Design Foundations and Professional Practice

This unit guides students from research and planning into brainstorming and early concept development while teaching core design principles, color theory, typographic legibility, and page layout. It also develops professional habits—efficient Adobe Creative Cloud workflows, portfolio curation, and career-readiness—that prepare learners for production and refinement in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze client goals, audience research, and project constraints to produce and justify design briefs, moodboards, and multiple brainstormed concepts
• Apply principles of design (contrast, repetition, emphasis, rhythm) and page layout techniques to create balanced, legible compositions
• Demonstrate the selection and justification of primary and supporting color palettes using color psychology and legibility considerations
• Evaluate and implement professional practices—Adobe Creative Cloud workflows, efficiency strategies, portfolio tailoring, and continuing education options—to refine deliverables and showcase a range of skills