This certificate program covers the full range of modern design practice, starting from no prior design or coding experience. It begins with the foundations, including design principles, color theory, typography, and grid-based layout, then builds professional command of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign through hands-on projects rather than feature tours. From there the program moves into digital product design: Figma, interface patterns, design systems, user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing across a complete UX process.
What distinguishes the program is where it goes next. You learn to generate and refine images across Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, DALL-E, and Google Imagen, with the prompt engineering and commercial licensing knowledge that client work requires, and then to build and deploy real web applications using AI coding tools, integrating databases, authentication, and hosting. Graduates finish with an eight-piece graphic design portfolio, a documented UX case study, and three live deployed applications, which together demonstrate design capability from concept through working product.
This is the recommended order, but some courses may be taken in a different order.
Unit 1 18 Hours
Retouch and color-correct photographs, combine images into seamless composites, and build graphics for web, video, and print using Photoshop's professional editing toolkit.
Unit 2 18 Hours
Draw and edit vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator, from logos and icons to patterns and typography, and export them correctly for any medium.
Unit 3 18 Hours
Design professional multi-page layouts in Adobe InDesign and prepare print-ready files, building a book, magazine spread, brochure, menu, and business card along the way.
Unit 4 30 Hours
Build a job-ready graphic design portfolio of eight professional projects, refined through critique and published as a portfolio website.
Unit 5 12 Hours
Design and prototype user interfaces in Figma using frames, auto layout, components, variants, and smart animations, then prepare your work for developer handoff.
Unit 6 6 Hours
Add realistic interactivity to Figma prototypes with variables, modes, and conditionals, and build design systems that scale to light and dark themes.
Unit 7 30 Hours
Learn UI design concepts and best practices, then build a portfolio of responsive website and mobile app designs in Figma.
Unit 8 12 Hours
Learn the end-to-end user experience design process, from research and personas through information architecture, wireframing, and usability testing.
Unit 9 114 Hours
Unit 10 30 Hours
Use Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, DALL-E, and Google Imagen to generate and refine professional design assets, with the prompt engineering and licensing knowledge commercial work requires.
Unit 11 60 Hours
Learn to build, test, and deploy full-stack web applications with AI coding tools, covering prompting, version control, databases, authentication, security, and hosting.
Unit 12 90 Hours
Work on projects proven to boost retention
Refined over many years for an optimal learning experience
This training will definitely help my career. I was able to show my supervisor and co-workers what the software programs have to offer and what I'm capable of when the time comes for creating that construction design team in the future. I was able to provide documentation to my employer that the money spent was well worth it. The training I received at VDCI will become an asset moving forward.
—Donahue Chase
Experienced educators who are driven to help you succeed
Get help when you need it
We want you to leverage the skills you’ll learn. In addition to 438 hours of hands-on, self-paced training, you’ll receive one live 1-on-1 training session where you can:
Upon completion of this course, you’ll receive an official certificate testifying to your mastery of the curriculum. We’ll send you a link where you can download your certificate, share it online with your friends, post it to your professional network on LinkedIn, and view all your earned certificates. Congratulations on your achievement!
Shareable on
.jpg)
This certificate program is a good fit for:
In addition to 438 hours of interactive training, you will receive twelve 1-on-1 mentoring sessions that can be used for career and job support, including polishing your resume, preparing for interviews, and reviewing best practices for applying to jobs. Note, however, that we don’t provide job placement (i.e. reaching out to companies on your behalf).
Yes, this course is open to beginners. Students must be comfortable using a computer. No other prior knowledge is required.
This course does not qualify for payment plans or student financing. See our Payment Options FAQ to find related programs that qualify.
This program is available for 360 days. You can choose when to start your access period. Once you activate, you will have 360 days to complete it (access the course materials, quizzes, projects and videos). You may request one extension of seven (7) days. Other extension requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Videos are not downloadable.
There are no extra fees or taxes for our courses. The price you see on this page is the maximum you’ll pay us.
This program has a single package price. Additional discounts do not apply.
