An Inside Look at Noble Desktop’s Design Certificate Programs

Discover the potential for a career change or enhancement through the design certifications offered by Noble Desktop. Explore the various program offerings including graphic design, UI/ UX design, and web design, all taught by industry experts, with a focus on portfolio building and hands-on experience.

Key Takeaways

Noble Desktop is a tech training school that offers design, coding, and business classes with a strong focus on building portfolios and providing hands-on experiences.
Graphic Design is a career that involves communicating messages visually, with a variety of services typically offered including visual communication design, corporate identification design, graphic art, and illustrations.
Certificate programs in graphic design can build technical skills, provide industry knowledge, and offer a cost-effective and flexible way to transition into a new career.
Noble Desktop offers a variety of certificate programs in design, including Graphic Design, Visual Design, Digital Design, UX & UI Design, Web Design, and a part-time remote Graphic Design Program.
The certificate programs vary in focus and length, providing training in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe XD, along with other essential skills for different design careers.
Graduating from these programs can lead to various professional roles such as Graphic Designer, Visual Designer, Digital Designer, UI (Visual) Designer, Web Designer, Front End Web Developer, and Art Director.

Whether you’re beginning a brand new career or have decided to change your path, it can be scary to invest in your future. It’s hard to want to spend money and trust someone to help you change careers (and really, your life) when you don’t know what you might be getting into with programs and certifications. After all, the number of choices is staggering!

This overview will help you see who Noble Desktop is, why it might be a good decision to pursue a certificate in the field you want to work in, and what the options are from a company that has stood the test of time for more than three decades.

What is Noble Desktop?

Noble Desktop is a training school for learning and career development. Founded in 1990, Noble teaches project-based courses and certificate programs in design, coding, and business classes live online and from its headquarters in New York City.

There are five primary areas of instruction: web development, graphic design, UX, motion graphics, and data & marketing. Within these categories, Noble trains students how to build websites, make apps, and create digital content.

Whether you’re looking for an intensive full-time program, a part-time program, or a live online course, Noble offers day, evening, and weekend classes, as well as certifications, to meet your scheduling needs. The curriculum is used by schools and colleges all over the world, and has given thousands of professionals the tools to pursue creative careers in design and coding.

What is Graphic Design?

As an industry, graphic design can feel vague. With graphics everywhere you look, it’s hard to tell what a Graphic Designer might do or how to become one.

At the most basic level, Graphic Designers are professionals who communicate messages through visual representations. They can inform, inspire action, and connect directly with their audience through beautiful graphics.

Although it may be surprising, the graphic design industry has been around since the late 1800s. This is when industrial technology first made it possible to do more advanced technical design work separate from a publication’s written components. Designs such as logos started even earlier than that. Some believe it began as early as 13th century Egypt with branding symbols on domestic animals.

The term “graphic design” was coined in 1922, and these days, talented Designers all over the world are doing artistic projects their predecessors could only dream of.

Despite the overwhelming number of designs being created, there’s actually a specific set of services Graphic Designers typically offer. According to industry research by IBISWorld, the graphic design industry is comprised of the following activities:

Visual Communication Design
Corporate Identification Design like logos
Graphic Art
Creating Illustrations
Medical Illustrations

Although these are listed as common activities, there are limitless options for skilled Graphic Designers in the digital world.

Why Get a Certificate in Graphic Design?

Graphic design is an interesting industry in that there are a number of degrees and certifications that can be helpful in getting a job or starting a freelance business. On the other hand, there are plenty of talented and successful Designers who are self-taught, too.

The question about graphic design certificates remains: how would getting one help your future career prospects?

Gain Technical Career Skills

First and foremost, certificate programs help build technical skills directly related to what you want to do. For Graphic Designers this might mean software programs like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. It might also mean learning how to put together an effective and engaging portfolio that highlights your skills.

In the digital world, there are many free learning opportunities and ways to learn skills on your own—a sort of DIY education. While these are certainly a good place to begin figuring out what to learn, chances are you’ll need help at some point. Certificate programs typically offer instructor-led training from an experienced professional or expert in the field, which means you can ask questions and get help when you need it instead of spending more time trying to figure it out completely on your own.

Graphic Design Certificate: Live & Hands-on, In NYC or Online, 0% Financing, 1-on-1 Mentoring, Free Retake, Job Prep. Named a Top Bootcamp by Forbes, Fortune, & Time Out. Noble Desktop. Learn More.

Learning the Field

Getting a certificate in an industry or specialized field gives you a chance to learn more about the field itself. For instance, what kinds of technologies industry professionals are using, what skills you’ll be expected to have, how to make yourself more marketable, and where to find potential employers or clients who will be dazzled by your new portfolio.

Half of changing careers is knowing what you’re getting yourself into. The other part is figuring out how to leverage the strengths you already have to learn what you need in order to be successful in your new career. Taking classes with people on a similar trajectory and being able to ask questions of industry experts is incredibly helpful for anyone starting a new career or pivoting from a different one.

Cost Effective

College degrees are expensive, and they take multiple years to complete the coursework. That’s not to say they’re not worth it, but cost is always a consideration when trying a new venture. Certificate programs offer a more cost-effective way to learn practical skills and see if you’re interested in pursuing a career in the field.

Since they’re almost always job-focused, it can be easier to see a one-time cost of $500 to $5,000 as doable if you’re able to start a new job within three or six months (depending on what skills you already have and what your ideal job requires). Not all certifications cost the same, but all are built to get you a job immediately following training.

Flexibility

The primary audiences for certificates are often individuals at the beginning of a career, or those who’ve decided to change careers after working in another industry. Because of this, many of these individuals need flexible scheduling options.

Certificate programs often offer an intensive option for students who have the ability to take courses throughout the day as full-time students. There are also typically part-time evening options available, and sometimes even weekends. Many courses are offered live online, which means that even if you can’t make all of the live course meetings, you can still learn from an instructor and ask questions about the material.

Build a Solid Portfolio

With many careers, especially in creative industries, you’ll need a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills and specialties. The way to do this is by creating a portfolio to share with potential employers or clients.

But how does one build a portfolio? What’s supposed to be included, and how is it supposed to look? These are exactly the kinds of questions a certificate course can answer. For graphic design, many programs will show you how to build a portfolio, what kinds of projects you should display for the career you want to be in, and even where to look for jobs.

What Design Certificates Does Noble Desktop Offer?

If you’re ready to dig in and learn more about design, there are plenty of options to choose from. Whether you’re interested in web design, UX & UI design, or more broadly graphic or visual design, there’s a comprehensive certification program for you to take.

Noble offers six primary certificate programs for different areas of the design industry. You can take the courses in-person in New York City or live online.

Graphic Design Certificate

The 78-hour Graphic Design Certificate was designed for those looking to learn design apps, develop graphic design skills (learn about color, composition, etc.) and start building a design portfolio.

It’s most beneficial for new Designers, Designers who have been out of the field and want to refresh their skills & update their portfolio, and people outside of the industry (such as Business Owners or Marketing Professionals) who want to learn how to do quality design work.