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Graphic Design
This 1-day beginner Affinity Designer course is a practical, instructor-led introduction to vector design for anyone new to Affinity Designer or digital graphic design. The course is delivered in Belfast, Dublin, and across the UK, and is ideal for beginners, content creators, marketers, small business owners, and aspiring designers who want to create professional graphics for print, web, and social media.
During the course, participants learn how to navigate the Affinity Designer interface and understand the difference between vector and raster graphics. In addition, they gain hands-on experience using essential tools to create logos, icons, illustrations, layouts, and marketing visuals suitable for real-world projects.
Rather than introducing advanced techniques too early, the training focuses on clarity, accuracy, and practical design skills. As a result, learners develop strong foundations, good design habits, and the confidence to work effectively with shapes, colour, text, and layers.
By the end of the course, participants can confidently create and export professional vector artwork using Affinity Designer. They also leave with a clear understanding of workflows suitable for both digital and print projects used across Belfast, Dublin, and the UK.
What vector design is and how it differs from raster graphics
Overview of the Affinity Designer interface and personas
Creating new documents for print, web, and social media
Understanding artboards and canvas setup
Opening images and supported file formats
Understanding Affinity Photo documents
Saving, exporting, and versioning files correctly
Linked vs embedded images explained simply
Cropping, straightening, and resizing images
Using selection tools effectively
Basic transformations and alignment
Working confidently with undo, history, and snapshots
Understanding layers and layer order
Introduction to masks and non-destructive editing
Using adjustment layers safely
Hiding, revealing, and refining edits
Removing blemishes and distractions
Using the Inpainting, Clone, and Healing tools
Simple skin retouching and cleanup
Maintaining natural-looking results
Adjusting exposure, contrast, and white balance
Using Levels, Curves, and basic colour tools
Enhancing images without over-editing
Working with presets and live adjustments
Applying filters safely using live filters
Sharpening and noise reduction basics
Creative effects for photography and digital content
Understanding destructive vs non-destructive effects
Adding and editing text in Affinity Photo
Working with shapes and basic graphics
Placing images together simply
Preparing visuals for posters, ads, and social media
Common shortcuts and time-saving tips
Using templates and reusable documents
Avoiding beginner mistakes and bad habits
Building confidence with repeatable workflows
Peter Meehan, your course instructor, brings over 20 years of experience in graphic design & Adobe Creative Media.
Holding a degree in graphic design, he has worked with thousands of students from global giants such as Sky, Citibank & more.
Claire Youd
Both course content and instructor knowledge is exceptional – fresh, engaging and relevant. The ongoing support that Big Rock Designs provides is a real plus. I plan to attend future courses and would recommend other do too!
Joanne Doherty
Although my Photoshop knowledge was very limited, I found the organised sessions very easy to follow and I was over the moon at the amount I had learned. I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice in the coming months ahead.
Lorna McGivern
As someone who has attended numerous digital workshops and training I can honestly say Big Rock Academy’s introduction to Photoshop was the best I’ve ever experienced. They excelled in teaching us the logic behind the main tools in a very easy to understand way.
Rachael Weir
I just completed the Advanced Photoshop course at Big Rock Academy and I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve learnt. I now feel equipped to put it into practice in my job. I had a great teacher and I was able to really get to grasps with the software very quickly.
Live, instructor-led training in graphic design, marketing & video production.
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