Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design
Ottawa, Canada
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 21,938
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Applying your creativity to shape a career communicating ideas and concepts.
The three-year Graphic Design Ontario College Advanced Diploma program helps you apply your creativity to communicating ideas and concepts in both print and interactive media.
Using a combination of theoretical and hands-on learning, you gain skills in design, typography, image, color, coding, motion graphics, interaction, and production from industry-connected faculty. You learn to be a problem-solver who can manage and execute visual design projects.
Whether learning design for the page or for the screen, you study industry-endorsed concepts and techniques. You also become an expert at communicating ideas to a client through:
- Sketches
- Prototypes
- Storyboards
- Interactive mock-ups
There is a strong focus on hands-on training, using industry-standard software tools, which will ensure you are career-ready upon graduation. Field trips and actual client projects are offered to bring the workplace into the classroom.
From your second year on, you become a student member of the Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario. In your final semester, you embark on a six-week fieldwork placement that transitions you to industry. You work side-by-side with experienced professionals and gain networking contacts.
Ideal Students
This program is well-suited for students who:
- Think visually and creatively and are conceptual thinkers
- Enjoy solving visual communication problems
- Enjoy sketching and drawing and using software tools
- Enjoy working with type and imagery to communicate ideas
- Are detail-oriented, organized, and committed to coming up with the perfect design solution in their final products
- Have critical thinking and problem solving skills
Admissions
Curriculum
Level 01
- DSN1560 Typography I
- DSN1561 Graphic Design I
- DSN1562 Computer Graphics I
- DSN1697 Concept Sketching I
- DSN1710 Design Strategy
- DSN1782 Understanding Colour
- ENL1813M Communications I
Level 02
- DSN1565 Graphic Design II
- DSN1566 Typography II
- DSN1567 Computer Graphics II
- DSN1698 Concept Sketching II
- DSN1712 Web Design I
- ENL1950A Communications for Graphic Design
Choose one from equivalencies
- GED1400 General Education Elective
Level 03
- DSN1533 Graphic Design III
- DSN1534 Typography III
- DSN1535 Computer Graphics III
- DSN1558 Motion Graphics I
- DSN1696 Business of Design
- DSN1713 Web Design II
- DSN1726 UX/UI Design 1
Level 04
- DSN1539 Graphic Design IV
- DSN1540 Typography IV
- DSN1541 Computer Graphics IV
- DSN1669 Motion Graphics II
- DSN1714 Web Design III
- DSN1727 UX/UI Design 2
Choose one from equivalencies
- GED1400 General Education Elective
Level 05
- DSN1545 Graphic Design V
- DSN1677 Computer Graphics V
- DSN1688 Motion Graphics III
- DSN1715 Web Design IV
- DSN1728 UX/UI Design 3
- DSN1730 Design Systems
Choose one from equivalencies
- GED1400 General Education Elective
Level 06
- DSN1684 Graphic Design VI
- DSN1685 Computer Graphics VI
- DSN1689 Motion Graphics IV
- DSN1690 Fieldwork and Professional Practice
- DSN1729 UX/UI Design 4
- DSN1731 Innovative Strategies
Program Outcome
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
- Conceptualize and develop design solutions using principles of design to create visual communications that meet the needs of the project
- Employ the design process to create design solutions that meet the project objectives and the needs of the client and/or user
- Planned, created and used photography, illustration, and typography in design layouts to meet the requirements of the creative brief
- Design, develop, and create a variety of media products using relevant, current, and/or emerging technologies
- Communicate ideas, design concepts, and opinions clearly and persuasively to others
- Use recognized industry practices throughout the design process and related business tasks
- Planned, implemented, and evaluated graphic design projects using project management skills to deliver quality work to clients according to schedule and within budget
- Complete all work in a professional and ethical manner, and in accordance with all applicable legislation and regulations
- Keep current with visual media design trends, technologies, and industry practices using strategies that enhance work performance and guide professional development
- Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment, and environmental stewardship
Career Opportunities
Graduates may pursue careers as designers through a variety of entry-level positions in graphic design or advertising agencies, motion design or interactive design studios, television, and the entertainment and game industry. Graduates may also pursue freelance opportunities.
Upon graduation, you will have developed a design portfolio that showcases your creativity and problem-solving skills. You will display your work at the annual Grad Show exhibition.
Graduates may find employment in a(n):
- Graphic design studio
- Advertising agency
- Motion graphics studio
- Interactive/web design studio
Graduates may also find work as an in-house designer for an organization or government, in the television, entertainment, or game-development industry, or in freelance opportunities.
English Language Requirements
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