Truman College Continuing Education Career Programs

Web Design and Print Design

About the Program

Earning a web design certificate can be the first step to a career as a web designer or developer! Students will gain hands-on experience in our cross-platform, multimedia laboratory and learn to effectively design, maintain and manage web sites with speed, simplicity and continuity. Professional web design instructors will take you from the fundamentals of web design and image creation through animation techniques and portfolio design using today's hottest software.

Drawing on your creative skills and general computer knowledge, this program will introduce you to image creation, site architecture, page layout, animation and coding--in short, all the prerequisites to a career in web design. These web design capabilities can also be used to promote your own business or enhance your current job.

Topics include images, backgrounds, JPG and GIF compression, animation, tables, layers, buttons, interactive forms, JavaScript behaviors, image slicing, rollovers, jump menus, cascading style sheets, masking, sound, actionscripting, vector graphics, optimization, HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, tableless design, and much more.

Class Availability note

This program has limited seating, so classes may fill quickly.

Class Schedule and Fees

Introduction to Web Design is a one-time, three-hour course ($29). Each regular class meets for three hours a week for seven weeks at a cost of $349 plus a $20 lab fee ($369 total).

The Web Design program is covered by the WIA program, which provides training funds for unemployed or underemployed people. To find out if you are eligible, call the Department of Community Development at 312-744-3653.

Check the online schedule for dates, times, and fees.

About the Web Design Certificate

This certificate program is designed as an integrated series of classes. To qualify for the certificate you must complete the following five courses. Of course, you may take any class separately if you are not seeking a certificate.

Photoshop
Illustrator
HTML/XHTML
Dreamweaver
Flash

Note--You must take all required Truman certificate courses in order to receive the certificate. In some cases, courses taken at other City Colleges of Chicago may be substituted. Online courses and accelerated courses will not be accepted toward the certificate.

Instructors

Josh Samos

Alexis Steinkamp

Additional information

Adobe (software and design information)

journeyEd (software, hardware, books)

Simply Hired (job search)

Craigslist (job search)

Dice technology careers (job search)

Web design certification information

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Career Resources

Career Cruising offers online career guidance and planning tools designed for people of all ages. You can find the right career, explore education and training options. Click here for more information. To use the site, use Truman as the user name, and ccc as the password.

Courses

Intro Class

Introduction to Web Design
If you want to learn about Web design but don't know where to begin, this one-evening course can provide you the basics to get started. The lecture will include a discussion of the potential and limitations of the Web and the vocabulary used from HTML to CSS. The instructor will demonstrate some of the most popular programs used to write HTML code and JavaScript, as well as programs used to create images, photographs, graphics, and animation for Web pages. This class is recommended but not required for students registering for classes in the Web Design certificate program. There is no textbook for this class.

Certificate Classes

HTML/XHTML
Learn HTML/XHTML, the fundamental language used in website creation, in this 7-week class. While many applications generate HTML/XHTML code (including Dreamweaver), knowing how to manipulate the underlying code is vital for any web developer. After learning basic HTML/XHTML coding, you will be introduced to advanced topics including tables, cascading style sheets, JavaScript, and PHP. You will also learn file management in a cross-platform environment. Course includes a $20 lab fee.

Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop CS4 is the industry standard photographic manipulation program used by photographers, visual artists and graphic design professionals. It provides powerful tools for photo retouching, image resizing, collage, drawing, painting, text manipulation, page layout, and optimization for the web. This 7-week class focuses on creating bitmap graphics to be used in print, for web pages or imported into Flash to create complex web animation. Course fee includes a $20 lab fee. View student samples at http://faculty.ccc.edu/asteinkamp.

Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator CS4 is the powerful graphics program used by visual artists and graphic design professionals. It provides unique illustration tools for drawing, painting, text manipulation, page layout, tile design, and optimization for the Web. This 7-week class focuses on creating compact, vector graphics to be used in Web pages or exported to Flash to create complex Web animation. Course fee includes a $20 lab fee. View student samples at http://faculty.ccc.edu/asteinkamp.

Dreamweaver
Use Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 to quickly create web pages and web sites without hand-coding. You will learn to use Dreamweaver’s excellent tools for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), templates, libraries, JavaScript behaviors, image manipulation, Flash insertion, and forms development. With emphasis on Dreamweaver’s tableless design and CSS tools, you will make your own six- to ten-page web site. HTML/XHTML and CSS skills are required for this course. Students who have not taken HTML/XHTML at Truman must contact the instructor for permission (jsamos@ccc.edu). Course fee includes a $20 lab fee.

Flash
Learn Adobe Flash, which is an outstanding software tool for creating multimedia animation with vector graphics. This compact animation format has transformed the Web into a colorful, moving environment. Flash incorporates a drawing tool, an animation environment, and an authoring program. In this 7-week course you will explore the fundamentals of Flash and produce your own interactive compositions for the Web. Proficiency with Windows or Mac OS is required. Course fee includes a $20 lab fee. View student samples at http://faculty.ccc.edu/asteinkamp.

Other Classes

InDesign
Learn to use Adobe InDesign CS4, the powerful page-layout application that is the industry standard for print design, in this 7-week class. InDesign is ideal for creating multipage documents including magazines, brochures, fliers, pamphlets, newsletters, catalogs and interactive pdf documents. It also integrates with other Adobe products such as Photoshop and Illustrator to enable seamless workflow in print design. InDesign combines the power of a word processor with a drawing tool to allow you to design, create, and manage your projects from idea to print. Knowledge of Photoshop is recommended.

Introduction to Graphic Design
This is the perfect place to try your hand at graphic design, create your first portfolio piece, or build marketing material for your business. You'll use three of the most powerful print and web design tools available--Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver--to create a "marketing bundle" including a business card, brochure, and one-page web site. View a sample at http://faculty.ccc.edu/asteinkamp. This is a beginning course--no previous knowledge of Illustrator, Photoshop, or Dreamweaver is required.

Advanced Flash
Learn how to create a Flash web site in this project-based course. Topics will include complex masks, animated symbols, simple preloaders, site navigation, load movie, simple actionscript and much more. You will learn how to incorporate images created in Photoshop and Illustrator and manage file size with the help of the bandwidth profiler. For the final project, you will design and build your own Flash web site. You must have a solid knowledge of Flash MX or above.

Advanced Photoshop
Take your Photoshop skills to the next level! Advanced Photoshop is a project-oriented class emphasizing advanced masking, layering, compositing, and image-correction techniques, along with Web techniques using ImageReady. You will use use complex layering to effectively blend images into compositions. You will learn to apply color correction to bring dull photos back to life, correct lighting problems, or introduce new lighting to a subject. The class will demystify such things as channels, paths, and masks, helping you to use the full scope of Photoshop tools. This is not a beginner class.

How to Register

To register, call 773-907-4440 (Visa, Master Card, or American Express required for phone registration), or visit our office in Room 1442 during the following hours: 10am-7pm Mon-Thurs, 10:00 am-4:00 pm Fri, and 9:00am-1:30pm Sat. NOTE: You can register online at my.ccc.edu if you already have a Student ID.