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Overview

Graphic design is everywhere, from magazines and billboards to digital media. This certificate program allows you to explore exciting career opportunities, in-demand skills, and best practices to succeed in graphic design.

You'll gain the knowledge and skills to design for print and digital media using leading industry software, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

By taking this certificate program, you'll learn how to:

  • create compelling artwork
  • build a portfolio
  • effectively showcase your conceptual, creative and technical talents.

During this certificate program, you’ll discover techniques and principles in layout and design, graphic manipulation, typography, branding, and publishing. You'll receive your training from experienced instructors active in the industry.

Upon successful completion of this certificate, you'll be able to:

  • use colour theory, shape, drawing tools, layers, page design, type setting, compositing and illustration to plan and produce work for print and digital media, from concept to completion
  • explain the purpose and benefits of branding and brand image as they apply to the graphic design industry
  • use the creative design process to prepare creative briefs and to research, brainstorm, sketch, create, and present to clients
  • demonstrate design skills and techniques using industry-standard software — Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, including layout, palette selection, brushes, colour, typography, image correction and manipulation
  • design a complex and compelling collection of graphic design work to build a portfolio and showcase your conceptual, creative, and technical skills and communicate your artistic process (brand style guide, logo, brochure, magazine cover and spread, poster, professional resume, digital publication)
  • explain the value of using a “Designer’s Toolkit” and demonstrate personal and professional ethics in the graphic design industry.

Graphic designers, brand specialists and graphic design marketers are all highly sought out professionals who help make brands stand out from their competition. Every single design decision, from a logo to a social media infographic, can make a powerful difference

Clarissa Crosby
Award-winning graphic artist, SAIT Instructor

Program outline

To successfully complete this certificate, you are required to complete seven mandatory courses and one elective for a total of eight courses. All supporting course materials and resources are accessible online in the Brightspace (D2L) learning platform.

Required courses & electives

How to apply for this certificate

Once you have registered for any course offered in this certificate, you will be automatically eligible to complete the certificate. You will have up to three years to complete this program. You may track your progression by signing in to your Continuing Education student account.

Certifications and professional designations

Upon successful completion of all the required courses in this certificate program, you’ll receive an electronically issued SAIT Certificate of Achievement and transcript.

You’ll be able to self-print a proof of completion document from your Continuing Education student account. Please note parchments are not issued for individual courses.

Costs

This certificate program consists of eight courses with varying fees. Fees include access to all course-related materials and resources found in Brightspace (D2L).

Please review the individual course pages for this certificate program to determine costs and to learn more about additional learning materials including textbooks.

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Financial support

Financial opportunities are available to help pay for your course fees. Learn more about how to reduce your education or training costs with available awards, bursaries, loans and grants including the Canada Alberta Job Grant. 

Learn more

Careers and opportunities

The skills learned in this certificate program may be applied to careers in advertising, marketing, package design, book cover design, UX/UI design, web design, logo design, photo editing, video game design and more.

Expect to start at the entry level, and as you gain experience and with additional education, your career opportunities will expand.

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SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.

We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.

Visit Natoysopoyiis Resource Centre