Advertising and Graphic Design
GTCC’s Advertising and Graphic Design program is a highly successful, well-regarded technical degree program dedicated to teaching you how to create effective and engaging designs for print or web. We teach you how to develop expressive, creative solutions to clients’ communication design needs, focusing on a strong concept and the fundamentals of good composition, layout, and typography.
We also provide you with the technical skills you need to bring your ideas to life, including traditional art and illustration techniques, photography, and the use of professional design software – primarily, Adobe’s Creative Cloud tools.
Our graduates qualify for employment opportunities with graphic design studios, advertising agencies, printing companies, and a wide variety of businesses with in-house graphics operations.
Credentialing Options
About Advertising and Graphic Design
Frequently Asked Questions
You will need to follow the general enrollment process for GTCC. During the advising process, you will have the opportunity to indicate your desire to study within this curriculum. Your advisor will help you sign up for the specific courses you need.
Shann Ferreira, Associate Professor
336-334-4822, ext. 50182
snferreira@gtcc.edu
Michael Lawson, Associate Professor
336-334-4822, ext. 50322
mrlawson@gtcc.edu
Yes. The Advertising and Graphic Design curriculum is open to all GTCC students.
The Advertising and Graphic Design program is built in a way that requires a specific sequence of courses. Our curriculum begins in the fall semester, and each subsequent semester builds upon the previous. For example, you’ll take Graphic Design I in the fall semester, followed by Graphic Design II in the spring semester, etc. We do not currently offer summer courses within the department, but general education coursework is often completed during the summer semester.
Graphic Designer: Designs effective advertisements, logos, layouts, packaging, and more for both print and web!
Art Director: Manages a team of designers and other creatives to bring brands, ad campaigns, and varying design solutions to life!
Production Artist: Masters the technical side of printing and web design to help make sure that design projects make it into production!
Illustrator: Uses both traditional and digital media to create eye-catching illustrations for print, web, and beyond!
Web Graphic Designer: Designs the layout, look and feel of websites to help clients present an engaging and effective web presence!
User Experience Designer: Uses effective design to enhance and improve the way users interact with digital media and applications.
Notable companies employing GTCC Advertising & Graphic Design graduates include:
- Adplex
- Airtype
- Bouvier Kelly
- Buckhead Betties
- Camco
- Common Giant
- Crobar
- Device Creative Collaboration
- Fairway Outdoor
- Fifth Letter
- Gilbarco Veeder Root
- Harley-Davidson
- Kilpatrick
- Kings English
- Our State Magazine
- Mitre Agency
- Mullen
- Pace Communications
- Princeton Press
- Ralph Lauren
- The Russell Agency
- Skyline
- Thompson Creative
- Top Sox
- Trone
- Vanity Fair
- VF Corporation
- Wrangler
- Wright Global Graphics
- Xpedx
The Advertising and Graphic Design program at GTCC teaches Adobe’s industry-standard Creative Cloud suite of software titles on Apple computers within each of its classes. Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, and Muse are all utilized as part of a broad yet practical program of study.
Each of our courses is designed and paced in a manner that allows a fair amount of class time for project work, exercises, and assignments to be completed. However, in many instances, you’ll need additional computer time to do the best possible work. In those cases, having access at home will be a great asset. There are also Apple iMacs in several locations on campus to allow students additional time outside of class should they need access to the software.
Absolutely! GTCC has a very active student chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. AIGA is the country’s largest and oldest graphic design professional association with over 70 chapters in all major metropolitan areas.
With more than 25,000 members, AIGA is a valuable resource for creatives. Getting involved with AIGA as a student gives you a leg up on the competition as a networking opportunity. Our student chapter puts together educational and recreational events for department students, such as field trips, guest speakers, design competitions, collaborations with other college chapters, etc. We encourage all students to get involved with not only AIGA but also through internships, competitions, and other student organizations on campus.