Build design skills
Billy Blue College of Design at Torrens University Australia’s facilitated short courses have been designed to meet the demands of the Design industry. We have Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Adobe Creative Suite course options to suit your skill level in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects. You can also go behind the lens with our 12-week Creative Digital Photography course or learn to build intuitive websites with our User Experience Design & Research and WordPress Basic short courses. All our courses will see you gain hands-on experience and invaluable skills to begin or further your career in Design. Corporate packages are available to upskill your team, as well as private tutoring. Enquire online for more information.-
Design
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UX & Web
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Photography
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Adobe CC Basic (Photoshop)The Adobe CC Basic (Photoshop) short course gives you the opportunity to work to a design brief while using the core tools and functions in Photoshop. As well as basic graphic design concepts and printing fundamentals, you will become familiar with pixel depth, colour modes, masks and more.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 25 February 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Saturday 18 March 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Saturday 6 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Monday 15 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Monday 29 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
You want to gain a good working knowledge of Photoshop and learn the basic tools and functions of the application.
Course content
- Work with resolution, pixel depth and colour modes
- Make selections and create basic masks
- Retouch images using Adjustment tools such as Colour Balance
- Use the Healing Brush and Clone Stamp tools
- Use Acrobat for presentations
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Use Photoshop effectively
- Clean up, modify and enhance images in Photoshop
- Generate print-ready PDFs for digital and offset printers
- Build presentation slideshows
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Adobe CC Basic (Illustrator)The Adobe CC Basic (Illustrator) short course teaches you how to use Illustrator’s core tools and functions. You will work to a design brief and familiarise yourself with basic graphic design concepts and printing fundamentals. As well as working with shapes, colours and gradients, you will draw freehand and hand trace with accuracy.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 4 March 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Saturday 25 March 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Tuesday 16 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Monday 29 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
You want to gain a good working knowledge of Illustrator and learn the basic tools and functions of the application.
Course content
- Learn your way around the toolbar and its options
- Work with shapes, colours and gradients
- Draw freehand using Brushes and the Pencil tool
- Use the Pen tool to draw and hand trace with accuracy
- Work with and manage colour
- Use Acrobat for presentations
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Use Illustrator effectively
- Generate print-ready PDFs for digital and offset printers
- Build presentation slideshows
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Adobe CC Basic (InDesign)The Adobe CC Basic (InDesign) short course helps you master the core tools and functions in InDesign. You will grasp basic graphic design concepts and printing fundamentals. Working to a design brief, you will learn how to lay out pages, place text and insert graphics. In addition, you will design documents with bleed and generate print-ready PDFs.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 11 March 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Saturday 1 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Saturday 13 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Wednesday 17 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Wednesday 31 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
You want to gain a good working knowledge of InDesign and learn the basic tools and functions of the application.
Course content
- Understand page layout
- Place text and graphics
- Create text wraps
- Design documents with bleed
- Generate print-ready documents and PDFs
- Using Acrobat for presentations
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Use InDesign effectively
- Import text, logos and images to create business cards, flyers and multi-page documents
- Generate print-ready PDFs for digital and offset printers
- Build presentation slideshows
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Adobe CC Intermediate (Photoshop)The Adobe CC Intermediate (Photoshop) short course builds on your knowledge by exploring Photoshop’s full capabilities. You will exercise your creativity and learn tips and tricks to enhance your work. Becoming more confident with the tools, you will retouch photos, master deep-etching methods, use colour correction and more.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 15 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Monday 22 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
Anyone already using Photoshop and seeking to master its hidden tricks, to develop a more efficient workflow.
Course content
You’ll begin by refreshing your knowledge on Photoshop’s core tools, then move on to mastering their advanced functions.- Make selections, retouch images and use Adjustment Layers
- Develop advanced deep-etching techniques
- Understand Channels, Masks, Selections and Paths
- Learn the dos and donts of sharpening
- Remove dust and scratches
- Master colour correction techniques
- Work with Smart Objects
- Manage consistent colour reproduction
- Use Acrobat Distiller
- Create PDFs and differentiate between Press-Ready and Web-Ready files
- Combine single PDFs
- Add interactivity and media to PDFs
- Add Comments and Notes to PDFs
- Use the Optimise function
- Change output settings to suit printing requirements, using Output Separations, Ink Manager, Overprint Preview and Preflight checks
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Adobe CC Intermediate (Illustrator)The Adobe CC Intermediate (Illustrator) short course enhances your understanding of Illustrator’s wide-ranging possibilities. You will build on your knowledge by learning helpful tricks, and streamline your workflow from hand-drawn illustration to finished art. Master Live Trace, Layers, Gradient Mesh and more.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 22 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Tuesday 23 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
Anyone already using Illustrator and seeking to master its hidden tricks, to develop a more efficient workflow.
Course content
You’ll begin by refreshing your knowledge on Illustrator’s core tools, then move on to mastering their advanced functions.
- Live Trace and Live Paint, streamlining your workflow from hand-drawn illustration to finished art
- Become familiar with a Wacom tablet
- Use Layers and Effects and transform objects using the Envelope Distort, Warp and Free Transform tools
- Use Raster Effects and understand its impact on the print process
- Master the Gradient Mesh and Blend tools and use Calligraphic, Art and Pattern brushes
- Use clipping masks, compound masks, Pathfinder and the Direct Selection tool
- Use text and type manipulation, text wrap, text flow and style sheets
- Edit documents using the Live Colour tool
- Work with Photoshop files
Acrobat
- Use Acrobat Distiller
- Create PDFs and differentiate between Press-Ready and Web-Ready files
- Combine single PDFs
- Add interactivity and media to PDFs
- Add Comments and Notes to PDFs
- Use the Optimise function
- Change output settings to suit printing requirements, using Output Separations, Ink Manager, Overprint Preview and Preflight checks
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe CC Intermediate (InDesign)The Adobe CC Intermediate (InDesign) short course broadens your knowledge of InDesign’s full capabilities. Customise your workspace for efficient workflow and explore helpful features to enhance your documents. Use Photoshop Paths and Alpha Channels, create interactive functions, generate web-ready files and more.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
- Saturday 29 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Wednesday 24 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
Anyone already using InDesign and seeking to master its hidden tricks, to develop a more efficient workflow.
Course content
You’ll begin by refreshing your knowledge on InDesign’s core tools, then move on to mastering their advanced functions.- Customise your interface for maximum efficiency
- Apply transparency and effects to items and Style Sheets and Nested Styles to text
- Use automatic text flow and page numbering and wrap text around images using Photoshop Paths and Alpha Channels
- Use Photoshop files and adjust Layer Comps
- Create interactive functions such as buttons, hyperlinks and bookmarks
- Work with XML and XHTML, learning how to export files for web use
- Use Master Pages and Style Sheets to synchronise long documents
- Understand Ink Manager and Output Preview
- Use the Preflight and Package tools and export PDFs using Advanced options
Acrobat
- Use Acrobat Distiller
- Create PDFs and differentiate between Press-Ready and Web-Ready files
- Combine single PDFs
- Add interactivity and media to PDFs
- Add Comments and Notes to PDFs
- Use the Optimise function
- Change output settings to suit printing requirements, using Output Separations, Ink Manager, Overprint Preview and Preflight checks
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe CC Advanced (Photoshop)The Adobe CC Advanced (Photoshop) short course builds on your skill set and helps you generate superior design solutions efficiently. Make best use of Photoshop’s powerful tools, so you can produce high-quality work within tight timeframes.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone already using Creative Cloud at an intermediate/advanced level and seeking to become more confident in using the right tools and techniques to produce outstanding effects.
Course content
You will hone your skills and explore a range of techniques across Creative Cloud, to produce successful results that showcase your creativity.Photoshop
- Replace portraits with text and transfer artwork onto fabric
- Remove elements from photos and wrap text around objects
- Create text effects and mask liquids
- Make a 3D card
- Protect your images with subtle watermarking
- Solve panorama alignment issues
- Extend depth of field with Auto-Blend Layers
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe CC Advanced (Illustrator)The Adobe CC Advanced (Illustrator) short course builds on your skill set and helps you generate superior design solutions efficiently. Make best use of Illustrator’s powerful tools, so you can produce high-quality work within tight timeframes.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney, Ultimo campus
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone already using Creative Cloud at an intermediate/advanced level and seeking to become more confident in using the right tools and techniques to produce outstanding effects.
Course content
You will hone your skills and explore a range of techniques across Creative Cloud, to produce successful results that showcase your creativity.Illustrator
- Design coffee stain and diamond-plating effects using Illustrator and Photoshop
- Create street signs using the Mesh Tool and 3D Effect
- Design in Photoshop using Patterns from Illustrator
- Create border designs, custom Art brushes, 3D pie charts and themed bar graphs
- Use the Gradient Mesh tool to achieve a bevel and emboss effect
- Create 3D effects using 2D art
- Experiment with Live Colour and use Glyphs to create illustrations
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe CC Advanced (InDesign)The Adobe CC Advanced (InDesign) short course builds on your skill set and helps you generate superior design solutions efficiently. Make best use of InDesign’s powerful tools, so you can produce high-quality work within tight timeframes.
- $336
- 1 Day
- Sydney campus, Ultimo
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone already using Creative Cloud at an intermediate/advanced level and seeking to become more confident in using the right tools and techniques to produce outstanding effects.
Course content
You will hone your skills and explore a range of techniques across Creative Cloud, to produce successful results that showcase your creativity.
InDesign
- Set up fast and effective layouts
- Design event posters and business cards
- Create and edit custom text underlines
- Design and transform invitations
- Create interactive portfolios
- Learn magazine design and how to create covers
- Understand how to use Guides
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe After Effects (Intro)
The Adobe After Effects (Intro) short course is an introduction to its motion graphics and visual effects functions. You will learn how to use an extensive set of tools to help you 2D animate, composite and create special effects. After you grasp the program’s fundamental features, you will learn technical skills for broadcasting, streaming and social media content.
- $640.50
- 2 Days
- Sydney, Ultimo campus
Start Dates
- Saturdays 25 March and 1 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Tuesday 16 May and Wednesday 17 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
Anyone with experience in graphic design or digital media and seeking to learn motion and broadcast graphics.
Course content
- Learn your way around the interface, features and its navigation tools
- Create projects and import footage
- Work with Photoshop/Illustrator files, text, images, videos, vectors and shapes
- Learn the backbone of motion graphics and animation
- Create compositions and arrange layers, adding effects and modifying layer properties
- Learn about interactive tools with masks, mattes and alpha/luma channels for hiding and showing pixels
- Render settings and exporting videos for phone, laptop, broadcast, and social media
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will:
- Be familiar with the After Effects interface and basic best practices
- Comfortably navigate the many intricacies and hidden features
- Be able to create motion graphics from a blank slate to a finished video
- Understand the fundamentals of compositing, animation, and motion graphics
- Know how to troubleshoot and solve After Effects and motion graphic/compositing
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe After Effects (Advanced)
The Adobe After Effects (Advanced) short course is a deep drive into exploring advanced practices, tips, tricks, third party plug-ins and time-saving techniques that will take your video skills to the next level. Get hands-on learning and more one-on-one time with our learning facilitator.
- $640.50
- 2 Days
- Sydney, Ultimo campus
Start Dates
- Saturdays 22 April and 29 April 2023 (10am-4pm)
- Tuesday 30 May and Wednesday 31 May 2023 (10am-4pm)
Who should attend?
Anyone that has experience with Adobe software and After effects and seeking to further elaborate in digital media.
Course content
- Define style and consistent tone of voice for more efficient animation
- Advanced learning of keying and compositing
- Upskill to 3D motion graphics and animation
- Work on 3D camera tracking and compositing
- Expressions: math in action
- Linking attributes between different layers and compositions by creating a “rig”
- Tips and tricks on 3rd party effects and plugins and how they’ll save your professional life
- Advanced render formats and external applications of your work
- Learn best practice for motion graphics and compositing
- Explore the philosophy of good animation and composition
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will:
- Become confident in your ability to create motion graphics, composites, and animation for creative and professional applications
- Understand the fundamentals of good design and turning out quality work
- Understand the vast resources at your disposal to progress even further with your applications of this powerful software
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Adobe Premiere Pro
The Premiere Pro short course explores the fundamentals of video editing from beginning to end. The philosophy of this course is sharing the key to editing, getting in touch with your own instincts and knowing how to translate those feelings into engaging content.
- $640.50
- 2 Days
- Sydney, Ultimo campus
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone that has experience in film and video and is looking for a more comprehensive understanding of Adobe Premiere Pro.
Course content
- Introduction to Premiere Pro features, navigation tools and interface
- Learn how to set up different types of projects and why you would use them
- Explore the functions in the workflow such as selects assembly, radio edit, rough cuts, fine cuts, sound mix, colour grade and “online editing”
- Working with different media files
- Delve into effects and layer properties, and how to affect and animate your media
- Learn how to manage export settings and why they matter
- Fundamentals of project management and the secret to success
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will:
- Become familiar with the Premiere Pro interface
- Understand basic best practices for editing
- Be able to create polished videos from raw footage
- Understand the fundamentals of editing, sound mixing, and colour grading
- Recognise the importance of good project management
- Know how to troubleshoot and solve editing challenges on your own
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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User Experience Design & ResearchThe User Experience Design and Research short course is an introduction to UX design, outlining why and how it enhances a user’s digital experience. You will carry out best-practice UX processes and user-centred methods to design intuitive websites, apps and interfaces.
- $2180
- 5 Days
- In class Sydney
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone seeking to design digital products that provide optimal user experiences.
Course content
You will learn UX skills and theory and apply your knowledge to respond to a design brief, which requires you to design a website and test for usability.Introduction to UX Design
- Understand its origins and purpose
- Learn about the inner workings of the industry
- Work to a brief
Interaction Design
- Understand design frameworks, hierarchy, affordances and key design principles
- Create navigation systems and modal windows
- Design for search and retrieval and user flow
- Differentiate between logged-in and logged-out states
- Use Axure to build interactive wireframes
Usability Testing
- Understand the principles and benefits of usability testing
- Measure user experiences using quantitative and qualitative tests
- Develop test scripts
- Participate in usability testing workshops
- Write a usability test report
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Research and identify the user groups and archetypes for digital products
- Communicate design research with persona matrices and customer journey maps
- Design an intuitive navigation system with user-focused language
- Analyse and review interactive components of websites
- Design wireframes that communicate screen design and functionality
- Build interactive prototypes that function as a finished digital product
- Plan and conduct usability testing
Course focus can change depending on the requirements of the class. Where possible, requested topics will be included.
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Wordpress BasicThe WordPress Basic course teaches you how to design your own website. Following a step-by-step guide, you will learn how to use the core tools and functions in WordPress.com to build and manage appealing, well-performing websites.
- $320
- 1 Day
- In class Sydney
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone seeking to quickly and effectively build a WordPress website for personal or professional use.
Course content
You will design and build a WordPress website from scratch. You may draw on your own ideas, images and text files to create your site.Set-up
- Set up your own WordPress.com sub-domain
- Create homepages, pages and posts
- Add and format text and work with horizontal rules and lists
- Use the Media Library, CSS editor and themes to customise designs
- Link from text and images
- Use tags and categories
- Add and manage users
Content
- Introduction to WordPress and its features
- Learn what is possible on WordPress.com’s free platform
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Differentiate between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
- Setup a new WordPress website
- Add pages with images and text
- Use themes to alter website appearance
- Maintain your website and use its workflow features
- Manage user permissions to allow contributors to add content
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Creative Digital PhotographyThe Creative Digital Photography course teaches you how to use your digital SLR camera to its full capabilities. In this hands-on 12-week course, you will gain experience capturing all kinds of images under a range of conditions. Ideal for beginners and anyone looking to study our Diploma of Photo Imaging.
- $770
- 12 weeks
- In class Sydney
Start Dates
Temporarily unavailable, enquire to go on waitlistWho should attend?
Anyone with basic computer/internet skills seeking to learn the basics of photography.
Course Content
- Use your DSLR effectively
- Understand exposure and composition
- Work with different light
- Master post-production techniques in Adobe Lightroom
Course Outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- Understand your camera and its full capabilities
- Know how to photograph in a range of conditions
Why study with us?
At Torrens University Australia, you learn from the best in the business. Our industry experts teach from experience and their expertise will help you further your career in the field you love.
