Courses

CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design

Full Enrolment Option

Our most popular course, the government accredited CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design qualification is recognised by employers and industry groups Australia wide. This qualification is part of the national vocational education and training (VET) system, competency based and based on Training Packages.

The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design is delivered online. Unilke the upgrade option described in section 2, enrolment in this course will see students enrolling in the full qualification from the time of enrolment. The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design course is comprised of 12 modules that have been holistically designed around the 15 units of competency comprised in the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design CUA40720 training package. Students who wish to apply for Austudy may do so via this full enrolment option only.

About the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design Course

The Certificate IV in Design Course delivered by The Graphic Design School is designed as a course that provides a pathway to a career in Graphic Design. There are 12 modules that make up the course, you will notice that the modules are the same as in the Intensive Foundation Course and the Certificate IV upgrade as mentioned in sections 1 and 2 of this booklet:

• Module 1: Introduction to Graphic Design
• Module 2: Design Basics
• Module 3: Introduction to Typography
• Module 4: Colour
• Module 5: Advanced Typography
• Module 6: Photography
• Module 7: Logotype Design
• Module 8: Design Systems
• Module 9: Layout Design
• Module 10: Design Systems II
• Module 11: Preparing your Portfolio
• Module 12: Advanced Portfolio Refinement and Enhancement, Preparing for the Job

Students have up to 15 months to complete the 12 modules. The modules can be worked through at your own pace during 15 months. The course has been designed to be able to complete within 32 weeks. However as the course is self paced, you can decide how many hours a week you wish to concentrate on study. An approximate guide is 750 hours to complete the 12 Modules.

What Assessments Will I Have to Do?

The assessments for the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design Course have been developed around a number of practical activities that involve software applications, graphic design generation skills including sketching, development of graphics, typography, colour, logos and branding, identity systems, layout, design communication skills, portfolio building and design industry job ready skills. The course emphasis is a ‘hands on’ practical approach. The practical assessments that you produce throughout the course can be refined and used to contribute to your final design portfolio.

Achieving the Full Qualification

The full CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design qualification is comprised of 15 units of competency. As the 12 modules have been mapped back to the units below. The 15 units of competency are as follows:

Core Units

• BSBCRT301: Develop and extend critical and creative thinking skills
• BSBDES305: Source and apply information on the history and theory of design
• BSBDES401: Generate design solutions
• BSBDES402: Interpret and respond to a design brief
• BSBWHS20: Participate in OHS processes
• CUAACD401: Integrate colour theory and design processes
• CUAPRP401: Realise a creative project

Elective Units

• BSBDES301: Explore the use of colour
• BSBDES302: Explore and apply the creative design process to 2D forms
• BSBDES303: Explore and apply the creative design process to 3D forms
• BSBDES304: Source and apply design industry knowledge
• CUAGRD302: Use typography techniques
• CUAGRD401: Research and apply graphic design techniques
• CUAPHI401: Capture images in response to a brief
• CUAPHI403: Enhance, manipulate and output photo images

The Qualification in Perspective

The government accredited CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design qualification is recognised by employers and industry groups Australia wide. This qualification is part of the national vocational education and training (VET) system, competency based and based on Training Packages.

The Intensive Foundation Course is an online intensive foundational course in graphic design. You will cover 11 modules during the 12 month course and be issued a Certificate of Completion after successfully completing the course. This course will arm you with all the skills needed to be a graphic designer. You will complete the course with a well rounded portfolio showcasing your skills. The Graphic Design School offers this course for people who are wanting to become graphic designers yet do not feel they need a government accredited qualification to do so. The Graphic design industry is reputed to be an industry based on portfolio. This considered The Graphic Design School believes that offering an alternate to the government accredited qualification pathway offers students the flexibility to undertake study without the price tag attached to a qualification.

The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design Upgrade course option is an extension on the Intensive Foundation Course, this course is also delivered online. This course bridges the gap between the Certificate of Completion and the government accredited qualification over a 3 month timeframe. A student may only enrol through this upgrade course if they have successfully completed the Intensive Foundation Course. The Graphic Design School recognises the need for some students to gain government accredited qualifications. Government accredited qualifications do have many benefits, they are recognised in every industry, can contribute to credits in further design specialisation studies, and often give a feeling of security to a graduate when looking for work in industry.

As students progress through the Intensive Foundation Course and develop a love and deeper understanding for graphic design, a greater sense of career focus and direction is established. In some cases it may be necessary to complete a qualification, this opt in service has been designed to give students the maximum amount of flexibility and the best possible value when considering study and career options. There is a 6month time limit between when a students completes the Intensive Foundation Course to when they can undertake the Certificate IV in Design Upgrade. If you are reading this and you have let more than 6month lapse between finishing the Intensive Foundation Course and wanting to undertake the Upgrade. Please contact us to discuss.

The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design full enrolment is also delivered online. This 15 month course is available to students who wish to jump straight into the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design course without going through the avenue of enrolling in the Intensive Foundation Course first. Students who know that they wish to study not only for portfolio skills, but for a full qualification from the get go are recommended to take this course option. Students who wish to claim Austudy will need to enrol in this course option. This course is comprised of 12 modules. The modules in this course are an amalgamation of the 11 modules from the Intensive Foundation Course and the module from the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design upgrade course. These 12 modules have been mapped back to the units of competency from the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design training package.

The Design@Work Course is 12 month course, delivered online. This is the design course for non-designers. A course focusing on enabling you to accomplish design tasks without years of design training. We supply you with a selection of beautiful work related design templates, teach you a simple set of working design skills and instruct you how to use Adobe InDesign so that you may apply designs to our templates. As the course is self paced, you can decided how many hours per week you wish to concentrate on study.

The Foundation Web Design Course is a 6 month course delivered online. This course is designed as an introductory Web Design course that provides a pathway to a career in Web Design. Our Web Design course is aimed at teaching the fundamentals and principles of UI & UX to designers. It is a codeless course, we don’t teach any programming languages and instead we really focus on communicating the different limits and restrictions that designing for a digital/online platform has. This course is a is a non-qualification course.
We will go through the purpose and functions of many UX design standards, such as wire-framing, colour accessibility and device responsive design, and all of these tools and exercises culminate in our final module which covers developing full website from the ground up. There are 4 modules that make up the course, including the required Adobe Software learning to plan and design a website. More information on this course can be found in section 4 of this handbook. This course has been designed as an ‘add on’ t o the Intensive Foundation and Certificate IV in Design courses, it is not recommended to undertake this course if you are not already a Graphic Designer. You may however undertake this course if you are a practicing Software Engineer. Talk to us about your suitability for this course either via phone during AEST MON-FRI 9am-5pm on (+61)1300 655 485 or via email info@thegraphicdesignschool.com

Intensive Foundation Course

The Intensive Foundation Course delivered by The Graphic Design School is designed as a course that provides a pathway to a career in Graphic Design.
There are 11 modules that make up the course:

• Module 1: Introduction to Graphic Design
• Module 2: Design Basics
• Module 3: Introduction to Typography
• Module 4: Colour
• Module 5: Advanced Typography
• Module 6: Photography
• Module 7: Logotype Design
• Module 8: Design Systems
• Module 9: Layout Design
• Module 10: Design Systems II
• Module 11: Preparing your Portfolio

Students have up to one year to complete the 11 modules. The modules can be worked through at your own pace during the year. As the course is self paced, you can decide how many hours a week you wish to concentrate on study. An approximate guide is 700 hours to complete the 11 Modules.

What Assessments Will I Have to Do?

The assessments for the Intensive Foundation Course have been developed around a number of practical activities that involve software applications, typography, colour, logos and branding, identity systems, layout and design communication skills. The course emphasis is a ‘hands on’ practical approach. The practical assessments that you produce throughout the course can be refined and used to contribute to your final design portfolio.

CUA40720 Certificate IV In Design Course Upgrade Option

The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design Upgrade Course is an extension of the Intensive Foundation Course, this course is also delivered online. This course bridges the gap between the Certificate of Completion and the government accredited qualification. The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design course has 6 extra assessments and a portfolio refinement review by tutors. The CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design course also includes a personal letter of recommendation from your tutor. A student may only enrol through this course if they have successfully completed the Intensive Foundation Course (or apply for RPL). This upgrade option has been designed to give students the maximum amount of flexibility and the best possible value when considering study and career options.

The 6 extra assessments take approximately 30 – 50 hours to complete. As study is self paced students have up to 3 months to finish the assessments.

What Assessments Will I Have to Do?

The first step to upgrading to the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design is a recognition process.
All the work, participation in forums and assessments you have completed in the Intensive Foundation Course are recognised in the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design. Because you have submitted your work online in the Schoolyard, we have a record of your progress that we check off in our marking systems against the 15 units of competency in the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design. After you enrol in the accredited course, one of our experienced tutors will go back to your work in Modules 1- 11 and mark it against the accredited qualification. So, you have a heap of recognition of high quality work that flows into the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design assessment records. Well done to you! But, we do need a few extra pieces of work to sign off for the accredited qualification.

The extra 6 assessments for the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design upgrade course are as follows:

• Refining your Portfolio
• Resumé and Coverletter
• Industry Consultation on a past project
• OHS assessment
• Copyright questionnaire assessment

The estimated time to complete the above assessments is 50 hours.

Achieving the Full Qualification

In order to achieve the full CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design qualification both the Intensive Foundation Course and the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design upgrade course must be successfully completed. The full CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design qualification is comprised of 15 units of competency. As the Intense Foundation Course has been mapped back to the units below, students undertaking the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design upgrade option will undertake 6 extra assessments that complete the full criteria for the qualification.

The 15 units of competency are completed by undertaking both the Intensive Foundation Course and the CUA40720 Certificate IV in Design upgrade course and are as follows:

Core Units

• BSBCRT411 Apply critical thinking to work practices
• CUADES305 Source and apply information on the history and theory of design
• CUADES411 Generate design solutions
• CUADES412 Interpret and respond to a design brief
• CUAWHS312 Apply work health and safety practices
• CUAACD411 Integrate colour theory and design processes
• CUAPPR411 Realise a creative project

Elective Units

• CUADES301 Explore the use of colour
• CUADES302 Explore and apply the creative design process to 2D forms
• CUADES303 Explore and apply the creative design process to 3D forms
• CUADES304 Source and apply design industry knowledge
• CUAGRD312 Use typography techniques
• CUAGRD411 Research and apply graphic design techniques
• CUAPHI411 Capture images in response to a brief
• CUAPHI403 Enhance, manipulate and output photo images

The Qualification in Perspective

About the Foundation Web Design Course

The Foundation Web Design Course delivered by The Graphic Design School is designed as an introductory web design course that provides a pathway to a career in web Design. There are 4 modules, with related Adobe software learning in Illustrator and Experience Design that make up the course:

Module 1

Learnings:

• The Internet And The Web
• The History Of The Internet
• Understanding Web Design
• Graphic Design in the Web Environment
• Colour on the Web
• Type on the Web
• Design for Mobile

Studies:

• Interaction Design in the real world
• Interfaces On The Web
• Elements In Interface Design
• Analysing Websites
• Determining The Canvas Size
• Research User Statistics
• Calculate The Canvas
• Research Designing The Canvas
• Identifying Colour Schemes
• Colour Conversion Studies
• Colour Scheme Development
• Applying Colour Schemes To A Design
• Testing For Accessibility Compliance
• Colour Studies
• Typographic Studies
• Font Case Studies
• Making Sense Of Text With Visual Hierarchy
• Developing Visual Hierarchy In Design

Software Learning:

• Introduction to Adobe Illustrator and Xd
• Working with and editing type, colour, vectors and bitmaps in Xd,
• Illustrator

Module 2

Learnings:

• Images and Multimedia on the Web
• Layout in Interface Design

Studies:

• Definitions and Resolution
• Understanding File Formats
• Different Image Techniques
• Grid Studies
• Grid Journal Studies
• Using a Grid For Page Design

Software Learning:

• Xd and Illustrator
• Importing Files, Grid Systems &
• Advanced Editing

Module 3

Learnings:

• Information Architecture
• Interaction Design
• Specificity of Devices – Design for
• Desktop, Tablets & Mobile
• Website Essentials
• Design Considerations

Studies:

• Understanding information architecture design
• Develop a taxonomical structure
• Understanding users
• Understanding interaction design elements

Software Learning:

• Advanced Learning and Resources

Module 4

Learnings:

• Scoping a Website and Main Design Project
• Understanding Web development
• Main Assignment :: Complete Web Design Project
• Step #1 :: The Project Scope
• Step #2 :: Information Architecture
• Step #3 :: Brainstorming and Concept
• Step #4 :: Designing the Interface
• Step #5 :: Refining the design
• Step #6 :: Preparing the design for development
• Assessment Presentation
• Banner Design

Software Learning:

• Xd and Illustrator
• Wireframing, Website Design and Banner Design

Students have up to 6 months to complete the 4 modules. The modules can be worked through at your own pace during the 6 months. The course takes approximately 200 hours to complete. However as the course is self paced, you can decide how many hours a week you wish to concentrate on study.
There is a 3 month extension available should you decide you need this option.

What assessments will I have to do?

The assessments for the Foundation Web Design Course have been developed around a number of practical activities that involve software applications, web design generation skills including sketching, development of graphics, typography, colour, layout and design communication skills. The course emphasis is a ‘hands on’ practical approach. The practical assessments that you produce throughout the course can be refined and used to contribute to your final design portfolio. You need a beginner level of Adobe Software knowledge as step-by-step software learning is offered in Illustrator and Xd. Assessment can be completed using either one or a combination of these programmes. Templates for the assessments are provided in all 3 programmes

The Design@Work Course

The Design@Work Course delivered by The Graphic Design School is designed to enable students to accomplish design tasks at work without years of design training. What we will teach you:

• An introduction to desktop publishing.
• Preparation and design thinking.
• Using branding guidelines and gathering resources.
• Creating Design Briefs and Style Guides
• Using real world design resources
• How to deal with other designers
• How to create InDesign documents from scratch.
• How to quickly set up InDesign.
• Using Tools and Menus.
• Working with Images and Type. Bought and owned.
• Working with Colour and ready-made colour tools.
• How to create documents with impact.
• Using templates for quick design.
• How to make your own templates for repeatable, refined layouts.

Students have up to one year to complete the course. The tasks can be worked through at your own pace during the year. As the course is self paced, you can decide how many hours a week you wish to concentrate on study.

What Assessments will I Have to Do?

Even though most people will be doing the course for the Design@Work set of skills, we do have a completely optional choice for students to submit a set of 3 designs, their briefs and a few other pieces of evidence as assessments. Successful completion of these assessments will achieve a Certificate of Completion accompanied by a Nationally Accredited Statement of Attainment.

Units of Competency

The following 5 Units of Competency listed make up the Statement of
Attainment:

• ICPPRP324: Create pages using a page layout application
• CUAPRP401: Realise a Creative Project
• CUAGRD301: Prepare Files for Publication
• BSBITU404: Produce complex desktop published documents
• CUADIG304: Create Visual Design

The decision to submit assessments is completely optional. You may decide not to submit assessments at all; this is entirely your choice. This course is designed to give you a great set of Design@Work skills. If you don’t want to bother handing in assessments that’s perfectly fine; we won’t harass you for assessment submissions.
If you would like to undertake assessments, when you are ready to submit them we will direct you to complete a few quick questions and officially enrol you in the assessment part of the course.