Week 01
Foundations of design
Line, shape, balance, contrast. Why some things look right and others don't — and how to tell before you make them.
Output: a composed poster
Media Plug Academy · Mbabane
Learn to design
Learn to design
by making real work
An eight-week, hands-on graphic design class for beginners. You start at a blank page and finish with real files: a poster, a logo, a social set, and print-ready artwork you can hand to a client. Taught by a working studio, not a lecture hall.
8
Weeks
1
Evening a week
In person
Mbabane
Small
Class size
Online
Submissions
The programme
Eight weeks, one real skill each
Week 02
Colour & type
Palettes that work together, and how to choose and pair typefaces instead of guessing. Legibility over decoration.
Output: a type specimen
Week 03
Vector & the pen tool
Drawing exactly what's in your head in Illustrator — shapes, paths, and a logo mark built from scratch.
Output: a logo mark
Week 04
Print colour & Photoshop
CMYK vs RGB, resolution, bleed and why files get rejected at the printer. Photo cleanup and compositing.
Output: a print-ready page
Week 05
Real briefs
A flyer and a logo for a real business, worked start to finish: brief, sketch, layout, delivery.
Output: flyer + logo
Week 06
Social & critique
A matching social set, then a proper critique day: how to take notes on your own work and defend a choice.
Output: a social pack
Week 07
Mockups & pricing
Present work on a wall, a shirt, a phone. Then the business side — how to quote, and what your time is worth.
Output: a priced portfolio piece
Week 08
Print files & first client
Export checklist, handover, and landing one real paying client. You leave with one finished piece and a price on it.
Output: one piece, one price
Advanced · application only
The Pro Track
For students who finish the eight weeks and want to work like a studio. Five more weeks, a small cohort, real client briefs — and a full week on using generative AI without letting it make you lazy.
- → Build a portfolio that reads like a studio's, not a student's.
- → Gen-AI for designers: AI makes the picture, you make the layout. Every word set by hand.
- → Art-directing output, disclosure, and licensing — the professional part.
- → Price real work, then deliver it under live client briefs.
- → Finish with a project you can sell.
How it works
Class in person, everything else online
01
Attend the weekly class
One session a week in Mbabane. Demo, then you make. Bring a laptop; we can help you set up the software.
02
Submit your work online
Each week's task goes up on Google Classroom. Upload your file, get written feedback and a grade before the next class.
03
Build the file, keep the skill
Every task produces a real file. By week eight you have a small portfolio and something a client would actually pay for.
Reserve your place
Seats are limited
Tell us your name and which intake you want. We'll send the start date, the fee, and your Google Classroom invitation. No experience needed.
Already enrolled? Your assignments, feedback and grades are on Google Classroom — check the invite we sent to your email.