Digital Media Design

One year, eighteen courses and a portfolio that shows you can design, shoot, model and code. That is the promise of Digital Media Design, a one-year certificate taught at RRC Polytech’s Exchange District Campus in downtown Winnipeg, with competitive, portfolio-based entry each autumn.

Term 1 samples every corner of digital media: Design 1, User Experience 1, Web Design 1, Media Production 1, Drawing and Illustration 1, Photography, 3D Fundamentals 1, 3D Artistry 1 and Digital Media Design Communications 1. Term 2 deepens each strand through Design 2, with its colour theory and typography, Web Design 2 on responsive layouts and advanced CSS, Media Production 2 on videography, 2D animation and colour correction, Drawing and Illustration 2 with life drawing, 3D Fundamentals 2, 3D Artistry 2, Programming Logic and Digital Media Design Communications 2.

Studio work uses the tools of the trade: Maya for 3D modelling and animation, ZBrush for digital sculpting, Adobe Premiere, After Effects and DaVinci for editing and post-production, Photoshop for illustration, and HTML and CSS for web pages, with DSLR or mirrorless cameras for photography and video. Admission depends on a set portfolio task released each December and an information session. After the certificate you can apply to the Digital Media Design diploma, majoring in Video and Motion Graphics or Web Design and Development, or to RRC Polytech’s two-year Game Development programme if 3D work is your passion.

With further study or a strong portfolio, this certificate points towards roles such as junior graphic designer, web designer, video editor, 3D modeller, photographer and social media content creator. It suits artistic students who have not yet chosen one specialism and want to try design, video, 3D and web before committing.