future design training. These courses are a great way for students to get a head start on their college design education or their high school art classes, all while learning how to manage the technical aspects of graphic design software.
10. NextGen Bootcamp: Graphic Design Summer Program Live Online
High school students looking for a well-rounded graphic design education may want to consider enrolling in NextGen Bootcamps’ live online Graphic Design Summer Program. In this class, students will receive hands-on instruction in graphic design techniques using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Students will learn how to use these programs individually and in tandem by working on interactive design projects that mirror the kinds of real-world applications of these programs. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable enough with these tools to begin training on their own time and productively building their personal design portfolio. Students interested in applying to an art school, for example, will greatly benefit from having a portfolio in hand when they begin the application process.
11. NextGen Bootcamp: UX & UI Design Summer Program Live Online
Students interested in taking their artistic skills to a digital platform may want to consider enrolling in NextGen’s UX & UI Summer Program. This live online bootcamp will teach students how to design the visual and tactile elements of user interfaces for digital platforms such as webpages and mobile applications. In this class, students learn two related skills. User Interface (UI) design is the process of designing how an interface looks and what kinds of interactive elements are included in an interface design. User Experience (UX) design is the process of designing how an interface feels when a user interacts with it and this practice is what takes account of accessibility concerns. This is an ideal course for students interested in the creative aspects of digital design and no coding knowledge is required to become a proficient UX/UI Designer.
12. NextGen Bootcamp: Graphic Design Summer Program NYC
One of the most difficult parts of learning graphic design skills is how much practice and iteration is required to master the craft. Some students find it difficult to iterate on designs without direct feedback and while online courses provide this, some students prefer learning in a dedicated classroom environment where colleagues and instructors can look over their work directly. Students who want this dedicated learning experience can enroll in NextGen Bootcamp’s Graphic Design Summer Program NYC. Students who can commute to NextGen’s Manhattan campus will be able to take advantage of their state-of-the-art computer labs while learning Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign from expert instructors. Students will be able to work alongside a cohort of like-minded students and easily collaborate with them on detailed graphic design projects.
13. NextGen Bootcamp: UX & UI Design Summer Program
Students interested in learning UX & UI design skills in a dedicated classroom space may want to consider enrolling in the UX & UI Design Summer Program NYC at NextGen Bootcamp’s Manhattan campus. This program will teach students how to design interactive web interface prototypes using Figma and Adobe XD. They will then learn how to populate those prototypes using graphic design tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. Finally, students will learn how Figma and XD can be used to test these prototypes to gather user feedback and make adjustments in order to account for user behavior. Since the class is taught in person, it will be even easier to receive important feedback on your designs since you’ll have access to a cohort of fellow students.
14. Tufts University Pre-College: SMFA Graphic Design Bootcamp
Running through Tufts University’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts, this college preparatory graphic design course is intended to quickly teach students how to use the Adobe Creative Cloud design applications to build evocative and impressive digital art. This course is intended for students in grades 10-12, as well as recently graduated seniors, who are hoping to pursue digital art paths at colleges and universities. Students will learn how to use these programs and they will get a feel for how online college classes work, which can be a productive lesson to learn. By the end of this week-long course, students will have completed one to two digital art pieces that they can add to their portfolios when applying to a college art program.
15. UCLA: Digital Media Arts Summer Institute
UCLA’s Department of Design Media Arts offers an in-person two-week design bootcamp for students interested in learning the technical skills that underpin modern digital design. Over the course of this program, students will learn design principles in 4 major fields: Print media, digital media, video games, and video. This makes it an ideal course for students who know that they want to pursue an education in digital arts and design but aren’t certain what kind of art and design they plan to specialize in. By the end of this course, students will have built a portfolio of sample projects and they will have a feel for a wide array of significant digital art tools. This class is only available in person at UCLA’s campus, though housing options are available for students who are not local to the Los Angeles area.
Classes For Kids & Preteens
Artistic skills that you learn when you are young can be nurtured and thrive later in life. One way to instill these skills in younger children is by enrolling them in a graphic design summer course for children or preteens. In these classes students will receive hands-on instruction designed to make learning art skills fun, instilling in them a lifelong creative passion that they can turn into a career.
16. iD Tech: Private Photoshop Lessons
iD Tech offers online, one-on-one Photoshop tutoring sessions for children as young as 7. These are beginner-friendly lessons, and parents can pay for the lessons individually or as a package (each track comprises 12 one-hour sessions). In this class, children will learn how to use Photoshop for basic image manipulation, including tutorials in making subtle alterations to an image, such as changing fades and gradients or making large alterations, such as added text or combining multiple images. This course offers students the opportunity to learn the basics of Photoshop in a guided environment that is tailored to their specific needs and interests
17. iD Tech: Private Illustrator Lessons
iD Tech also offers private Illustrator tutoring sessions for students who are more interested in digital illustration than photo manipulation. In these lessons, students will receive guided instruction in drawing simple shapes, images, and designs in Illustrator and they will learn how to scale those images to look compelling at any size. This will help students learn how to optimize their artistic output for display on virtually any platform, which is a vital skill for young artists to learn if they want to pursue their craft. Parents can enroll students in 1, 4, 8, or 12 sessions, depending on their budget and interest, and these lessons can be tailored to your child’s age and interests.
18. Create & Learn: Discovering Digital Design
Discovering Digital Design from Create & Learn is a live online graphic design summer course for students in grades 5-10. The two-part course includes The Power of Color and Intro to Design Fundamentals. Students will look at how designers use color to create moods and carry meaning. Intro to Design Fundamentals will teach the basic skills in two-dimensional design on screens and in print. Course exercises are designed to be engaging and fun.