32 lessons, grouped by unit. Search by topic, aim, or keyword:
Orientation & Tech Basics
Unit 0: CTE Onboarding & Career Readiness 3 lessons
- Lesson 1: What Is a Career? What Is CTE? Setting Up How We'll Learn Together — What is a career, what is a trade, what happens after high school, and how does CTE connect all of it to real skills and employability? 1 Day
- Lesson 2: Setting Up Your Career Pathways (CPP) Account — How do we register for NYC Career Pathways, and why does it matter? 1 Day
- Lesson 3: What Does a Digital Designer Actually Do? — What skills, tools, and daily tasks define a career in digital design? 1 Day
Unit 1: The Client & The Designer 4 lessons
- Lesson 4: Purpose, Audience & Demographics — How do designers identify the purpose and audience of an image before they ever start designing? 2 Days
- Lesson 5: Copyright, Licensing & Fair Use — How does copyright affect what images and content a designer is allowed to use? 2 Days
- Lesson 6: Managing a Design Project — What are the steps of managing a client design project from start to finish? 2 Days
- Lesson 7: Communicating Like a Professional — How should designers communicate with clients and co-workers? 1 Day
Unit 2: Understanding Digital Images 4 lessons
- Lesson 8: Image Terminology — What key vocabulary do designers use to describe digital images? 2 Days
- Lesson 9: Design Principles for Layout: Repetition, Contrast, Proximity, Alignment & Scale — How do repetition, contrast, proximity, alignment, and scale make a layout stronger? 3 Days
- Lesson 10: Typography & Color Basics — What makes type readable, and how does color create a first impression? 2 Days
- Lesson 11: Behind the Image: File Types, Resolution & Visual Hierarchy — Why do designers choose different file types and resolutions for print vs. web vs. video, and how do they guide the eye through a page? 2 Days
Unit 3: Elements & Principles of Design Studio 13 lessons
- Lesson 12: How to Talk About Design: Critique Language & the Growth Mindset — How do designers talk about work -- their own and each other's -- in a way that actually helps it get better? 2 Days
- Lesson 13: Elements & Principles of Design: Line — What is line, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 14: Elements & Principles of Design: Shape & Form — What is shape & form, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 15: Elements & Principles of Design: Color — What is color, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 16: Elements & Principles of Design: Value — What is value, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 17: Elements & Principles of Design: Texture — What is texture, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 18: Elements & Principles of Design: Space & Perspective — What is space & perspective, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 19: Elements & Principles of Design: Pattern — What is pattern, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 20: Elements & Principles of Design: Rhythm & Movement — What is rhythm & movement, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 21: Elements & Principles of Design: Proportion & Scale — What is proportion & scale, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 22: Elements & Principles of Design: Balance — What is balance, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 23: Elements & Principles of Design: Emphasis — What is emphasis, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
- Lesson 24: Elements & Principles of Design: Unity — What is unity, and how do designers use it on purpose? 2 Days
Unit 3.5: Extension & Enrichment (Optional) 6 lessons
- Lesson 25: Typography Deep-Dive: Hand-Lettering & Poster Design — How do we use hand-lettering and typography together to design a complete poster? 2 Days
- Lesson 26: Design & History: How Ancient Civilizations Used Symbols and Design — How did ancient civilizations use symbols, pattern, and design principles thousands of years ago? 2 Days
- Lesson 27: Redesign Challenge: Applying Peer Feedback — How does peer feedback make our design work stronger, and how is that exactly what happens in a real client relationship? 2 Days
- Lesson 28: Client Simulation: A Full Mini-Project — How do we apply everything we've learned -- audience, copyright, project management, and design -- to one small client project? 2 Days
- Lesson 29: Vocabulary & Concept Review Game Day — How much of this semester's vocabulary and concepts can we recall and use? 2 Days
- Lesson 30: Designing for Everyone: An Intro to Accessibility — How do we design so people with different vision, hearing, or reading needs can still understand our work? 2 Days
Unit 4: Bringing It Together 2 lessons
- Lesson 31: Career Research + Analog Mood Board — How can we visually represent a digital-design-related career using everything we've learned this semester? 3 Days
- Lesson 32: Semester Portfolio & Review — How does everything we've learned this semester fit together, and what are we most proud of? 2 Days