As a Postsecondary Student who desires to enter the Multimedia Design field, there are some pieces of equipment that I strongly suggest you own for yourself.
If you are serious about becoming a Multimedia Artist or entering the field of Graphic Design, Video Editing, Digital Photography or all of them, you will really want to invest in yourself with a few key things. I have made a list of which things you should think about getting on the Equipment Suggestions page.
Required equipment on this page is just that… required. If you don’t have these items, you cannot possibly work in this field with any success. CTE Students are required to provide the items listed below, within the first week of class.
Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription
Great news! As a student of Digital Media & Multimedia Design here at McFatter, we can actually provide you with an Adobe Creative Cloud Student Account! All you have to do is request an account from your Instructor once you are enrolled! How cool is that? You can absolutely pay for your own account, if you wish (or already have one).
SD Card (NOT a Micro SD Card)
The student will be required to provide their own SD Card(s) to use with classroom computers and cameras. At a minimum, your SD card should be 16g of storage space, though I suggest having at least a few 32g. The brand of the card is up to you, but I have had great results buying SanDisk products.
A good Multimedia Artist is prepared for anything. Most PCs nowadays don’t have SD Card Readers built in… so how are you going to get your photos and videos off the card? I suggest you buy a card reader that is a single unit, rather than one that has wires or cords, they are more durable and will last you much longer.
You will need at least a 32gb USB Flash Drive, in order to quickly move small files from computer to computer, or to be able to turn in certain projects to the Instructor. The total storage of the flash drive is up to you, but I suggest you have at least 64gb. Luckily, modern storage is dirt cheap in this format!
The external hard drive is where you will store all of your own artwork, downloads, fonts, files and whatever else you need for the course. The size & brand of the drive is up to you, but I suggest at least 1T or 2T of storage, and have always had great experiences with Western Digital external drives.
The Non-Designers Design Book (4e)
This book is required in the second week of class, and therefore must be purchased BEFORE you start the course (or right away after you register). It is available in the McFatter Campus Bookstore, as well as online in digital formats such as eBooks and PDFs. I would suggest that you own a digital copy, but that is just me.
Digital Media & Multimedia Design 