Sketch Certifications and Certificates

If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate your Sketch skills to potential employers, you might be overwhelmed by all the certifications and certificate programs available. You might also have questions, such as, how important is it to become certified if I am looking for a job? What is the difference between a certificate and a certification? How much work will I need to do to become certified? This article aims to answer these questions so you can efficiently choose the right path towards a Sketch certification. Keep reading to find out more.

What is Sketch?

Sketch is a design tool for creating user interface (UI) layouts for webpages and mobile applications. Sketch is a vector-graphics design program, meaning that the assets created can be modified and resized for optimal performance on screens of any size. Sketch’s significant features include its easy customization tools, digital collaboration tools, and, most importantly, Sketch symbols. Sketch symbols let users create reusable design elements that can be modified individually, allowing users to build layout assets like buttons and drop-down menus, which all look the same but function differently as the design demands. Advanced Sketch users can use the built-in tools to make even more complex, interactive symbols to optimize their workflow and the functionality of their design.

Sketch originated on the macOS app store and is only available on machines that run off macOS. Therefore, the program can be slightly limiting but is built with the specific functionalities of this operating system in mind. Sketch has features common to almost all macOS native programs, such as touch bar support, Retina and non-Retina displays, and native font rendering. These features allow macOS device users to learn Sketch more efficiently and quickly pick up advanced skills. Web designers can also create layouts designed to operate on devices like next-generation iPhones. The functionalities of Sketch designs won’t be limited to these devices, but the program gives users the tools to optimize their layouts for specific platforms.

In recent updates, Sketch has added new features to make collaboration and prototyping easier for teams of users. Sketch lets designers work together to build clickable prototypes of their webpages that designers can distribute for testing and iteration, a crucial feature of any user-interface design software. And Sketch is constantly evolving to meet the needs of its users.

Read more about what Sketch is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Sketch?

Sketch allows web designers to create layouts for webpages and mobile applications. Users can create vibrant, interactive webpage models for testing and development using text, images, graphic designs, and artboards. Because Sketch is a vector graphics illustration tool, these designs are easily reusable and scalable. They can be optimized to work on any-sized screen and used in multiple contexts in any design layout. Sketch also recently added advanced features for collaboration and prototyping, allowing team members to work together more efficiently to build model user interfaces.

Sketch’s most unique features are symbols and reusable digital interface assets that can be replicated across multiple pages. Sketch lets users define symbol characteristics to repurpose them as the design warrants. In addition, users can manually override the function of individual symbols, letting users give each asset a different interactive functionality without having to start from scratch. More advanced users can build complicated, multi-purpose symbols that make designing interfaces a breeze.

Sketch also has a robust community of designers and developers who are constantly building new adds-on and templates for Sketch. Users who learn Sketch can take advantage of these resources to make working with the program more straightforward and efficient. Since this community is so active, new resources are available daily.

Certifications vs. Certificates: What’s the Difference?

Certifications and certificates may sound similar, but there are distinct differences, particularly in the methods one undertakes to become certified.

Certification is conferred to a Sketch user after completing a proctored exam demonstrating proficiency in the program. On the other hand, certificates are earned after completing a training program and are more akin to a diploma. Both demonstrate proficiency in Sketch, but certifications are intended for users who already have Sketch experience but are seeking mastery, while certificates are for users who will learn Sketch during their certificate program.

Top Certifications & Certificates for Sketch

As of this article's writing, Sketch does not offer a first-party certification exam, so certification is not an option for Sketch users.

Alternative options for Sketch users are Sketch certificate training programs, like those offered by Noble. These training courses teach novices how to use Sketch professionally. While Noble’s bootcamps include certificates of completion, the most skills-focused certificate programs are career-centric, teaching students the ins and outs of UX/UI design or graphic design. These certificate courses are ideal ways to become certified in Sketch.

As a bonus, because these certificate programs comprise hands-on training and project building, users will leave with the training necessary to take a formal certification exam in Sketch or any other skill they’ve learned in the program.

Should I Get Certified in Sketch?

As with most graphic design tools, being Sketch certified isn’t a requirement for most job openings, but becoming certified in Sketch can help separate you from the stack of applicants for prospective employers. The most important aspect of a job search will be building an extensive portfolio of sample designs to show to hiring managers. Becoming certified in Sketch can demonstrate to employers that you are ready to hit the ground running.

How to Get Certified in Sketch

Currently, there is no first-party certification exam available for Sketch. The best way to become Sketch certified is to complete a professional training course like those offered through Noble to receive a certificate of completion. Students already trained in Sketch may want to consider enrolling in a more detailed career-focused training course where they can become certified in several different programs and skills.

Learn Sketch with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to master Sketch may wish to consider any Sketch classes and bootcamps offered through Noble Desktop. These classes, which range from short seminars offering students a basic understanding of Sketch to in-depth career skills training courses, give students the tools they need to use Sketch in their personal and professional lives. These courses are available in person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or live online from anywhere in the United States. Courses are taught by experts with whom students can interface directly, and class sizes are kept small, even online. So, students can ask questions and receive timely, personalized feedback on their work. Plus, courses include a one-year free retake option. Students can repeat the course to review a lesson that gave them trouble, attend a seminar they missed, or just get more hands-on practice with Sketch.

Students seeking in-depth training in Sketch should consider Noble’s Sketch Bootcamp. This intensive skills training course teaches students to use the basic and advanced features of Sketch, such as its layout design tools, interactive elements, and prototyping capabilities. Students get hands-on instruction in building web layouts using text, shapes, and images, all built with Sketch’s vector graphics illustration tools. They then learn how to optimize those illustrations for web and mobile viewing, including Hi-res and Retina displays. Finally, students receive hands-on training in using Sketch symbols, including how to override symbol functions to make them work differently and how to alter their functions universally after they have been implemented.

Noble also offers Sketch training as part of its immersive, career-focused UX & UI Design Certificate program. This course is designed to help aspiring Web and user experience (UX) Designers receive comprehensive career training and mentorship. Students learn to use an array of design tools, including Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD, and receive hands-on training by working through practical exercises that reflect the work they will do professionally. Students also learn the best practices of UX design and how to best conduct user research and analysis. By the end of the course, students get the opportunity to have one-on-one career mentorship discussions with trained experts in the field of UX/UI design, and they will have built a sample design portfolio to take with them into the job market.

Key Insights

• Sketch users hoping to become certified in Sketch can significantly increase their job opportunities by completing an industry-recognized training program.
• Certification is awarded by passing a proctored skills exam. Certificates are awarded at the end of skills training courses.
• Becoming certified isn’t a requirement for Sketch users and Web Designers, but it is a valuable way to distinguish oneself in the eyes of prospective employers.
• Noble offers many certificate programs for comprehensive training in Sketch and the career fields that utilize Sketch.