[CTE] OCP-B

DIG0082 (300 Hours)

Multimedia Digital Designer

OCP-B Pacing Chart  •  Certiport  •  Gmetrix

Welcome back, and get ready to jump right into your new “career”.  This section covers a LOT of new software, and in a short amount of time. From here on out, you will be participating in hands on projects, with an emphasis on real-world projects. We will begin to treat this class like an internship, where you will be playing the part of a newbie designer, trying to make a name for yourself.

During the next ten weeks, you will attempt to get a contract for one of a number of new companies who need a designer. You will choose the company you want to work for, and pitch them your complete branding idea by the end of the section. You will be responsible for making all manner of digital and printed media for them, and submit a final presentation that covers all of your work.

Before you get started we have some new accounts to set up…

  1. Gmetrix.net – This is where you will take practice tests online which mimic how a real Adobe Certification Test works, as well as access exclusive ACA Test Prep Courses to help you pass your upcoming Adobe Exams! You will create an account using your gmail address, and use an Access Code provided to you by the Instructor. Save your registration email, in case you loose your username or password in the future.
  2. Certiport.com – This is the testing platform where you will take your ACTUAL Adobe Certification Tests. Use your same Gmail address to register there, and save the registration email. Ask your Instructor for help if there are sections of the registration process that you do not understand.

Week 1: Let’s Set the Mood!

Welcome to the real world, and prepare yourself for long hours! You will be choosing one of the available Project Design Briefs, and start on the path of a final presentation that will include all of the various branding and design aspects that you have worked on, in an attempt to successfully get the contract for your chosen company.  We will get started on this beast of a project with Design B1: Project Mood Board. This project will allow you to really dig into what the client wants for their designs, including color palettes, logo concepts, digital & print designs, you name it.  

Additionally you will be getting to know Photoshop CC much better by jumping into ACATestPrep online Courses via Gmetrix.net, and completing lessons which will not just help you learn the software, but actually prepare you for your upcoming Adobe Photoshop CC Certification Exam. Get the Login information for GMetrix and ACATestPrep directly from the Instructor.

“This is a very busy week, so don’t drag your feet or waste any time!” – GD

  • Week 1 Checklist
    • Select your Project Design Brief.
      • READ THEM ALL! Some of them are going to be more or less challenging in the long run, based on your interests.
    • Watch the Developing a Mood Board by Nigel French. This is a VERY brief video, but it’s important to grasp what you can from it before you start your project this week!
      • A LOT of questions from this weeks Quiz pull from this video, so be sure to study up!
    • Create accounts at Gmetrix.net and Certiport.com. Use your professional Gmail to sign up there, and save the confirmation emails with your Certiport Login information. This is incredibly important, so do NOT LOSE IT!
    • Complete Projects 1, 2 and 3 of the ACATestPrep Photoshop CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • These lessons are incredibly detailed to make sure you pass the Adobe Photoshop Certification Test, which is just a few weeks away.
    • Finish and embed the Design B1: Project Mood Board on your Portfolio.
    • Write a detailed Article about the use of Mood Boards in Design projects. Be sure to link to some of the most popular tools being used by designers.
    • You will present your Design B1: Project Mood Board project to the entire class at the end of the week, so be sure it is really well designed, and ready to be tested in front of an audience!
    • Take Quiz B1 – Mood Boards & Photoshop at the end of the week.
      • All of the questions on the Quiz are from your LinkedIn Learning assignments for the week.
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming Photoshop Certification Test.
      • Screenshot your scores, so that you can look back and gauge your improvement.

Week 2: Start Building the Brand

We need to hit the ground running with this Design Brief! Now that you have completed a Mood Board for the project you will need to update any changes you got back from the team, and make any edits requested by the client. Once that is done, it’s time to start moving forward with your branding endeavor.  At the end of the week, you will turn in your Design B2: Brand Identity Graphics project, which will give you a huge leg up as you move forward with your work in the next few weeks. By the end of this week you will have done all of your color, typography and imagery research for your Design Brief, and will also be much farther along in preparing for your Adobe Photoshop CC Certification Test, which is just around the corner now!

  • Week 2 Checklist
    • Before you start working on your Brand Identity System, be sure to watch the Branding for Designers video!
    • Watch  the Branding for Designers and Creating Brand Identity Assets videos.
      • These videos will be the basis for your Quiz, so pay attention!
    • Finalize Design B2: Brand Identity Graphics and upload them to your Portfolio.
      • Make sure your graphics are detailed, and have explanations for “non-designers”. Make your graphics “dummy proof”. These will be presented again to the entire class, so make sure it’s up to professional standards!
    • Write a detailed Article about the difference between Destructive & Non-Destructive editing in Photoshop.  Also, explain the difference of RASTER and VECTOR art, and why we use each.
      • Don’t forget to cover the use of Rasterized artwork and Vector artwork.  When would we use them, and why?
    • Complete Projects 4, 5 and 6 of the ACATestPrep Photoshop CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • Remember, your Photoshop Certification Test is NEXT WEEK!
      • If you need to spend even more time practicing your Photoshop skills to pass this test, do it!
    • Take Quiz B2 – Developing Branding Assets at the end of the week.
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming Photoshop Certification Test.
      • Are your practice test scores improving? If not, it may be time to re-do some of the ACATestPrep lessons!
    • IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you have an account set up and verified at Certiport before you take ACA Test.
      • Make your account if you have not already.
      • SAVE YOUR LOGIN INFORMATION!
        • No one can help you retrieve this information, and you must be able to log in to take the test.

Week 3: Wordmarks & Monograms

Remember last weeks videos that explained the various elements that make up a good logo design? Well, I sure hope you do… because at the end of this week you will be submitting to the client a set of Wordmarks & Monograms for the Design B3: Wordmarks & Monograms project. This is a seriously good test of skills using typography only to produce some well thought out moves in the direction of a finalized logo. Next week will will start work on the Icons and Final Logo Designs in Illustrator, but don’t get ahead of yourself.  Additionally, it’s time for you to take your first Adobe Certification Test, for which you have been studying hard (…right?).  Remember, the test scores will be added to the Grade book which could have a massive impact on that grade category!

  • Week 3 Checklist
    • There are no new LinkedIn Learning Videos for you to watch this week, since you should be spending every available minute either working on your project, or studying for your upcoming ACA test.
      • Right now, double check that you still have your Certiport account information. If you don’t have it, you cannot take your ACA tests. You must have access to your Username and Password at the testing lab, so be sure you write it down or have it accessible on your mobile BEFORE you go to the lab.
    • Complete Projects 7, 8 and 9 of the ACATestPrep Photoshop CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • You should get these done EARLY in the week, so that you are prepared to take the actual test later in the week.
    • Write a detailed Article about 10 various positions a Multimedia Designer could fill, and what kinds of salaries are to be expected.  Lastly, do a local search for a few of these jobs and find out what it takes to get them!
      • Be sure to include some actual job post searches local to you, so that you have some idea what types of skills you should be working on BEFORE you enter the job field!
    • Take your Adobe Certification Test for Photoshop CC on campus. This score is added to your Gradebook, so make it count!
    • Take another Gmetrix Practice Quiz BEFORE the end of the week!
      • Have your scores improved enough that you feel confident to take the test this week?
    • Finalize and put Design B3: Wordmarks & Monograms in your online portfolio, and get ready to present them to the class at the end of the week!
    • Take Quiz B3: Photoshop Shortcuts at the end of the week.
      • This week, we are going to test your knowledge of Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts, so be sure you know how to use BOTH HANDS when in Photoshop!

Week 4: Brand Icon & Final Logo Designs

Let’s get into Illustrator! This software is PERFECT for making logo icons, characters, and just about all other forms of vector art. We will also be going for another Adobe Certification Test in the next few weeks, so buckle up and get ready!  Primarily, we will focus on making sure that our skills using the Pen Tool, Shapes, Shape Builder and other relatively simple tools are sharp and industry ready.  We will get lots of practice by doing project Design B4: Brand Icon & Final Logo, which will test you once again on being able to give the client what they want, while delivering what they need as well, but with all new tools.  You will submit three variations on the Logo’s Icon and Final designs for the client to choose from, which will build upon the Wordmark and Monogram designs from last week, and grow the brand. By the end of the week, your brain will be all about that pen tool!

  • Week 4 Checklist
    • Want to practice your Pen Tool Skills in your spare time? The Bezier Game is a GREAT way to get more practice using one of the most important tools in your toolkit. Enjoy!
    • Complete Projects 1, 2 and 3 of the ACATestPrep Illustrator CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • These lessons are CRUCIAL to your ability to pass your upcoming Adobe Certification Tests! Take these lessons seriously!
    • Write a detailed Article about Web Safe Colors.  Then research, define and explain the usage of Spot Colors.  Lastly, explain the various color codes using Hex, CMYK and RGB Values.
    • Finalize and add Design B4: Brand Icon & Final Logo to your portfolio.
    • Take Quiz B4 – Intro to Illustrator at the end of the week.
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming Illustrator Certification Test.
      • Screenshot your scores, so that you can look back and see if you are improving in the next few weeks.

Week 5: Simple Animated Logo Design

Now that you know a bit more about Illustrator, and making solid Logo variations, it’s time to get a little more serious about it, as well as have some fun. Now that we have all four pieces of the company Logo done (Wordmark, Icon, Monogram and Final Logo) we are going to make a super simple GIF Animation for one of the elements, testing us to take designs from Illustrator back into Photoshop with the next project, Design B5: Animated Logo Elements.  This project can be really fun, but will also introduce a whole new concept to our design… animation and motion graphics.

The goal of the animation is to make SIMPLE and SUBTLE animations (for example, did you notice that the logo at the top of this site is actually an animation logo?).  Working from Illustrator to Photoshop is a workflow we all need to get very comfortable with, and after this week you should have a much more in depth understanding of using both.

While we are working on that, we will also keep stepping through some ACATestPrep Lessons (to stay on top of our upcoming Illustrator Certification Test), and watch a few helpful LinkedIn Learning videos to help us with our animation process and general skills with drawing vectors!

Let’s Play!  How strong do you feel with the Pen Tool?  Good enough to challenge the class to a round of The Bezier Game?  Let’s play and go for the highest score in the class!

  • Week 5 Checklist
    • Watch the Motion Graphics Loops: Photoshop, as well as the Drawing Vector Graphics video.
      • These videos are pretty short, but they are assigned for you to DO them, not just watch them.  How are you going to get good with animations and vector art if you don’t MAKE them?
    • Complete Projects 4, 5 and 6 of the ACATestPrep Illustrator CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • Keep on top of these lessons, and your ACA for Illustrator will be a lock!
    • Write a detailed, step-by-step tutorial on how to change a file from RGB to CMYK for printing in Photoshop.  Include edited screenshots of your own.
      • Remember to include screenshots that you have taken and edited!
    • Finish and upload your Design B5: Animated Logo Elements to your portfolio, and get it ready to present!
    • Take Quiz B5 – More Illustrator at the end of the week.
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming Illustrator Certification Test.
      • This time, your score should have improved! If it didn’t you should strongly consider spending your online time getting more practice!

Week 6: Time to Expand the Brand!

This week is going to be really fun! We are going to expand our Branding Design to include all sorts of new things, complete with realistic looking Mockups, which will really test our understanding of logo & branding variations from Illustrator to Photoshop Smart Objects by completing Design B6: Branding Mockups. You will spend this week making things like t-shirt designs, stickers, coffee cups, office wall signs, billboards, posters, packaged designs, or even vehicle wraps! This will be a true test of how well you have thought out the branding designs for your client, and hopefully help you push the design even further to new types of media you hadn’t considered. This week, the client will start to get the idea of how you are going to take their branding to all the new media you can dream up.

Additionally, from this point on… basically everything you design or put in your portfolio should be mocked up. Once you learn how to do it, there is literally no reason not to mock your work up to showcase all of your talents.  You may even want to look back at your already submitted work and update it!

  • Week 6 Checklist
    • There are no Lynda Videos assigned this week so spend all of your online time on the Design Project, Article and ACATestPrep!
    • You can find all sorts of free Photoshop Mockups from sites like MockupWorld, GraphicBurger and FreeMockupWorld, and I suggest you find which ones are free, and start learning how to use them!
      • Mockups are one of the most powerful things you can do to make your own portfolio look far more professional and polished!
    • Complete Projects 7 and 8 of the ACATestPrep Illustrator CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • Get them done in class early in the week, because your test is this week!
    • Write a detailed, step-by-step tutorial on how to create an Animated Logo Element (using your own for example).  Include edited screenshots of your own work as an example.
      • This Tutorial should be well written, with screenshots and step-by-step directions!
    • Finish and upload your Design B6: Branding Mockups to your portfolio.
      • This may be tricky, since you will be able to categorize them very differently, rather than one big portfolio.  It’s up to you how you publish your work, but give it some thought.
    • Take your Adobe Certification Test for Illustrator CC on campus.
      • Don’t forget to double check that you have all your Certiport information handy BEFORE you go to the lab.
    • Take Quiz B6 – Even More Illustrator at the end of the week.

Week 7: Business Cards

At this point, your client is should be really excited about your work, and now they want you to turn your attention to one of the most common forms of printed marketing… the Business Card. We will jump headlong into a new design software this week, Adobe InDesign, which is a very common software for all things print media.

Design B7: Business Card Designs is a serious test of your knowledge of the brand you have built, and your ability to comprehend and adhere to strict print marketing ideals such as full bleed designs, crops, safe zones, and of course the 300dpi resolution with CMYK color modes.  It is critically important that you have a very solid understanding of these basic design requirements when working with any printed design, so don’t hesitate to dive even deeper into the pool and learn as much as you can.

  • Week 7 Checklist
    • Write a detailed research article that defines the difference between TrueType, Postscript & Open Type fonts, and clarify the rules and regulations behind the Proprietary Copyrights of Fonts.
      • Don’t forget to include a section about Proprietary Copyrights of Fonts! It’s crucial that you understand how you can legally use different typefaces and fonts!
    • Complete Projects 1 and 2 of the ACATestPrep InDesign CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
    • Finish and upload your Design B7: Business Card Designs to your portfolio.
      • Spend extra time this week making really good mockups!
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming InDesign Certification Test.
      • Remember to save your scores so that you can check back on your progress. These are getting a little easier now, right?
    • Take Quiz B7 – InDesign & Business Cards at the end of the week.

Week 8: Branded Stationery Design

Now that we have our Business Cards done, it will be a breeze to design the rest of the Stationery for your Design Brief. This will include Letterhead, Envelopes, Pens, Writing Pads, etc. You will take the overall branding design and apply it to these new forms of printed media to take your branding full circle. Obviously, you will mock them up for the client to see, but we will have the full resolution print designs ready to be downloaded as well as part of the Design B8: Branded Stationery Design project. By the end of the week you will be much more knowledgeable about print media rules, and will have expanded the brand development for your Design Brief even further along.

  • Week 8 Checklist
    • There are very few training videos this week for a reason: You need to be focused on your projects, and the upcoming ACA test for InDesign. Use your time wisely!
    • Complete Projects 3 and 4 of the ACATestPrep InDesign CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • InDesign is a widely known program in the design industry, so having your Adobe Certification in this program is a big win on your resume.  Be sure to give it attention!
    • Write a detailed article about InDesign that includes Typography tools, Pre-Flighting, etc.  Then, examine the use of ePubs & eBooks in the industry, and explain how InDesign makes it work.
      • Make sure to write about ePubs and eBooks as well, as they are a huge hit in the industry right now, and you should know all about them!
    • Finish and upload your Design B8: Branded Stationery Design to your portfolio.
      • Again, make sure your Mockups look really good! This is a huge part of making a client fall in love with your design work.
    • Take a Gmetrix Practice Quiz for your upcoming InDesign Certification Test.
      • Your score should already show massive improvement from last week, just by using it a little more.
    • Take Quiz B8 – Advanced InDesign at the end of the week.

Weeks 9 & 10: The Brand Guide

Not to sound overly dramatic, but the last few months of your work has all led up to this… Final B1: The Branding Style Guide.  Now, with all of your newly discovered super powers (or design skills, if you want to be basic about it), you will submit a final Branding/Style Guide to your client that covers everything from start to finish. Do NOT underestimate the amount of work you still have to do at this point… because now it’s time to put all your different files, thoughts, designs and creatives into a single book, and then make different versions of that book.  This is the book of all the rules for your design styles, and is the final project for this section therefore there will not be any new assignments this week or next.  FOCUS.  GET IT DONE!

  • Weeks 9 & 10 Checklist
    • Complete the Final B1: The Branding Style Guide Project.
    • Watch the Developing a Style Guide LinkedIn Learning Video. Nigel French goes into depth about all the stuff you will need to know! Pay attention!
    • Complete Project 5 of the ACATestPrep InDesign CC2015 Course via GMetrix.
      • Your InDesign ACA test is THIS WEEK! Don’t waste any time knocking out all of the projects so that you can lock up yet another Adobe Certification!
    • Write a detailed article about your Branding/Style Guide Design Process. What worked for you? What didn’t?  Why do we use them, and most importantly, what art are you adding to yours? This will be due at the end of Week 9.
    • Finally, you are done with the second section of the course.  Write a “look back” on the ACA Testing Process, share your results, and make a suggestion on what you think the best way to prepare for testing is. This article will be due at the end of Week 10.
    • Take your Adobe Certification Test for InDesign CC on campus.
      • Don’t forget to double check that you have all your Certiport information handy BEFORE you go to the lab.
    • Take Quiz B9 – Interactive InDesign at the end of Week 9.