Passionate about drawing, art, or design? Join our class to elevate your doodling skills into impactful design projects for local nonprofits and small businesses.
Learn the art of creating professional posters and compelling artwork that garners attention and support. Through hands-on experience, you’ll have the opportunity to design posters and ads for real organizations with meaningful causes. Past students’ work has been featured in ads and Instagram posts by esteemed organizations such as the Special Olympics, Martha’s Kitchen, and local shelters.
Classes will focus on the following topics:
- Week 1: Introduction to Graphic Design and Canva
Topic: What is Graphic Design? Exploring Canva’s Tools
Project: Design a Personal Banner – Create a colorful banner with their name and favorite icons, experimenting with fonts, colors, and backgrounds. - Week 2: Basics of Composition and Layout
Topic: Organizing Space and Basic Composition
Project: “Dream Day” Poster – Make a poster showing their ideal day, arranging images, words, and icons in a balanced layout. - Week 3: Understanding Colors and Branding Basics
Topic: How Colors Communicate Feelings
Project: Favorite Colors Mood Board – Design a mood board featuring favorite colors, icons, and images to explore how colors impact mood. - Week 4: Color Schemes and Contrast
Topic: Exploring Color Choices and Effects
Project: Seasonal Card Design – Create a card for a favorite season, using warm or cool color schemes with effects to enhance vibrancy. - Week 5: Shapes in Design
Topic: Introduction to Shapes in Graphic Design
Project: Shape-Based Robot – Use shapes in Canva to build a unique robot character with circles, squares, and triangles. - Week 6: Exploring Negative Space
Topic: Understanding Negative Space in Design
Project: Hidden Animal Silhouettes – Design an animal silhouette using negative space to create visual interest. - Week 7: Patterns and Texture
Topic: Using Patterns to Add Interest
Project: Gift Wrap Pattern – Design a repeating pattern for gift wrap, experimenting with colors and textures. - Week 8: Accessible Design for All
Topic: Designing for All Viewers
Project: Friendly Recipe Card – Create a recipe card with large, clear text, icons, and high-contrast colors for easy readability. - Week 9: Working with Images and Icons
Topic: Adding Photos and Icons to Designs
Project: Book Cover Design – Design a book cover using images, icons, and colors to create an engaging, inviting look. - Week 10: Introduction to Typography
Topic: Styling Text with Fonts and Sizes
Project: Motivational Quote Poster – Choose a favorite quote and design a poster using different fonts and colors to highlight key words. - Week 11: Combining Text and Imagery for Events
Topic: Creating Event Posters with Text and Graphics
Project: Celebration Poster – Design a poster for a pretend holiday (e.g., “Superhero Day”) by combining colors, images, and text. - Week 12: Balance and Hierarchy in Design
Topic: Organizing Information to Catch Attention
Project: Field Trip Poster – Create a poster for a pretend field trip, using balance and hierarchy to highlight key details. - Week 13: Final Project – Graphic Design Portfolio Page
Topic: Putting It All Together
Project: Portfolio Page – Create a one-page digital portfolio showcasing favorite projects from the course, applying knowledge of color, shapes, images, text, and layout.
Dates & Times
January 17 – May 16, 2025
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
No Class Dates: February 21, February 28, March 21, April 18, May 9
Program Vendor