Visual Communication

Graphic Design & Illustration Courses

At City Lit, our exciting range of graphic design and ilustration courses will give you a creative insight into working with images and text in an emerging and innovative area. Explore a range of concepts and creative processes, within the areas of graphic design, illustration, children’s book illustration and animation, learning how to produce work visually in a diverse and exciting way. 

Working with industry professionals and experienced tutors in our fully equipped design studios, students will have access to everything they need to complete their next creative challenge. Our studios offer space for creativity with all the equipment your need, including Apple Mac computers, Adobe CC software, Wacom tablets, a range of printers and scanners including access to our 3D printing and laser cutting digital suite.

We encourage playful experimentation, working with both analogue and digital tools. Our courses range from drafting story boards and cartoon design to film poster graphics, from typography and magazine layout to printed creative packaging and digital illustrations.

We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.

To arrange a conversation with our Visual communication coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk  

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

Filters

14 Items

per page
Set Descending Direction
  1. Children's book illustration: portfolio preparation
    Course start date:  Fri 26 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Dee Shulman
    This course is for experienced Children’s Book Illustration learners who wish to put together a portfolio of their illustration work for applications to City Lit Advanced courses, higher education, or agents and publishers. Some learners may also wish to create a ‘dummy’ picture book, for the same purposes.
    Full fee £499.00 Senior fee £399.00 Concession £324.00
  2. City Lit Pro: Adobe InDesign intensive
    Course start date:  Tue 30 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Andrea Marzano
    City Lit Pro courses provide accelerated learning for busy people who need specific skills for the workplace. On this intensive and fast-paced course you'll learn the fundamental skills you need to create single and multi-page layouts used for posters, leaflets and brochures.
    Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £349.00 Concession £349.00
    Rating:
    73% of 100
  3. City Lit Pro: Adobe Creative Cloud intensive stage 1
    Course start date:  Wed 15 May 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    City Lit Pro courses are tailored for accelerated learning for busy people who need to learn key skills for the workplace. On this Adobe Creative Cloud course, covering Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, you will learn key tools and techniques to develop, deliver and optimise vector graphics, photographic images and page layout and design.
    Full fee £549.00 Senior fee £549.00 Concession £549.00
    Rating:
    91% of 100
  4. City Lit Pro: Infographic design with Adobe Illustrator
    Course start date:  Mon 3 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Andrea Marzano
    City Lit Pro courses are tailored for accelerated learning for busy people who need to learn key skills for the workplace. On this practical course you will develop your skills in Adobe Illustrator, with a focus on creating infographics to present complex data in a visual, fun, attractive and impactful way to engage your audience.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £449.00 Concession £292.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
  5. City Lit Pro: Adobe Photoshop intensive
    Course start date:  Mon 17 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Christine Robertson
    City Lit Pro courses are tailored for accelerated learning for busy people who need to learn key skills for the workplace. On this practical course you will develop your skills in Adobe Photoshop, with a focus on learning to input, create, manipulate and enhance images and photographs for use in print and on the Web.
    Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £349.00 Concession £349.00
    Rating:
    84% of 100
  6. Children's book illustration: summer school intensive
    Course start date:  Tue 9 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Tim Ellis, Dee Shulman
    Explore the world of children's book illustration on this intensive practical four-day course! Learn techniques for developing ideas and creating exciting images, whilst learning about the wider context of the current children's book market.
    Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00
  7. Children's book illustration: image, text and writing workshop
    Course start date:  Tue 16 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Tim Ellis, Ciara Flood
    Explore your creative writing and illustration skills and work towards developing your own children’s picture book!
    Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00
  8. City Lit Pro: Adobe Illustrator intensive
    Course start date:  Tue 30 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Gita Hahn
    A comprehensive introduction to creating vector graphics using Illustrator. Learn how to use the pen tool, shapes, brushes, patterns, live trace and effects and gain experience in techniques and strategies useful to graphic designers and illustrators.
    Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £349.00 Concession £349.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  9. Design with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 4 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Gita Hahn
    A thorough, step-by-step introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator – programs widely used by designers and illustrators in the creative industries. Learn and experiment with a range of techniques that integrate vector and pixel-based images for design and illustration.
    Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £227.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  10. City Lit Children's book illustration course
    Course start date:  Fri 4 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Dee Shulman
    This 20-week course will take you on a journey from beginner to intermediate, direct.







    The Children’s Book industry is thriving, largely due to globally rising literacy levels, and a growing awareness of the importance of early childhood education. As a result, Children’s Book creators are in demand.







    Our tutors will teach you the many and various skills you’ll need to illustrate books for children - from drawing and painting (analogue and digital), sequencing and pacing the narrative, to editing the images digitally and overlaying text.







    You'll learn about the children’s publishing sector; gaining a sense of the different genres and markets for children's books, and where your illustration style might fit.
    Full fee £1,599.00 Senior fee £1,279.00 Concession £1,039.00
  11. Introduction to graphic novels
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 15 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







    Comics – once considered lowbrow, or seen as exclusively for children, now occupy a higher cultural domain. Partly thanks to a re-brand, (as ‘Graphic Novels’), no weighty subject is off-limits. A graphic novel has even been nominated for The Booker Prize!







    Alongside official publishing channels, exists a lively ‘zine’ culture, where comic and graphic-novel artists can legitimately self-publish and sell their work through a network of independent shops and fairs.







    Learn how to create Comics and Graphic-novels with City Lit, and – once you have developed your practice – how to navigate this thriving sector.
    Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00
  12. Children's book illustration studio
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 25 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Tim Ellis
    City Lit Studios provide time each week for you to commit to working on a personal project or portfolio, alongside your peers. A tutor will be on-hand to provide insights and guidance, as and when you need it.







    Studios are for experienced learners with a burgeoning creative practice they wish to hone, in a supportive environment. For example, those who have completed a Beginners and Developing course in a relevant subject, or have equivalent industry experience.
    Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00
  13. Illustration 1
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 23 Jan 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Rod Judkins
    If you are interested in illustration and would like to explore the subject further, this course will show you a range of new and exciting approaches. You will learn many new techniques, whether you are a complete beginner or someone who would like to refresh their approach. On this practical course you’ll learn the practicalities of what it is to be an illustrator. This is not a computer-based course but there is help and advice with software for those who wish to use it.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00
  14. Illustration 2
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Rod Judkins
    Developing illustration techniques builds on from the introduction to illustration course and enables you to expand your illustration skills. You will experiment with a variety of different projects and work towards finding your own unique voice and style within illustration. There will be an exploration into a wide range of different media, materials, processes and techniques.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £349.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £227.00
per page
Set Descending Direction

Can't see a course you want?

Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.

Add me to waiting list