VISUAL DESIGN SHORT COURSE: NEW YORK CITY

More than pushing pixels, visual design is the superpower behind the success of many companies. According to InVision, 92% of mature design organizations can draw a straight line from the efforts of their design team to their company’s revenue.

Design knowledge is also a boon to individual careers. Recent research reports that more than 50% of tech and IT jobs now require some form of digital design skills, as well as 815,000 open roles in other industries beyond tech and IT. And on the freelance side, a recent report found graphic and visual design skills to top the list of the most in-demand freelance skills. Whether you’re creating a digital product, an ad campaign, or a presentation, strong visual communication is critical to convey ideas in meaningful and compelling ways.

Visual design skills are a powerful extension to a variety of professional backgrounds. You’ll find a diverse range of NYC-based students in the classroom, including:

• Product designers and UX practitioners striving for higher-fidelity mockups to more clearly communicate design solutions. InVision reports that 66% of UX designer job postings require UI skills.
• Digital marketers aiming to independently create assets for digital marketing campaigns for email, social media, and the web.
• Web developers looking to pair visual and graphic design experience with programming skills to build products that are both functional and beautiful.
• Print or graphic designers who want to switch to digital.

Ultimately, this visual design program attracts a community of eager NYC-based learners interested in gaining a foundation in digital design and kicking off their design portfolios.

This is a beginner-friendly NYC visual design program with no prerequisites, although many students have used visual design software such as Photoshop, Sketch, Figma, or Adobe XD previously and may be familiar with basic visual and graphic design principles. Beginners will have access to optional tutorials to practice using software and boost their confidence ahead of class.*

Our Admissions team can discuss your background and learning goals to advise if this NYC Visual Design Short Course is a good fit for you.

*The design software used in this visual design course varies by market.

Here are just some of the benefits you can expect as a GA NYC student:

• A practical visual design skill set that can be applied to solve design challenges in a variety of professional contexts.
• 32 hours of expert visual design instruction from a professional designer.
• Optional pre-course tutorials for beginners to gain basic familiarity with visual design software.*
• Access to our robust coursework, including expert-vetted lesson decks, project toolkits, and more. Refresh and refine your knowledge throughout your professional journey as needed.
• A real-world project where you’ll apply the visual design techniques to create a production-ready mockup for a responsive webpage and a presentation deck to demonstrate how your work evolved from an idea, to a rough sketch, to a final polished design.
• Individual feedback and guidance from instructors and teaching assistants during office hours. Stay motivated and make the most of your experience with the help of GA’s dedicated team.
• Exclusive access to alumni discounts, networking events, and career workshops.
• A GA course certificate to showcase your new skill set on LinkedIn.
• Connections with a professional network of instructors and peers that lasts well beyond the course. The global GA community can help you navigate and succeed in the field — whether in New York City or across the globe.

*Note: While students will use Photoshop, Sketch, Figma, or Adobe XD, the primary focus of this course is on learning design principles rather than becoming proficient in design software.

We’re proud to offer numerous other directly connected courses, from other NYC short courses like NYC front-end web development, NYC product management, and NYC UX design, to our full-time career change focused tech bootcamp in UX design.

Throughout this NYC visual design course, you’ll complete a number of smaller visual design projects designed to reinforce what you’ve learned in each unit, all of which culminate in a final portfolio piece you can show off to stakeholders and future employers. Apply the visual design concepts and tools you’ve learned to create a high-fidelity mockup for a responsive webpage. You’ll also build a process presentation deck to accompany your design that demonstrates how your work evolved from idea, to rough sketch, to polished piece. 

We encourage you to tackle a design challenge that’s related to your work or a passion project you’ve been meaning to carve out time for.

Yes. All of our short courses are designed for busy NYC-based professionals with full-time work commitments. Depending on your location, classes meet twice per week in the evenings or all day on Saturday. If you’re able to dedicate a full week to learning, we also have a full-time, accelerated one-week option. 

You’ll be expected to spend time working on homework and projects outside of class each week, but the workload is designed to be manageable with a full-time job.

If you need to miss a session or two, we offer resources to help you catch up. We recommend you discuss any planned absences with your instructor.

Our Admissions team is here to help and can advise whether this NYC Visual Design Short Course is right for you and your learning goals. You can also:

• Attend an info session online.
• Explore your financing options.
• Apply to enroll in the course.*

*Course modality options vary by location, pending market availability. Please contact our Admissions team to discuss what version is available in your location.