Diploma in Visual and Digital Arts

at Humber College North Campus Canada

Humber’s Design Foundation certificate program provides you with the skills to focus your creativity as you begin a career in design.  If you have a clear interest in visual art and design, but want to upgrade or build your portfolio of work, or explore various design disciplines while considering your future career, this is the program for you. With a deep scope of experience in a variety of design facets, our faculty provides you with an industry-current perspective of your work while offering you a broad based preparatory design education. You will develop design skills, techniques and processes; and learn about various professional career choices while developing and refining your comprehensive portfolio. Your training is led by professional designers from a variety of disciplines in a curriculum that features courses in:

• 1, 2 and 3-Point perspective drawing
• 2D and 3D principles
• Colour theory
• Interior design
• Industrial design
• Graphic design
• Design software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and AutoCAD

You will also work in professional-quality labs, developing skills that will give you the hands-on experience employers want.

Designers influence the development of products, the packages they come in and the marketing materials used to promote them. We also rely on designers to plan all types of buildings and to create inviting spaces within them.In Toronto’s vibrant creative sector, the demand for talented and skilled designers is strong. Your generalized training in the many aspects of design may be an effective launching pad to more specialized design study in various fields including industrial design, interior design, interior decorating, graphic design, architecture, civil engineering or building technology.

In Humber’s Radio and Media Production graduate certificate program, students develop the skills to make entertaining and engaging broadcasts and podcasts. Imagine combining the experience of your degree or diploma with new skills in audio storytelling and broadcasting. Graduates of our program are working in all aspects of radio and podcast production across Canada. Many are instrumental in some of Canada's most popular podcasts, and some have been recognized at the 2019 Canadian Podcasting Awards.
Students get hands-on experience in radio and audio production studio techniques; on-air announcing, newscast performance and sports reporting; hosting live music and public affairs programs; writing stories, shows, commercials and scripts, radio programming and promotions; interviewing techniques and more. They produce exciting audio and visual content including video and podcasts in Humber’s leading-edge production studios.
Students learn about the latest trends and developments in broadcasting and podcasting, and prepare for careers in media production including on-air, on-camera, online and social media.  They create original digital audio content and experience the thrill of having their work distributed by broadcast on the radio, podcast streaming or other means including social media.
Students take intensive classes and workshops with expert faculty where they apply their new skills to studio and broadcast operations.  By second semester, students can choose to perform live in our streaming or broadcast radio stations as a music host, newscaster or announcer. Hands-on training in on-air performance is provided through Humber’s student radio station, on 96.9FM, which is also streamed online and through various listening apps. Alternatively, students can choose to focus on creative studio production techniques and on-air operations.
Work Placement
This program includes a work placement component to give students an opportunity to gain valuable practical experience in their area of interest in the radio and audio production industries. The 160 hour placement is done in the summer semester after two semesters of study and practice. 

In Humber’s Animation 3D advanced diploma program, you will develop a well-rounded knowledge base and skillset that includes strong art, animation, modelling and visualization abilities. You will be prepared for the ever-expanding 3D art field with a thorough understanding of the latest 3D digital art technologies in a program developed with the input of industry advisors. Learn to work like the pros do — using the same 3D animation software and tools to render creative thoughts into compelling images and fully-realized design.

This program will allow you to develop a blend of the most relevant digital and analog art skills, as well as an understanding of creative and technological processes. A full understanding of art and design theories will help you draw, visualize and apply colour principles to create appealing work. You will also gain a mastery in adhering to a pipeline, as you develop content across courses; and teamwork, as you collaborate with students from other programs to better simulate a studio/production environment.?

The Humber Advantage

• Usability Lab
  • The Usability Lab is a new facility for students in the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts at Humber College. This “Live Lab” is a full-fledged usability lab where content creators can capture & assess the interaction between user and design.
  • This Usability Lab is specialized, in that it was purposefully built for usability studies to ensure that the environment does not interfere with the testing. Designed with flexibility at its core, it has been equipped with a broad variety of technology, supporting usability testing at many different levels of sophistication.
  • What makes this lab unique is the fact that it is mobile. This one-of-a-kind usability lab can be delivered to those who wish to use and evaluate our designs, as well as their own. For our students, they can participate in, and lead experiments that will truly test the designs they have developed, to make sure they work in the manner they have been designed to work.

Humber’s Personal Support Worker certificate program gives you the skills you need for a career in this in-demand health-care field. Begin a rewarding career helping people in need such as the elderly, the chronically ill and people with physical disabilities.

The program is designed in collaboration with industry, ensuring you are learning current and relevant material. In this program, you will learn:

• The developmental stages across the lifespan, and the communication and interpersonal skills needed for effective client relationships
• The essentials of providing personal care, applying mobility techniques (lifting and transferring clients), and household management and safety
• Key issues of mental health disorders
• Skills in dealing with common medical conditions including facilitating rehabilitation exercises and assisting with medications

Through assisting individuals at a long-term care facility and in other settings, you will learn to recognize the physical and emotional changes of aging and illness, and become familiar with the restorative techniques used to maximize independence.

Work Placement

• Two unpaid work placements take place in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In Semester 1, the practicum is completed in a controlled lab environment for six hours per week. This practicum is fully supervised by one instructor per group of approximately ten students. In Semester 2, the practicum is completed at a variety of agencies and facilities.
• The Semester 2 practicum is divided into two rotations over the 13 weeks: 160 hours in a long-term care facility and 120 hours in a community agency. Hours and number of days per week vary depending on the type of facility and shifts assigned; most range from seven to eight hours per day or evening. Students begin placement in the first week of January.
• Placements give you valuable first-hand experience which will serve you well when beginning your career.

Humber’s Sport Management advanced diploma program prepares you to manage the business of sport. You will develop a thorough knowledge of the structure and functionality of the Canadian sport industry including specific responsibilities and governance structure of organizations; rules and regulations governing sport; coaching standards; tournament hosting and scheduling; and sport sponsorship development. You will also learn the practical, organizational, business, human resources and administrative skills needed to pursue a career in the industry.

A three-day leadership camp at the OELC (Ontario Educational Leadership Centre) helps build communication and leadership skills while guest speakers, practical training and field trips provide added benefits in preparing you for the workplace.

Courses are designed with industry collaboration, ensuring the program is current and relevant. You will learn from full-time professors, managers and directors of sport organizations. Classes are diverse and include guest speakers from organizations such as Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, Tennis Canada, the Ontario Basketball Association and various games organizing committees. The program also includes field trips and practical training.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Assess the socio-cultural parameters that influence sport.
• Identify and work within legal, ethical and moral issues related to sport.
• Complete all work within the governance of agencies, authorities, organizational structure, and functions of governing bodies.
• Provide leadership in a variety of settings.
• Apply, analyze and communicate concepts of sport management.
• Articulate and track changes in marketing concepts, the uniqueness of sport marketing, and sport consumerism.
• Use appropriate information technology including a variety of software programs relevant to the business world.
• Apply, analyze and communicate accounting, economics and finance concepts pertinent to the operation of any organization.
• Apply knowledge of the HR function to the operation of a sport organization.
• Develop customer service strategies to meet the needs of internal and external customers.
• Plan, design and deliver sport and recreation programs.

Work Placement

• Our program includes two work placements in Semesters 5 and 6. Placements occur across industry sectors including professional sport associations, community and amateur sport governing bodies, and private sector sport organizations. These placements provide valuable experience and industry contacts.

Humber’s Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioner advanced diploma program is the first and only publicly funded program of its kind offered at a postsecondary institution in Canada. This intensive program is grounded in the TCM Practitioner skillset which has been approved by all provincial TCM regulators in Canada and provides students with the skills and professional experience necessary to become a TCM Practitioner in Ontario. Through a combination of theoretical course-based instruction, as well as several clinical placements, you will gain a necessary understanding of Traditional Chinese and Western medicine practices. Moreover, graduates of the TCM Practitioner program will be trained to conduct a TCM diagnosis and develop appropriate treatment plans by utilizing their skills in acupuncture, herbal medicine, clinical practice management, professionalism and safety. This program is also committed to the promotion of evidence-informed practice of TCM through scientific research.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Critically analyze and evaluate Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (TCMP) theories and treatment methods to develop professional knowledge and skills required for the profession.
• Assess, diagnose and treat patients using Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (TCMP) principles, knowledge and treatment methods including acupuncture, herbal medicine, internal and external medicine.
• Perform safe, ethical and effective TCMP skills within a clinical setting.
• Evaluate patients incorporating a bio-medical approach with Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (TCMP) examination techniques to formulate a TCMP diagnosis and treatment strategy, and perform the treatment in a skillful and professional manner.
• Communicate effectively and educate patients, families, the community and other healthcare providers when providing TCMP practices.
• Advocate for Traditional Chinese Medicine as an effective complementary medicine.
• Adhere to the relevant provincial and federal legislation governing the profession while engaging in safe practices.
• Access current and pertinent research regarding practitioner self-care to maintain a healthy practice.
• Maintain client and business records using professional business practices of a TCMP.
• Establish interprofessional relationships with TCM colleagues and healthcare team members.
• Develop a plan for personal and professional development to enhance work performance and maintain currency in the field.
• Evaluate and implement environmentally related initiatives relevant to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (TCMP) profession.
• Apply basic entrepreneurial strategies to identify and respond to new opportunities.

Work Placement

• There are seven mandatory clinical placements that provide students with progressive, professional practice experience in diagnosing, preparing treatment plans, inter-professional collaboration and safe practices. Clinical placements occur throughout the year at community TCM and multi-discipline clinics within the greater Toronto area, as well as at our on-site partner clinic, the Tzu Chi Clinic of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The clinical component of the program offers more than 800 hours of direct patient contact, which exceeds the regulatory body minimum requirement of 500 hours.

Industrial designers design products for consumers.  Examples include sports footwear, headphones, wearables and automobiles. Graduates of the program are in high demand for the practical skills gained through the program’s hands-on learning environment. These skills include sketching, digital graphic rendering, model-making and computer-aided design (CAD).  The program is project driven, and many of the design projects will involve industry collaboration to ensure real-world relevance.

Students elect a design specialization in Year 3 in one of:

• Automotive design
• Product design or
• Interaction design

Automotive designers design the appearance (styling) of motor vehicles including automobiles, motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Humber is the only industrial design program in Canada that offers an automotive design specialization. 
In product design, there is more emphasis on the method of finding a solution to a user’s problem in order to make doing a task easier or make the user experience with the product more satisfying.
Interaction design is a new offering in the program which recognizes that more and more physical products are integrating a digital component, including touch screens or voice activation.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Meet the professional criteria as established by the ACIDO Charter (The Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario), demonstrating core competencies in skills, knowledge and design methodology in industrial design meeting.
  • Design, document and communicate high quality interior design propositions of varying size, scope and complexity employing principles of evidence-based design methodology.
  • Explain how products work; how products can be made to work better for people; what makes a product useful, usable, and desirable; and how products are manufactured and serviced.
  • Select and employ appropriate visual languages to investigate, analyze, interpret, develop and articulate ideas for two and three-dimensional projects.
  • Produce sophisticated design proposals emphasizing three-dimensional quality of space achieved through architectural detailing.
  • Communicate concepts and requirements to other designers and colleagues who work with them, and to clients and employers. This need to communicate draws upon: verbal and written forms, two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, and levels of detailing ranging from sketching to engineering drawings.
  • Employ computer-aided drafting (CAD), computer-aided industrial design (CAID), and appropriate 2D and 3D graphic software to create graphic presentations and marketing materials.
  • Integrate sustainable practices in the design process and demonstrate leadership by educating users in these principles.
  • Analyze the complexity of forces – economic, political, physiological, sociological and technological – which influence the design of the physical environment.
  • Incorporate principles of user-centered design, human factors and ergonomics in design solutions.
  • Select appropriate methods and materials to achieve the technical functionality and aesthetically pleasing built environment.
  • Select the appropriate process(es) and materials for manufacture for a given production volume.
  • Support the marketing function with design strategy supported by graphic/3D materials.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between human behaviour and the built environment and the implications in preparing design solutions.
  • Assess the implications for interior design presented by key developments in current and emerging materials, media and technologies and in interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary design practice.
  • Source information on copyright, mechanical patents, and protection of intellectual property, as applied and practiced in the professional field of industrial design.
  • Develop a business case for and present design solutions to a variety of stakeholder in keeping with professional standards and practices.
  • Employ effective and professional communication skills and techniques to interact, negotiate and undertake collaborative efforts including meaningful discussion of one’s work in an open studio environment, with audiences, clients, markets, end-users and team members.
  • Work collaboratively with clients to develop an understanding of the product requirements, leading to a design brief.
  • Confidently employ appropriate professional accountability, personal and business ethics demonstrating competency of industry practices.
  • Work in a team effectively, utilizing skills of collaboration, negotiation, compromise and conflict resolution.
  • Employ appropriate conventions of measurement, scale, site measuring, drafting and volumetric manipulation through a variety of manual and digital modeling techniques.
  • Design to exceed the minimum standards of applicable laws, codes, regulations, and practices that protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.
  • Speak clearly and persuasively for design concepts and resources.
  • Plan and manage projects, demonstrate good time management skills, be a self-starter, and show resourcefulness.
  • Employ both convergent and divergent thinking in the process of observation, investigation, speculative enquiry, ideation, rationalization and implementation of design solutions.
  • Source, navigate, select, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate and manage information from a variety of sources, both primary and secondary.
  • Conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, demonstrating professional accountability.
  • Employ a variety of methods of design to develop design solutions.
  • Analyze information and experiences in order to articulate an academically structured, sustained and well-supported argument supporting a design issue or creative interior design solution.
  • Identify and analyze the customer needs of an identified target market.
  • Find relevant information that informs the design process, employing a number of techniques and skills including: observation, expert interviews, market information, and various digital search techniques.
  • Employ a variety of ideation techniques, including: sketching, brainstorming, rapid sketching, analogy, metaphors, symbols, and form exploration/sketch modeling
  • Develop a design solution which meets users’ needs, derived from concept development, product aesthetics (form, color, texture, haptics) that reflects market trends, human factors (including ergonomics, user interaction, and safety), model making, materials and technology, sustainable design, manufacturing feasibility and design validation, and cost.
  • Demonstrate good problem solving abilities.
  • Develop creative and innovative solutions.
  • Demonstrate a strong aesthetic sensibility and style, resulting in design solutions with visual appeal.
  • Articulate a well-supported argument justifying a design concept or creative design solution.
  • Articulate the difference and relationship between a product’s form and function and the emotional and experiential needs it fulfills.
  • Articulate design strategy in the context of business strategy.

Work Placement

• This program includes a work placement of 420 hours in the summer between Year three and four.

Humber’s Tourism – Travel Services Management diploma program is ideal for those who possess a genuine love of travel, exploration and adventure. The program will provide you with the experience you need to excel in this exciting industry including:

• Tour operations
• Travel agencies
• Tourist boards
• Adventure and eco travel
• Cruise lines, airlines
• Voluntourism
• Educational tour companies
• Sales and marketing

In order to best prepare for this dynamic industry, you will have several opportunities to travel internationally on both short duration trips and for full semesters abroad. In addition, several courses include local travel opportunities that give you hands-on experiences in a variety of tourism and travel products and adventures. In the Trip Planning course, you will plan and execute a travel experience. The program also includes extensive training with the most recognized software systems in the tourism industry.

Fast-track program – Students that start in January will complete the program on a fast-track schedule. The first semester (January to April) is immediately followed by the second semester (May to August), resulting in a short summer break. Students enter Semester 3 in September, completing the two-year program in just 16 months.

Students will apply their skills and knowledge in the fourth semester in a seven-week (32 hours per week) unpaid work placement. Placement opportunities include positions in retail travel agencies, tour operators and destination management companies. You will practise and develop skills selling tourism products, as well as gain introductions to operations, sales and marketing.

Our program is the launching pad to an exciting career in one of the world’s largest, most dynamic industries. Establish your career in:

• Tourism product sales and marketing
• Customer service
• Operations
• Wholesale and retail reservations
• Product planning and niche tourism
• Tour conducting

In this industry, you will have the opportunity to work in Canadian and international markets with tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, destination management companies and other travel suppliers.

Humber’s User Experience (UX) Design graduate certificate simulates the interdisciplinary approaches needed to achieve an innovation process with a focus on design desirability, technological feasibility and business viability. In two semesters, you will be prepared to innovate by problem finding through design research, problem understanding through synthesis, and problem solving through design and prototyping experiences. You will learn how to create valuable courses of action by generating design problem hypotheses, structured design process plans, compelling UX deliverables and persuasive arguments.

You will learn human-centered design methods and rhetoric that ground your design in the needs of the public. In addition, you will learn how to use interaction design and design systems through industry-standard quality assurance methods, and how to design and implement user interfaces to follow corporate strategies. A variety of conceptual and practical work will help you develop effective UX design skills.

As a user experience designer, you will employ the work-practice of prototyping concepts in order to describe ways to integrate digital services with material products and environments. As a UX researcher, you will discover insights through usability testing and apply them to create value for corporate clients and their customers. Toward the conclusion of this program, you will convert your acquired skills and achievements into a portfolio of design products that will help you launch a career as a UX design professional. This program fosters the practical discipline, relevance and currency essential in the contemporary, ever-growing UX job market.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Facilitate team processes towards effective completion of user experience design projects.
• Represent a linked sequence of observed evidence, collected data, qualitative research findings, interpretations and proposed design solutions to stakeholders to solicit support and commitment.
• Assess requirements of a user experience design project, in order to increase corporate acceptance, usability and effectiveness.
• Present persuasive arguments in support of user experience projects which balance user needs with business objectives.
• Design a complex user experience project which considers a business uncertainty and plans for multiple outcomes.
• Manage projects using current and proven methodologies to coordinate the work of a multi-disciplinary user experience design team.
• Adapt recommendations and courses of action in accordance with explicit and implicit cultural, professional and ethical constructs involved in solving user experience design problems.
• Factor and refactor research methods and insight-generating frameworks in order to facilitate, inform and guide team problem-solving.
• Resolve uncertainties and create shared purpose with stakeholders using iterative prototyping.
• Evaluate, adjust and communicate design decisions in alignment with financial, technical, and usability factors.

Humber's 3D Modelling and Visual Effects Production certificate program focuses on both the conceptual and the technical, as you learn to master visual techniques to bring ideas to life. You will develop skills in modelling, texturing and lighting, as well as in visual effects, compositing and digital cinematography. We employ a teaching process and course structure that requires content created in one course to be used to complete assignments in other courses. This “pipeline” process mirrors that of industry, allowing students to make a seamless transition into a real production environment.

The program is designed by artists for experienced traditional artists and animators who want to either develop or transition their skill sets for employment in the 3D and visual effects industries. The faculty take their years of industry experience into the classroom, straight from the studio. Their collective experience and passion in the gaming, television and film industries is the driving force that ensures the program meets the current and future needs of the industry.

January intake scheduling: students will benefit from our streamlined flexible schedule, allowing them to work their day jobs while they study for their dream jobs. Our schedule will have students on campus and in classes on evenings and weekends. Students will study in our state-of-the-art labs equipped with Cintiq tablets and the latest tools and software.

The Humber Advantage

• Program Benefits:
  • Flexibility for industry professionals looking to develop new skills
  • Approved for second career candidates
  • Course curriculum taught and designed by industry professionals
  • Teaching process and course structure follows a “pipelines process,” mirroring the realities of a real-world production environment
• Our program allows you to:
  • Manage work, family and study in a flexible schedule
  • Work your day job as you learn during evenings and Saturdays
  • Expand your career possibilities by learning new skills
  • Finance your education as you study
  • Bring your ideas to life
• Skills You'll Develop
  • Modelling
  • Texturing
  • Lighting
  • Visual effects
  • Compositing
  • Digital cinematography