IED – Istituto Europeo di Design Florence
Graphic Design and Portfolio Summer Course
Florence, Italy
Summer Course
DURATION
3 weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
30 Jun 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 2,600 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* total fee UE and extra UE | enrolment fee: €600 | fee and extra UE: €2000
Key Summary
This course is held in English language
The course in Graphic Design and Portfolio offers you the possibility to challenge yourself with a creative program that combines traditional lectures and project work to approach the basic tools and techniques of graphic and visual design.
Through lectures, case studies, labs, and site visits, you will enhance your theoretical knowledge and technical skills, in order to complete a creative portfolio, developed during this three-week experience.
Schedule
This course meets from Monday to Friday on a full-time basis (morning and afternoon) the course has a duration of 75 hours spread over 3 weeks.
Methodology and structure
This course is meant to provide you with a hands-on introduction to graphic design principles and tools. Through theoretical lessons, the program covers high-level concepts like layout, typography, and color. You will have the chance to get hands-on, using Illustrator to build a custom logo and practice the vector-drawing techniques. Next, the course takes you into Photoshop, where you learn how to creatively adjust and retouch the images you will use in design projects. During the Final Project presentation, together with your fellows, you will show the results of the work carried out through the course.
The summer course includes a strategic combination of theoretical lessons, case studies, and workshops with industry professionals, as well as site visits to design studios and exhibitions. Site visits are an integral part of the program’s learning experience and are designed to complement what is acquired in the classroom as well as serve as an ongoing orientation to the field.
The course is designed for aspiring designers who wish to acquire the fundamentals of graphic design in an intensive three-week program. This is an introductory course and no previous studies within the field are required. However, we suggest students familiarize themselves with the major themes that will be presented.
Topics
The following topics are discussed during the program: historical background of graphics and design, elements of visual communication, basic design, page layout, font and color, fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, image placement, save and exporting, development and update of a professional portfolio:
Basic Design
The course focuses on the basis of visual communication, giving an historical overview of graphics and communication, elements of semiotics and graphic perception, including the study of colour palette, families of fonts and typography.
Visual Design Lab - Photoshop and Illustrator
The aim of this course is to enable you to use the essential graphic design softwares. You will learn how to use the tools necessary for graphic representations on different digital media. From the first steps in the world of vector graphics with the use of Illustrator, the program proceeds with Photoshop and the versatility of photo editing techniques. The learning-by-doing approach and the workshops will facilitate the comparison with your classmates, on various more and more concrete cases.