Digital Design Preparation Course

Take our digital design preparation course to build a strong base in the fundamentals of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. The course is designed to build your skills and knowledge of the programs project by project, teaching you the program interfaces, tools and fundamental skills through interesting and inspiring project assignments. In the end you have the skills and projects to create a great digital design portfolio for your needs.

Want to know more? Contact us to schedule a zoom call with our teacher to discuss your personal situation!

We have 10+ years of experience with proven results

Study at your own pace

Study at your own pace with support of our university educated teachers

Get feedback

Get live feedback on your portfolio

Reach your goals

Increase your chance to enroll to academy

Curriculum

The course lessons are chosen to support your learning with pedagogically paced tutorials and interesting projects!

1. Photoshop basics 1 -Photo editing

Beginner-level course which introduces the interface and most useful tools through a series of tutorial pårojects. Following the videos and using provided materials you’ll learn to use the program and can start creating your own stunning photo edits.

2. Photoshop basics 2 -Digital painting

Photoshop offers great tools for creating digital paintings. If you combine those skills with photo editing skills you will have all the tools you need to create your own unique digital artworks. Series of teacher-led tutorial projects makes it easy to understand and utilize the program to your own personal preferences.

3. Illustrator Basics -Logo design

Most elemental illustrator tools are built into a series of tutorials which introduce the program interface and teach you the effective way to start your own personal illustrator journey.

4. InDesign Basics -Layout

Most elemental InDesign tools built into a project presentation project. Learn the interface and most effective methods for the program through a series of teacherled tutorial videos.

Digital Design Preparation Course

This is an independent course where you study at your own pace with personal tutoring meetings and support of our teacher.

190 €

Digital Design Preparation Course

190 €

Experiences

“

Attending the course was the best decision I ever made. I got more self-confident and learned a lot about myself. If you want a solid base for both the entrance exams and your future studies, I recommend that you sign up. I got into every school I applied to.

Google Reviews

5.0

★★★★★ 5/5

Goals

Is this course for me?

Are you interested in digital art, but using the basic tools is new for you? This course is a curated step by step introduction to the basic Adobe Creative Cloud programs (Photoshop /Illustrator/InDesign) The course will guide you to navigate the program interfaces and to use the most important tools in order to create interesting digital art on your own. After the course you know enough to learn more by yourself. The internet is full of different tutorials, but with this course you will get curated information with specially designed tutorial videos and tasks that lead you into the programs with an easy, steady pace. The course is an excellent additional package to support other Scandinavian Design School courses if you want to use digital tools for your projects.

Course content

This course focuses on Adobe programs, as in our opinion those are the leading digital tools for professional artists. You can purchase a monthly license for the program package for this course from Adobe website or do the course during their 7 day free trial period. The course is divided into four lessons, two for Photoshop and one for Illustrator and InDesign. The lessons consist of video tutorials you can follow and copy directly or you can use the tutorial instructions for your own images. We provide you with all the necessary materials for the tasks so you don’t have to trouble yourself to find suitable images to edit or manipulate unless you want to. After the tutorials you are given a homework project to work on. In the projects you get to to apply the newly acquired skills from the tutorials and use your own creative ideation at your will. You will get feedback and comments for all the returned assignments.

Why us?

We are located in Finland and have guided our students to both Finnish and European creative degree programs for over a decade. Our teachers have a good understanding of the qualities and requirements the art and design programs are looking for in the students. In the course you will attain digal skills to help you gain a study place in any undergraduate degree in the field of Design.

Join this high demand course to make sure you are within the top candidates!

Course Teacher

Eeva Jokinen

I’m a passionate craft-oriented designer and teacher. My first degree was in Ceramics and I currently run my own company where I make small scale ceramic production and unique artworks.

For my whole artistic career I have also been teaching both in private and University positions. This woke up my interest in pedagogy and learning theories and I graduated from my second MA degree of Art Education in 2020.

My interest in the design field is wide. I teach both research methods and ceramic practices in Aalto University as a part time teacher and art techniques and content creation methods in Scandinavian Design School. I’m interested in how we learn and how to teach creative skills which are very individual and based on practice and materials.

My teaching philosophy is based on social-constructional methods, where the teacher is guiding the students towards their goals as a companion and provider, facilitating the learning which happens in each individual learner in their own unique way. I believe reflection and critical thinking of one’s work is the key to personal development and success.

About Eeva

Master of Arts (MA) in Ceramics and Glass Design

Master of Arts (MA) in Art EducationTeacher of art and design for 20 years
Preparatory course teacher for 7 years
Owner of Eeva Jokinen Ceramics design company
A passionate and well liked Scandinavian Design School teacher, who is dedicated in training you to reach the study place of your dreams!

For the Parents

The role of the parent is many time surprisingly significant when preparing for admission exam for university. Here are some tips for you, if you are a parent or the one supporting the applicant.

The role of the parents in the application process

As parents we want our children to succeed. However, the creative journey is very personal and stepping in too much may feel overstepping. How to be supportive in the right way?

Your endorsement as a parent is essential for the applicant, as your approval of their career choice gives them a psychological leave to fully explore their creativity and put all their energy to the application process.

A parental perspective is important especially in practical matters: You can help search for the best programs and discuss their benefits and possible future careers. Finding the right course to help them in the application process is a great way to show your support.

Supporting creative work

To support the creative work, focus your attention on the process, not only the end result. Curiosity and creativity are meant to lead to uncertain results that cannot be determined beforehand. Supporting the process communicates understanding of the creative journey and motivates your young to explore more.

The work of the designer always happens before the final product/work is finished. That includes trials and errors, but also insights and feelings of flow. Encouraging them to be resilient and commit to the process of improving their work, even if it feels hard, will prepare them for actual work in the creative field.

Sometimes there is no time to wait for inspiration, but just to do the work that is given to you. In our courses we will take part in that encouragement process, adding our professional insights and educational skills into the projects and feedback we give to our students.

Competition is the main concern

There are several aspects the parents usually are concerned about:
the competitive nature of the application process is worrisome.

It is very hard to get in, especially to the top ranking schools. How will your child take the possible rejection? How motivated are they to try again if they are rejected?
Discuss the possibility with your child. It is always a good idea to apply to several different schools, perhaps with slightly different rankings, especially if a gap year is not an option. You should always reach high, but also keep your head cool and add some easier options as well.

The method of selection varies between countries but also between schools. You either apply with a portfolio or through an entrance exam process. In some schools you need both a portfolio that includes some pre-assignment projects. If you don’t get accepted, in most countries there are foundation years/different level degrees or other lower education schools/courses to improve your skills and apply again next year. In Finland it typically takes 2-3 tries to learn how to apply and get the necessary skills. During each gap year these students have developed their skills in other courses, such as ours. Of course in every year many students also get in on their first try. Usually those students have a strong background on creative hobbies.

The motivation to reapply proves your career choice is legitimate. Skills can always be improved, will and determination must rise from within. The schools are looking for creative potential, curiosity and courage. Our courses focus on bringing those qualities out of our students and show them in their projects and portfolios.

Will they find employment in the uncertain creative field?

The applicants are rarely aware of all the possible career paths the creative fields may offer. An artist or a designer is the most obvious one and directly related to their current abilities and desires.There is a vast array of other possibilities that may open for them with a creative degree.

In recent studies it has been proven that creative industries have been growing twice as fast between 2013 and 2019 than the rate of the European economy as a whole.
Similar statistics are reported around the world. Creative economy has more and more jobs and the modern digitalized society is more in need of creative professionals than ever before.

Also, due the very nature of creativity, tolerating uncertainty in the creative process makes creative professionals especially equipped to navigate the challenges in our modern societies. Many universities also support interdisciplinary degrees, where the benefits of two or more disciplines steer you into a unique individual career path.

Why Scandinavian Design School?

Our teaching method is focused on three things:

Professionally curated curriculum that focuses on the skills needed in the application process
Project assignments that force you to stretch your creative thinking and creativity to a new level.
Feedback given by the professional teachers. Our teachers have a long experience in evaluating the projects and portfolios from the application process perspective. The key is in communication, our comments are always kind, but direct in their assessment.

The actual learning happens in the relation of these three. So the course does require commitment and resilience in working on the assignments. Just watching the videos won’t provide any feedback. In working with the assignments the learning changes from information to knowledge, and when repeated, into a skill.

In most art courses in this price range you don’t get as much personal communication with the teacher. In the evaluation we try to see the motives and and reasons in each project and focus our reviews to both the great parts, but also the challenges. The feedback always has some insights on how the work could be made more interesting and the ideas communicated more clearly.

190 €

Begin your creative journey!

Digital Design Preparation Course

We have 10+ years of experience with proven results

Study at your own pace

Get feedback

Reach your goals

Curriculum

The course lessons are chosen to support your learning with pedagogically paced tutorials and interesting projects!

1. Photoshop basics 1 -Photo editing

2. Photoshop basics 2 -Digital painting

3. Illustrator Basics -Logo design

4. InDesign Basics -Layout

Digital Design Preparation Course

This is an independent course where you study at your own pace with personal tutoring meetings and support of our teacher.

190 €

Digital Design Preparation Course

190 €

Experiences

Google Reviews

Courses

Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact Us

Digital Design Preparation Course

Courses

Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact Us