Graphic Design — Course Brief (Bagz Institute Technology)

Overview

A practical, portfolio-first program that teaches you to plan, design, and deliver professional brand, print, and digital assets. You’ll master visual language (typography, color, layout), brand identity systems, raster & vector workflows, print production, social/digital creatives, and a client-ready process from brief → concept → iterate → deliver.

Who It’s For

Beginners, self-taught designers formalizing skills, marketers/content creators, and freelancers building a design service.

Entry Requirements

• No prior design experience required

• Basic computer literacy and willingness to follow a design process

• Recommended: Laptop (≥8 GB RAM; 16 GB ideal), stable internet, mouse/pen tablet

Learning Outcomes — You will be able to:

• Apply typography, color theory, composition, and grids to solve real problems

• Design logos and build brand identity systems (palette, type scale, components)

• Work fluently in vector (Illustrator/Inkscape) and raster (Photoshop/GIMP) tools

• Prepare production-ready files for print (CMYK, bleeds, dielines, packaging) and digital (responsive sizes, accessibility, exports)

• Run a professional workflow: moodboards, concept routes, feedback cycles, asset delivery, and handover guides

• Build a portfolio and price projects confidently

Tools & Lab Requirements

Software (choose equivalents as needed):

• Vector: Adobe Illustrator / Inkscape

• Raster: Adobe Photoshop / GIMP

• Layout: Adobe InDesign / Affinity Publisher / Figma for presentation

• Prototyping & collaboration: Figma, Google Drive, Notion

• Utilities: Font management, color contrast checker, TinyPNG/ImageOptim
  Hardware: Color-consistent display (calibration optional), external storage; pen tablet optional but helpful.

Course Outline (12 Weeks · ~90–108 hours)

Week 1 — Design Foundations & Process
Visual principles, critique, briefs, moodboards, concepting.
Lab: Deconstruct a brand; create a moodboard + creative direction.

Week 2 — Typography
Type anatomy, pairing, hierarchy, spacing, variable fonts.
Lab: Type scale + editorial page; accessible contrast and line length.

Week 3 — Color Systems
Color models (RGB/CMYK/Spot), palettes, psychology, accessibility.
Lab: Build a brand palette + tokens; test contrast.

Week 4 — Layout, Grids & Composition
Grids, rhythm, whitespace, visual hierarchy.
Lab: Poster + social set using a modular grid.

Week 5 — Logo Design & Identity
Discovery → sketching → vectorization → refinement → guidelines.
Lab: Logo concepts and an identity starter (palette, type, iconography).

Week 6 — Vector Mastery
Pen tool, shapes, pathfinder, expansions, icon systems.
Lab: Icon set + brand marks; export SVG/print assets.

Week 7 — Raster & Image Craft
Non-destructive editing, retouching, masking, compositing.
Lab: Campaign hero image & mockups.

Week 8 — Print Production
CMYK vs RGB, bleeds/margins, DPI, preflight, packaging/dielines.
Lab: Business card + tri-fold or box dieline, printer-ready PDF/X.

Week 9 — Digital & Social Design
Responsive sizes, file formats, compression, accessibility (alt text, motion).
Lab: Social campaign kit (cover, post, story, ad variants).

Week 10 — Motion & Micro-Animation (Intro)
Keyframes, easing, safe motion, GIF/MP4/WebP, Lottie basics.
Lab: 3–5s animated logo sting or looping social teaser.

Week 11 — Portfolio, Pricing & Clients
Case-study writing, proposals, scope, licensing, revisions, handover.
Lab: Structure two case studies; pricing worksheet.

Week 12 — Capstone & Critique
Capstone: Brand identity + mini-campaign (print + digital + motion).
Final critique, polish, and delivery pack (brand guide + assets).

Optional Pro Track (2 extra weeks)

Design systems & tokens, advanced packaging/finishes (foil/spot UV), advanced photo composites, UI basics for handoff (Figma components).

Assessment & Certification

• Weekly Labs (40%) — applied artefacts

• Midterm Identity (20%) — logo + identity starter

• Capstone (30%) — brand + campaign with handover guide

• Professional Practice (10%) — process, files, presentation
  Certificate of Completion awarded upon passing and attendance.

Delivery & Schedule

In-person labs with instructor demos (hybrid theory available).
2–3 sessions/week, 3–4 hrs/session. Cohort size: 10–16.

Portfolio Deliverables

Logo + identity starter, poster, social kit, print piece (card/brochure/packaging), hero composite, animated sting, capstone brand & campaign.

Support & Pathways

Templates (briefs, proposals, brand guides), curated asset libraries, printer/vendor list, and mentoring for freelance gigs or junior design roles.