DollarDesk

Course 02

Graphic Design, Motion & AI

The design work clients pay for: logos and brand identities, social media and ad creatives, print and packaging, motion graphics in After Effects, and AI tools that speed it all up.

Who it’s for

For creative people who want to design for clients in Pakistan and abroad. Start from zero: you need a laptop and the habit of practising every day.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Design logos and simple brand identities with colour, type and usage rules
  • Create scroll-stopping social media posts, carousels and ad creatives
  • Prepare print files and packaging that printers accept the first time
  • Animate logos, text and social posts in After Effects
  • Use AI tools to generate ideas, images and variations, then refine them by hand
  • Present work, handle feedback and deliver files like a professional

Course outline

8 modules
  1. 01

    Module 1

    Design foundations

    • Layout, hierarchy, grids and white space
    • Colour theory and building a palette
    • Typography: pairing fonts and setting text
    • Reading a brief and collecting references
  2. 02

    Module 2

    Photoshop and Illustrator

    • Photoshop: layers, masks, retouching and compositing
    • Illustrator: shapes, the pen tool and vector logos
    • Exporting the right file for every use
    • Working fast with shortcuts and templates
  3. 03

    Module 3

    Branding and logo design

    • From brief to moodboard to logo concepts
    • Building a brand identity and a simple style guide
    • Applying a brand to stationery and social media
    • Presenting concepts to a client
  4. 04

    Module 4

    Social media and ad creatives

    • Post, carousel and story formats for each platform
    • Designs that stop the scroll and sell
    • Ad creatives for Meta and Google
    • Keeping a feed consistent with templates in Canva and Figma
  5. 05

    Module 5

    Print and packaging

    • CMYK, bleed, resolution and print-ready PDFs
    • Flyers, brochures, menus and business cards in InDesign
    • Packaging and label basics
    • Mockups that sell the design
  6. 06

    Module 6

    Motion graphics

    • After Effects basics: compositions, layers and keyframes
    • Animating text, logos and icons
    • Motion posts and reels for social media
    • Exporting for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
  7. 07

    Module 7

    AI in graphic design

    • Ideas and images with Adobe Firefly, Midjourney and ChatGPT
    • Generative Fill and AI editing in Photoshop
    • Prompting for on-brand results
    • Usage rights, and when clients need original work
  8. 08

    Module 8

    Getting design clients

    • A portfolio on Behance and Dribbble
    • Gigs and profiles on Fiverr and Upwork
    • Pricing design work and packages
    • Revisions, contracts and repeat clients

Read a free sample

From the guidebook

The first section of the Graphic Design, Motion & AI guidebook, exactly as buyers get it.

From the guidebookSection: Start here

Start here: your first $500 as a graphic designer

Your first $500 comes from a few small, repeatable jobs, not from one big brand project. Businesses everywhere need a steady flow of social media posts, ad creatives and simple brand assets, and that is exactly where new designers get hired first.

Route What you do Typical starter price To reach $500
Monthly social media design (best) 12–20 posts and stories a month for one business $100–250 per month 2–4 clients
Logo and small brand kits Logo, colours, fonts and a one-page style guide $50–150 per kit 4–8 kits
Fiverr gigs Thumbnails, flyers, menus, ad creatives, motion posts $10–40 per gig 15–30 gigs

Starter prices are lower than what experienced designers charge. They buy you your first reviews and portfolio pieces. Raise them after every 3–5 happy clients.

The 5 steps

  1. Learn the foundations (days 1–10). Read sections 1 and 2 and redesign three real posts from local businesses every day. Copy the layouts of designs you admire to understand why they work.
  2. Build a portfolio of 9 pieces (days 8–20). Three social media sets, two logos with brand kits, two print pieces and two motion posts, all for made-up or real local brands.
  3. Set up profiles (days 18–21). Behance, Instagram (a design account), Fiverr and Upwork. Headline: "Graphic Designer · Social media creatives, branding and motion graphics".
  4. Pitch every day (days 21–30). 10 Fiverr buyer requests or Upwork proposals and 10 direct messages to businesses whose posts look outdated. Attach one redesigned post as proof.
  5. Deliver, then offer a monthly package (month 2). One-off designs pay once; a monthly social media package pays every month.

Get paid

Open a Payoneer account before your first client pays. It receives US dollars and sends them to your Pakistani bank account. Fiverr and Upwork both pay out to Payoneer or directly to your bank.

$500 is about PKR 140,000 at roughly PKR 280 per dollar (approximate, check today's rate). That is your first goal.

Templates and scripts

  • Client brief & feedback templates
  • Print-ready file checklist
  • AI prompt pack for designers

Tools you’ll use

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Canva
  • Figma
  • Adobe Firefly
  • Midjourney
  • Behance

Roles you can apply for

  • Graphic Designer
  • Social Media Designer
  • Brand Identity Designer
  • Motion Graphics Designer
What comes with every course
Portrait of Iqra M. Riaz

Your instructor

Iqra M. Riaz

Senior Graphic Designer, Kuwait

Iqra is a senior graphic designer based in Kuwait. She has created social media campaigns, brand identities, print and packaging for agencies including EK Agency and Weber Shandwick MENAT, and now works freelance for clients in Kuwait and Estonia.

Strengths in Graphic Design, Motion & AI

  • Senior Graphic Designer at EK Agency, Kuwait, delivering creative for 12+ brand accounts
  • Produced motion graphics that reached 1M+ views
  • Brand identities, social campaigns, print and packaging for brands across Kuwait and the Gulf
  • BA (Hons) Graphic Design, American University of Kuwait, plus CalArts Graphic Design Specialization
More about IqraLinkedInInstagramPortfolio (PDF)