Micro-credentials

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Accessible Design 101: Essentials for Everyone

In this micro-credential, you'll dive into the essentials of creating accessible designs for everyone. Whether you work as a designer or in any other industry and are interested in making accessible content, this micro-credential is the perfect place to start. Learn the basics of the AODA (Accessibility for Ontario’s with Disabilities Act) and applying the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines across documents and multi-media experiences. From colour contrast and document structure to navigation and interactive elements, discover how small changes can make a big difference. Your journey to accessible design starts here.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Accessibility for Content Creators

Accessibility is an essential component of effective communication design and advertising. Our modules cover fundamental topics, including accessible typography, colour contrast, layout and structure, alternative text for images, accessible PDF creation, graphics for social media and inclusive design for both web and print materials. You will also explore the importance of inclusive language and learn techniques to enable you to reach a wider audience. Industry experts will provide guidance on planning and implementing accessibility features throughout the design process.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Accessibility for Digital Designers

Our program explores accessibility principles, guidelines, and best practices tailored to designers working specifically with online mediums. Facilitated by industry experts well-versed in accessibility and AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) compliance, our program offers a dynamic learning experience that blends theoretical knowledge with practical application. Delve into topics such as accessible design patterns, assistive technologies, and WCAG compliance. Acquire the skills to assess and overcome common accessibility barriers, ensuring your designs not only cater to individuals with disabilities but also align with AODA web standards.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Adobe Illustrator: Essential Skills

This micro-credential will introduce Adobe Illustrator, the industry-leading graphic design tool that allows the user to design anything from logos and icons to graphics and illustrations. Through a series of practical hands-on exercises and creative assignments, students will learn to create vector-based artwork for print and digital distribution. They will learn the principles of composition, building colour palettes, creative typography and develop the skills required to produce and prepare digital vector-based files in a professional manner for high-end digital devices.

This micro-credential can be stacked to obtain the Graphic Design Certificate of Completion  

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Adobe InDesign: Essential Skills

Learn to create beautiful layouts, interactive documents and compelling visual narratives. This micro credential introduces the digital publishing tools in Adobe InDesign, empowering learners to create polished, professional designs. Through practical exercises, students will become familiar with how simple print pieces such as postcards, flyers, magazines and posters are designed and prepared for digital and print production.

This micro-credential can be stacked to obtain the Graphic Design Certificate of Completion  

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Adobe Photoshop: Essential Skills

This micro-credential will introduce Adobe Illustrator, the industry-leading graphic design tool that allows the user to design anything from logos and icons to graphics and illustrations. Through a series of practical hands-on exercises and creative assignments, students will learn to create vector-based artwork for print and digital distribution. They will learn the principles of composition, building colour palettes, creative typography and develop the skills required to produce and prepare digital vector-based files in a professional manner for high-end digital devices.

This micro-credential can be stacked to obtain the Graphic Design Certificate of Completion  

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design Continuous Professional Learning

Artificial Intelligence for Digital Marketing and Communications

Demystify AI and harness its potential for digital marketing, business and communications success! Whether you're a marketing professional, an aspiring entrepreneur or a business leader, this micro-credential is your gateway to staying competitive and ahead of the curve. Learners will gain a big-picture understanding of how AI works, as well as real-world techniques to boost productivity and automate select digital marketing and business functions.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Captioning for Academic and Professional Purposes

This micro-credential prepares learners to ensure educational and professional content is accessible to all by developing the essential skills required to serve as accessibility-focused captioners and note-takers for clients with disabilities in academic or business settings. Guided by an accessibility expert, students will explore this essential industry and put their skills into practice through exercises and real-world simulations.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Esports Social Media Management

Social media management is an important component of the rapidly evolving esports landscape. Lead by a current industry expert, this micro-credential will teach the foundational skills needed to effectively manage an esports social media account, and provide students with the essential tools required to pursue a career in esports social media management. All content will focus specifically on the esports industry, showcasing brands, teams, and content creators that operate in the space. Learners will be able to demonstrate how each social media platform functions, identify target audiences and use brand voices to boost the reception of the brands they will manage in the esports industry.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Prompt Writing for AI: The Basics

Creating effective prompts directly influences the quality, relevance and accuracy of AI responses and is an essential future-focused skill for professionals in any industry. This micro-credential focuses on proven, effective prompting techniques with practical augmentation and implementation methods for AI tools. Participants will strategically leverage AI capabilities while maintaining their unique human perspective. Through hands-on experimentation and personalized projects, learners will discover the "jagged edge" between human and AI capabilities and critically evaluate AI-generated content. Creating effective prompts directly influences the quality, relevance and accuracy of AI responses and is an essential future-focused skill for professionals in any industry.

Details & Registration  

Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Continuous Professional Learning

Typography: Essential Skills

This micro-credential will focus on introducing the important role of type communication design within print and web mediums. Students will evaluate the style and character of individual letterforms, through construction of words, lines and paragraphs. Using Adobe InDesign, students will put typographic theory in practice through creative page layout exercises. They will also explore the differences between print and web typography in regards to file types, measurement units, legibility and readability.

This micro-credential can be stacked to obtain the Graphic Design Certificate of Completion  

Details & Registration