 Within the last few months I have been telling people how I worked as a corporate graphic design instructor for 10 years. I have not been doing it full time for over 13 years now and am ready to reboot my company. I have continued training here and there and am up to date on my graphic software programs.
A couple of years ago I tried to contact the old companies that I worked for like Productivity Point and Executrain. I was the graphics instructor for both companies which kept me very busy. Well, they are no longer in London and it seems like their is a case of amnesia that there was ever a business where you could go and learn or have an instructor/consultant like myself who would go to your work and teach you in your own environment. Some people have said to me that people now can learn all sorts of stuff online. Why pay someone to teach you? Well I had a client last spring that did that very thing. She taught herself Photoshop in the very worst way possible. It took me only a morning with her to show her the best way to use the program and get her productive. Since I offer custom training, I target on exactly what the client needs and the one-on-one time allows me to cover a lot of topics. Everyone is different, whether it is software that they are unsure about or graphic terminology that will help them work with a printer or designers. Usually I will see a client for a couple of sittings and then they are up and going by themselves and I never hear from them again, which is perfectly fine. I am very passionate about teaching design and its software and am working towards offering this again. For heavens sake, you don't have to go to Toronto for excellent training. I was hired by a very popular training company back in the early 2000s to teach a 2 day Illustrator course. The students and the training company were very happy with my work and wanted me back. I missed being away from my family and decided to stick around London. After that event, I ended up teaching 2 years at the Design School at Fanshawe College. Londoners have quality people like myself who are local and they don't need to look any further than their backyard. This spring I am taking a train the trainer from Adobe on teaching digital programs. I have already been doing that for over 20 years but it never hurts to update on my toolkit for teaching. I look forward to 2016 and the possibilities. Bring it on! Cheers!
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 Training Methodology
As with all training, I deal with what you need to know during every session, whatever the topic. I can assess quickly how to fix what is giving you pain with your software or design knowledge. Usually one or two 3 hour sessions will cover what you need to know. I will come to your work or home so I deal with your environment, not only as an instructor, but also as a consultant. Evaluation of the client's need will be made before training to make our time more effective. Cost can not be given on this page as all courses are custom designed for each client. Please go to my Contact Form and let me know what you are looking for. I mainly teach courses one-on-one, but will do small groups if the client's facility allows. Electronic Design Theory This course covers the basics of design including colour theory (CMYK vs RGB), elements of design, typography, resolution of images, file types, vector vs raster images, including resolution and scaling of images, understanding how to save files to send to printers, presentations or the web. Illustrator If you have already been using Illustrator or have never seen it before, I am experienced in evaluating your skill set. Illustrator is a vector based software which creates shapes with fills and outlines. Logos, clipart and anything else that needs to be scale-able will be created in this software program. Photoshop As with Illustrator, even if you have never seen the software before, I am experienced in getting newbies up and going. Photoshop deals with photographs or pixel based files that are not easily scaled. Pixel based files are made of a raster or grid of pixels to render photos. Where are your files going? Once you understand Illustrator and/or Photoshop, then you need to understand where these files will be going. Will it be a page layout software? Will it be the web or a presentation? Understanding what the end destination is for your files will help you in how to plan your design and how you save it. If a design is created in a very high resolution but is intended for the web or a presentation, you will only be successful in having a design that is unnecessarily slow. If the files are too low a resolution, it will look great on your screen but printers that are at a higher resolution than your monitor and it will print blurry or grainy. Psychology of Design There is a large realm of how design effects our choices as a designer and consumer. The effects of typography, colour, layout (using a grid) and other factors are covered. Human kind has been designing since the cave days. We need to communicate our thoughts and is ingrained in all of us. Overview Design is not a black box. There are definite do's and don'ts to follow. You need to know the rules if you want to break them. I would love to help you navigate this realm and get you comfortable and excited for your next project. |
Sylvie VerwaayenThis blog is to showcase my ongoing work. Archives
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