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School of Business · Certificate · 3 Months · Online

Graphic Design and Visual Branding

Design principles, typography, colour theory, Canva, Adobe Suite, and building a professional brand identity portfolio for African clients and the global market.

Duration

3 Months

Workload

6–8 hrs/week

Mode

100% Online

Credential

Certificate

Intake

Monthly

The Graduation DeliverableA professional design portfolio of at least eight completed brand identity projects, each including a logo, colour palette, typography guide, and at least two brand application mockups, live on Behance or a personal website. No portfolio, no certificate.

What You Will Learn

  • The foundational principles of visual design: composition, hierarchy, contrast, alignment, and proximity.
  • Typography at a professional level, including how to pair fonts, set type for readability, and use type as a design element.
  • Colour theory and how to build a colour palette for a brand that communicates the right emotions.
  • Canva at an advanced level, including brand kits, template building, and design for social media, print, and digital platforms.
  • Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop at an introductory-to-intermediate level.
  • How to present, price, and sell your design work to clients as a professional creative.

Programme Modules

# Module Weeks
1 Design Principles: Composition, Hierarchy, and Contrast 1–2
2 Typography: Pairing Fonts and Setting Type 3
3 Colour Theory and Brand Palette Design 4
4 Advanced Canva: Brand Kits and Template Systems 5–6
5 Adobe Illustrator: Vector Design Fundamentals 7–8
6 Adobe Photoshop: Image Editing and Compositing 9–10
7 Presenting and Pricing Your Design Work 11
8 Portfolio: Eight Brand Identity Projects 12

Weekly checkpoints feed into your final graduation deliverable.

Entry Requirements

Route A — Academic: Minimum of five WASCE/O-Level passes including English.

Route B — Experiential: Anyone already creating visual content — social media graphics, logo attempts, flyer design — who wants to formalise their skill into a professional practice.

Route C — Professional Transfer: Any certificate or diploma holder from any field seeking to enter the creative economy.

Career and Enterprise Outcomes

Graduates exit the programme as professional brand designers with a live Behance or website portfolio and real client work completed before graduation day. Common outcomes include: freelance brand identity commissions for African businesses, retainer agreements with agencies, social media design packages for international clients, and full-time positions at creative agencies across the continent.

Accreditation

Regulated by GTEC, Ghana. Awarded in partnership with NationsUniversity, USA.

Start Here First

Recommended: Start with the Spark Certificate in Graphic Design Essentials before enrolling in this programme. The Spark covers the core vocabulary of visual design, gives you your first Canva project, and prepares you to move straight into professional-grade work from Week 1.

Assessment Framework

Weekly design critiques: 20%

Module projects (×7): 40%

Peer review participation: 10%

Final Portfolio (8 brand projects): 30%

Pass mark: 50%. Live portfolio URL required to graduate.

Programme Quick Facts

Code: GDVB

Duration: 3 Months (12 Weeks)

Workload: 6–8 hrs/week

Tools: Canva, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Intake: Monthly

School: School of Business

Build a Portfolio That Speaks Before You Do