Creative Visual Design for Print and the Web

By CJ Aykroid      November 21, 2017

Are you interested in a degree or at least a certificate? Do you want to learn how to use an new application or get the edge in your job or even get a new job? Maybe you would like to start a new career or even go into an entirely new direction.

Even as an eighteen year old, going to college can be daunting, but as an adult with a mortgage and family responsibilities, it can be difficult to say the least, but with a full time job...uugghh! The demands of your job, working 50+ hours a week, getting the kids to activities, taking care of errands and home maintenance responsibilities etc..

To paraphrase a popular saying: if you give a man a fish, you can charge $5; if you teach a man to fish, you can charge $5,000

Brittney Mayer- Card Rates.com /Credit Card News

The good news is that there may be a better way! Modern corporate HR departments are more and more requiring advanced degrees, specifically bachelors degrees for job as Graphic Designers, writers and other creative positions. Many companies have a check box on the web sites asking for it and simply shut you down if you don't have one. I mean you can't even talk to a human anymore. Of course knowing someone on the inside is a way around the communication problem but the education problem remains.

The answer is as close as your Smartphone! A trip to your phone's "App Store" can be a very beneficial side trip! I say, the smart phone because of mobile ease but you can also do this on your Pad device, computer, or TV device like an Apple TV or Roku. Whether you use an Apple , Android device, you can find apps at many online locations like Google Play, Amazon, Apple App Store or many other Android stores. Not only on your phone or pad either, Lynda.com has an AppleTv app so you can learn on your big screen!.

Check out these 4 sources for online education. There are many other ways, which we can get into, but here I will narrow it down to the top 4 for simplicity sake.

1. Lynda.com - www.lynda.com First, I should say here that Lynda.com primarily caters to the graphic arts fields with a lot of business thrown in for good measure.

 Lynda is amazing. I have personally been using Lynda.com for over five years and am impressed with the quality of the classes, teachers and the interface itself. I try to spend an hour everyday with Lynda. I also find myself not only going there for answers but also watching classes as a boredom cure ....it also helps me feel like I am making good use of my time.

Lynda.com was founded in 1995 and has been providing video courses primarily for the creative industry. Graphics, video, web development, etc. Since they've been purchased by Linked In in 2015, who was then purchased by Microsoft in 2016, they have been offering many more classes such as business, HR , engineering and programming offerings, just to name a few. Courses cover a wide range of topics including:

Software Development - Web Design + Development

Graphic Design- Photography - Business - Education

3D + Animation - Video

Not only is Lynda easy to look at, you can take the courses at your own pace, watching them on your smart phone, Ipad, laptop or television. The instructors are somewhat available to you on Twitter or Facebook to answer questions or look at projects. Besides regular classes that contain many videos in order, Lynda offers weekly "Tips and Tricks" videos from names like Deke

Mc Clelland, "Deke's Techniques and Bert Monroy's "Pixel Playground", two of my favorites.

The most interesting thing about Lynda.com is once you complete a class, you can post the accomplishment on Linked In as part of your profile. This is right where the employers are looking! Even if you aren't necessarily looking for a job and are just trying to improve your skills in your existing job, here is the place for your hard work gets noticed. It's better than analytics, you are showing training in a unique, exact subject. As these accomplishments build up, the list gets long.

Being a strong user and affiliate of the Adobe Creative Cloud, I highly recommend Lynda for training for programs like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Premiere and After Effects.

As an advocate of a reformed education experience in this country and the world, I applaud LinkedIn, (Microsoft), for making classes available to Public libraries in many major cites like Philadelphia, New York, Toronto, Louisville, and Houston and that's just a few. I think this is a MAJOR step forward in the quality of education in the world...especially for regular everyday people.

Contact your local library to see if you are eligible. If not call and ask to make Lynda.com available in your area today. You will be helping yourself, your industry, and your country to improve education and the quality of work in all industries.

2. Udemy - udemy.com Another great education site on

the internet where you can take a course taught online through videos by an expert in that field. This is known as the MOOC  movement, (Massive Open Online Course), all available outside the university system where anyone can enroll.

 Not only can you enroll and learn at Udemy, pronounced " You-duh-me", you can also teach your own class by uploading a course of your own. You pay based on each class though some are even free, based on the the instructors preferences.

Udemy is noted for the large number, and variety of classes offered, over 55,000. Courses cover many categories, including business and entrepreneurship, academics, the arts, health and fitness, language, music, and technology. Most classes are in practical subjects such as Excel software or using an iPhone camera.

Utemy has come in handy for a few subjects that I have been interested in the past. The amount of courses and price range places them as my second choice for what I am calling an "Alternate Education".

3. Coursera  - coursera.org While being quite a

 bit more

expensive than Lynda.com, Coursera does enable college level degrees on-line, learning at your own pace. This makes them my third choice on this list.

Coursera works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects, such as

engineering, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, mathematics, business, computer science,

digital marketing, data science, and others.

As of October 2017, Coursera had more than 28 million registered users and more than 2,000 courses. Think of it as a "buffet" of online courses from major schools

Coursera courses last approximately four to ten weeks, with one to two hours of video lectures a week. These courses provide quizzes, weekly exercises, peer-graded assignments, and sometimes a final project or exam. Courses are also provided on-demand, in which case users can take their time in completing the course with all of the material available at once. As of May 2015 Coursera offered 104 on-demand courses. [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

4. Skillshare  skillshare.com Their mission, as said on the website, "We started Skillshare to close the professional skills gap and provide universal access to high-quality learning. By teaching the skills needed in tomorrow’s world, Skillshare empowers people to advance their careers, improve their lives, and pursue the work they love."

Skillshare has a wide variety of video training, offering over 17,000 courses such as:

Design, Business, Technology, Photography, Film, Writing,

Crafts,  and Culinary.

Are you a passionate expert in any of these areas? You can teach too! Like Udemy above, some teachers on Skillshare are actually making a full time living teaching what they love.

With the yearly fee at around $100 for unlimited learning, you won't break the budget either.

Which is why Skillshare makes the list at number 4.

Well? There it is. Do you want to get that promotion with more money, more money, more money?

Maybe it's just for a hobby or maybe you just want to learn the correct way to make a tasty grilled cheese sandwich.

The classes are out there. Sometimes we just sit and stare at the television no matter what is on, why not tune in and get passionate and learn something that can change your life! Remember, employers are watching too!

 Thanks for reading!

This original blog page was written and produced with Adobe Muse®.

also using Adobe Photoshop® and Adobe Illustrator as well.

For more info on the Adobe and the Adobe Creative Cloud.