The eLearning Center for Gatlin Education Services

Looking to launch your career in the exciting field of Web design? This nationally recognized Website Design program focuses on the fundamental technical and aesthetic skills required for this challenging field.

As a student, you'll gain proficiency in the software programs that every Web designer needs to know: Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and Flash. You'll learn how to create digital images and animations, and build standards-compliant Web sites using either HTML/CSS hand-coding or Web editing programs.

Hands-on projects focus on essential skills and provide experience in professional Web design project scenarios. Class assignments include include digital retouching and compositing, XHTML page markup, CSS-based layout and typography, home page and navigation design, Flash graphics and animations, mouseover effects, competitive analysis, site maps, wireframes, mood boards, color palettes, blog layout, and portfolio site design.

Course Objectives

Students who complete the program can expect to learn to:

* Prepare bitmap images for print or the Web using basic Photoshop retouching and correction techniques, collage, and compositing.
* Create standards-compliant Web page layouts by hand-coding using HTML and CSS.
* Publish Web pages to a Web server using Dreamweaver FTP.
* Develop Web page and site layouts using Adobe Dreamweaver and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
* Gain a basic understanding of creative and career options in the Web design field (optional elective).
* Utilize the fundamentals of color, typography, and composition in developing page layouts.
* Design Web layouts, graphics, navigation buttons, and banner ads using Adobe Fireworks.
* Design basic Flash page graphics, animations, ads, and promotional sites.
* Develop a systematic approach to Web design projects using site maps, wireframes, usability, and competitive analysis.
* Develop a creative approach to Web design projects using mood boards and design comps. * Transform comp layouts into valid HTML/CSS Web pages using hand-coding.
* Design Web page layouts for a range of different types of business clients.

This program consists of eight required courses. An optional introductory theory course is available for beginner students. Course descriptions are as follows:

Photoshop Basics
Get a thorough grounding in Adobe Photoshop, the premiere digital imaging program for graphic and Web designers. Hands-on projects show how to select, enhance, distort, color, scale, and manipulate scanned images and artworks—or create them from scratch. Every designer must tame this creative powerhouse of a program.

XHTML and CSS Essentials
Learn to create Web sites using XHTML to mark up the structure of the document, and CSS to dictate how each page element should look. Course lessons are packed with hands-on examples that help you gain skills and confidence step-by-step. The course is designed to provide a foundation in Web standards, the set of “best practices” established by the World Wide Web Consortium, among other organizations that set the standards for Web development.

Dreamweaver I
Explore practical skills for Dreamweaver, the HTML editor of choice for professional Web designers. Dreamweaver integrates a host of Web design tools in one easy-to-use application. Students learn to design sites, creating advanced layouts by using tables, manipulating colors, style sheets, and frames.

Color Theory
Focus on developing appropriate color systems for graphic design projects. Projects explore the principles, terminology, and applications of color theory, with an emphasis on manipulating color. A working knowledge of the expression and perception of color, and color interaction, lends credibility and sophistication to a designer's work.

Fundamentals of Typography
Explore the critical role of typography in graphic design. Course projects build an understanding of the anatomy of the letterform, the distinguishing features of different typefaces, and creative applications of type. An assured grasp of typography is essential in any visual communication project.

Web Graphics Using Fireworks
Learn the essentials of making superior Web graphics using Adobe Fireworks. You'll explore the technical fundamentals you need to know, including the Fireworks toolset and features, and discuss tips and techniques for the wide range of graphics encountered in a typical Web design project: stock photos to illustrations, banners, text graphics, and more.

Flash Basics
Develop a competence in basic drawing and animating tools in Flash. Students will master such critical interface elements as layers, scenes, nested symbols, and movie clips. Course projects including creating a logo animation, a cityscape, a splash screen, and a basic Flash site interface.

Web Design I
Learn a systematic professional approach to Web design. You’ll use site maps, wireframes, HTML/CSS layouts, comps, color palettes, usability tests, and other tools and concepts to make sure your designs hit the mark. Students entering this class are expected to have a basic competence in HTML/CSS design, Photoshop or Fireworks, and Dreamweaver. Building upon those skills, students will complete four portfolio projects that challenge their Web design skills and build an understanding of how to manage Web design projects in a professional context.