Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design

at Centennial College - Story Arts Centre Campus Canada

Centennial College’s Theatre Arts and Performance program is your open door to a groundbreaking professional career in theatre. You will develop your technical skills, nurture your artistic voice, and make crucial industry connections.

Classes in acting, movement and voice will expand your artistic range across different styles of classic and contemporary performance, including live and on-camera. Build your audition skills, learn how to get an agent, and create your own dynamic demo reel.

You’ll also gain experience as an actor-entrepreneur through independent “storefront” productions, pushing your creative boundaries to the front-line of theatre innovation, with the tools to succeed in Canada’s vibrant theatre scene.

Upon graduating, you’ll be ready to run your own theatre company or develop your career as a professional actor, director, stage manager, producer or instructor, in Canada and on the world stage.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• Train in various styles of acting, for classical and contemporary scripts, written and improvised work, traditional and movement-based staging practices, live and on-screen, etc., under the instruction of industry-leading professionals
• Focus on entrepreneurship and networking prepares graduates for sustainable careers in theatre arts
• Opportunities to collaborate with the other students in photography, film and television, music, dance and art programs at the Story Arts Centre

The Lifestyle Media program is a one-of-a-kind graduate certificate offering designed to train specialized media professionals who are at the hub of lifestyle media.
In this media program's courses, you'll effectively collaborate with real-world industry partners, clients and audiences to produce quality content for web, social media and traditional media platforms. You'll also gain the skills necessary to work entrepreneurially using contemporary digital media platforms and technologies to market yourself as an independent brand.
Lifestyle communicators are subject-matter experts who are able to take their passion and depth of knowledge to reach behind-the-scenes and share these worlds with audiences that want to both learn and be entertained. Successful lifestyle communicators influence trends and tastes and can become trusted sources of reliable information.

Program Highlights

• The interdisciplinary Lifestyle Media curriculum will include writing, visual communications, social media and entrepreneurship.
• You'll gain the ability to develop sector-specific expertise in areas such as fashion, beauty, food and health.
• There will be a strong focus on social media and web production, including analytics and measurement.
• You'll participate in an industry field placement in an area of your interest.

Centennial College's Game – Art ?program will allow you to gain the skills to launch a career in the dynamic, ever-expanding and intensely creative interactive game industry. In just 16 consecutive months, the offering will prepare you for a career of imagination, innovative design and storytelling. 

You'll receive intensive hands-on training in Game – Art? and learn to build traditional 3D art assets for games, develop game environments and characters, and express your one-of-a-kind creativity. Developed by industry professionals and School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design instructors with a forward-thinking approach towards the next wave of interactive games, this games diploma program is well-respected in the industry. 

The Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic program is one of the most prestigious programs of its kind in Canada. Through hands-on education, it will prepare you for employment in a wide variety of areas in the publishing industry.

Established in 1974, this unique and award-winning publishing graduate certificate program has earned several accolades for academic excellence and for the career success of its graduates.

In this School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design program, you'll learn to:

• Be an integral part of the team that helps to shape the evolution of Canada's cultural and literary landscape;
• Publish e-books;
• Help build the careers of the next generation of writers in the publishing industry;
• Take part in publishing the bi-yearly On the Danforth magazine.

Your experience in the Publishing program will be rounded out by an industry field placement at a book or magazine publisher in Toronto. During this time, you'll acquire critical working experience, industry knowledge and professional relationships as you initiate your new career.

A career in book, magazine or online publishing promises a world of innovation, stories and culture that integrates your creative, marketing and business skills.

Program Highlights

• The accelerated two-semester format will cover all facets of the publishing process, including e-books and online magazines.
• You'll complete a six-week field placement in the industry.
• The graduate certificate you'll earn reflects a high standard of learning.

Centennial College's Graphic Design program prepares you for a multidisciplinary design career, and has a graduate employment rate that exceeds 80 per cent. Facilitated at the Story Arts Centre, the courses in this advanced diploma program take a hands-on approach in an intimate studio environment, rather than having you sit passively in large lecture halls. With small class sizes, you have lots of opportunities to work one-on-one with your professors.

In this college graphic design program, you:

•  Master industry-standard Adobe software including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
•  Learn creative problem solving and design thinking
•  Design for print, including advertisements, magazines, books and packaging
•  Design responsive websites, mobile apps and create exciting motion graphics
•  Explore drawing, photography, illustration and type design
•  Learn professional practice skills to land a great job or start your own design business
•  Contribute something unique and innovative to the design community in a thesis course
•  Learn on the job and get course credits through an industry field placement in your final semester
•  Interact with industry professionals
•  Become a student member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RDG Ontario)
•  Learn from professors who are current and professionally active in the design industry

Please note:This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• The Centennial College Graphic Design program is formally recognized by RGD Ontario, which represents more than 3,000 graphic designers, managers, educators and students across Ontario.
• A combination of multidisciplinary design skills and practical experience sets you apart from the competition.
• You will be more flexible in your design solutions and more desirable in the marketplace.

The Graphic Design program will develop your abilities to:

• Think creatively and design effectively for print, motion, and interactive media.
• Execute your ideas professionally in any medium.
• Communicate effectively with employers and clients.
• Start your career in any facet of the design industry.
• Market yourself as a freelancer or start your own business.
• Affect social change through your design problem-solving skills.
• Understand all aspects of industry standard workflow, from initial creative, through to print production or interactive prototyping.

Centennial College's Fine Arts Studio program is an intensive two-year offering with emphasis on physically creating art through drawing, painting and sculpting.

By getting your hands dirty (literally), you learn the latest skills and techniques, find your own creative voice and be prepared to launch your career as an artist. You spend more time in the studio in two years at Centennial College than other schools offer in four!

In addition to the creative process, this arts diploma program offers one of Ontario's most comprehensive professional practice curriculum's. You'll graduate well-prepared to thrive as a self-employed artist in the professional arts community.

In this Fine Arts Studio program, you:

• Develop advanced technical, conceptual and professional skills required to engage the contemporary arts community.
• Work independently both in and out of the studio environment.
• Receive lots of one-on-one attention.
• Begin to nurture a lifetime of growth as a professional visual artist and storyteller.
• Have a progressive learning experience led by a collaborative team of teachers.
• Be encouraged to develop personal direction and approach to build your own unique voice and style in visual storytelling.
• The Fine Arts Studio program is for you if you are serious about practicing as a professional. As a candidate, you should have meaningful prior experience, either through education, a lifetime personal commitment, and/or the professional equivalent.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• The Fine Arts program frequently receives awards from both the Dean and the President for student satisfaction.
• A focus on traditional media, with selective integration of digital processes, gives you the skills necessary to thrive as a professional in the contemporary art world.
• You learn all about the business of being an artist, including getting shows and commissions, applying for grants, marketing yourself and building your career.
• In-school galleries allow for the opportunity to exhibit your work.
• You are exposed to professional exhibition opportunities, where the sales are real. Public exposure is also offered through rental programs.
• Attention is paid to individual creative growth in a studio environment.
• Enthusiastic faculty members are all accomplished professional artists and teach by drawing from their personal experiences.
• The Story Arts Centre is close to the heart of the city and gallery communities, but offers a welcoming non-institutional environment.

Centennial College's Arts Management program prepares you for a career in the evolving arts and cultural industry. The Arts Management courses in this two-semester Graduate Certificate program focus on developing the knowledge and skills needed to work in the performing arts sector (theatres, dance companies, music organizations and presenting facilities), the exhibiting arts sector (galleries, museum) and many other cultural and arts-related areas such as arts and film festivals.

The program explores the current issues and practices that allow cultural organizations to build audiences and flourish today — and in the years to come. Facilitated at the Story Arts Centre, Centennial College's School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design, the program combines business management, marketing and planning with the tools required to connect art, artists and audiences through fundraising, education and volunteerism.

The extensive experiential learning opportunities in the program connect principles with practice, actively engaging you with the arts management profession throughout your studies. You also have the opportunity to apply your learning in the industry as part of an eight-week field placement.

As an Arts Management program graduate, you will have a thorough understanding of the political, economic, social, ethical, technological and managerial issues facing this sector.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements.

Program Highlights

• The Arts Management program emphasizes professional-quality work to ensure you graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and lead in the industry.
• Through mentorships and partnerships with the arts sector, a number of career options can be explored.
• A well-designed and well-implemented fieldwork component that can be undertaken in any location in your final semester provides you with an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in the industry.

Film and Television – Business is a unique program offered by the School of Communication, Media, Arts and Design that will prepare you to take on the business aspects of the television and film production industry. Today's film and television producers need more than just good ideas and a crew to get their projects off the ground. They need people with the skills to handle the financing, management, legal, distribution and business affairs. That's where you'll come in.

The two-semester – Television and Film - Business graduate certificate program will emphasize the importance of an entrepreneurial spirit and a global outlook. You'll explore the industry's legal, financial and regulatory frameworks and develop skills necessary for producing in the current Canadian and international market. To round out your training, you'll complete a field placement that will allow you to gain experience in the industry prior to graduation.

This program is unique in Canada, and it will:

• Combine knowledge of the film and television industry with the principles and practices of accounting and business;
• Focus on developing strategies and plans for various business aspects of the film and television industry (e.g., project financing, program sales and marketing plans, and business plans for launching and operating an independent production company);
• Integrate knowledge of the global marketplace, distribution models and additional revenue sources;
• Provide opportunities to learn production techniques — in both crew and leadership positions — through the various stages of pre-production, production and post-production.

The Art and Design Fundamentals program nurtures your artistic talents, and develops your creative, practical and entrepreneurial skills in visual art and design — whatever your level of expertise.

The studio-based, hands-on curriculum of the Art and Design Fundamentals courses is taught by practicing artists and designers who help you to develop traditional, digital and multimedia skills. The program's goal is to help you prepare a successful portfolio of artwork required for admission to specialized programs and to open up new possibilities and career choices in the diverse visual arts industry.

In this art program, you:

• Get hands-on exposure to drawing, design, colour, 3D modelling and design, visual culture, video making, digital illustration, photography and rapid prototyping.
• Build a comprehensive portfolio of artwork while working one-on-one with faculty.

Once you complete the program, you will be prepared to succeed in a variety of post-secondary communication arts and design diploma and degree areas, including animation, game arts, digital visual effects, product design, industrial design, architecture, interior design, fashion design, illustration, graphic design, digital media art, art direction, art management, creative advertising and fine arts.

Program Highlights

• Leading practicing artists, designers and educators have crafted the Art and Design Fundamentals program at Centennial College.
• Small class sizes and a dynamic working relationship between faculty and students allows for lots of one-on-one instruction and feedback.
• The Portfolio Development course sees you work on self-directed projects that focus your future career, with individual guidance from instructors.
• The Professional Practice course offers client-based community projects that emphasize experiential learning and allow you to develop your entrepreneurial skills.
• Throughout the Collaboration Studio Course, you have the opportunity to work on collaborative projects with other students at the Story Arts Centre to gain real-world experience.
• Artists and professionals who need to improve or update their skills in art, design and digital multimedia are offered a flexible curriculum, if class size allows.
• Faculty members help each student individually to take the next step in their career path.

The Advertising - Creative and Digital Strategy program addresses the high demand for creators in the digital field of advertising and marketing, which is growing faster than all other areas in the advertising industry.

This Advertising Graduate Certificate program takes place at the Story Arts Centre in Toronto and blends Centennial College's experience in digital media with our strengths in business and marketing. The program focuses on helping you create engaging digital experiences built on solid creative strategy. You become immersed in the digital field and learn how to develop breakthrough creative advertising campaigns.

Through your courses, you acquire the necessary skills in creative strategy, writing, developing creative concepts, art direction, collaboration, presentation and entrepreneurialism. During a field placement, which is part of the second semester, Creative and Digital Strategy students take part in team assignments, working in a collaborative environment in the real world.

You’ll also learn new technologies and platforms that keep you informed about recent innovations in the digital creative field.

The program focuses on five key areas:

• Creative strategy, to ensure advertising meets clients' business objectives.
• Digital storytelling, to build on the power of storytelling in developing impactful creative advertising.
• Brand engagement, to create strong connections with consumers.
• Entrepreneurship, to foster key business skills that encourage innovation and risk-taking.
• Emerging platforms, to ensure you are up-to-date on the latest in digital technology impacting the advertising industry.

In this program, you:

• Gain an understanding of the digital creation process from a creative director's point of view.
• Learn how to craft a creative digital strategy that delivers results.
• Develop a strong portfolio and case studies for prospective employers.
• Enhance presentation skills to help sell ideas.
• Understand the impact of technology on creative development.
• Foster digital storytelling skills to bring brands to life online.
• Analyze and solve business and marketing challenges for clients by applying innovative creative and digital techniques.
• Complement in-class education with a field placement that will provide the opportunity to work in the industry and hone your skills.

Please note:- This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device (i.e. laptop, tablet) that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware requirements. 

Program Highlights

• This Creative and Digital Strategy program gives you the opportunity to turn a degree or diploma into an exciting career in a growing field in the advertising industry.
• You learn how to create digitally-centric creative portfolio pieces using current industry design and writing standards.
• Faculty members have extensive industry experience and can help you connect to the industry by tapping into their personal networks.
• The program is offered at the Story Arts Centre, which is about 15 minutes from most advertising and digital marketing agencies in Toronto.
• At the Story Arts Centre, there are numerous opportunities to collaborate with students in a range of other marketing and communications-focused programs to enhance the learning experience.