Are you an aspiring scrapbooking kit designer? Maybe you’ve been designing for a while and still question design basics or have yet to find your design voice? 9-year veteran kit designer Traci Reed understands exactly how you might feel. She shares, “When I started designing 9 years ago, no one was able to help or show me what to do!” But all that can be different for you!
Traci’s Design Star is an 8-week, newly self-paced, mega-course packed with introductory video lessons and recorded demonstrations that will take you from beginner’s kit inspiration to outstanding kit completion. From color theory to typography, repeating patterns to extractions, you’ll learn how to use them all to craft gorgeous kit designs while using Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop — Traci’s software of choice!
Design Star includes informative video tutorials, pre-recorded software demonstrations, and PDF handouts. At the end of class, you’ll sit down with Traci virtually in a one-on-one session identifying your strengths and skills with constructive criticism every aspiring designer desperately needs. This opportunity to talk privately with an industry insider does not come often!
With Traci as your mentor, you’ll find your design voice and learn all the right skills to create a portfolio of captivating kits and designs!
Video Sneak Peek
Workshop Topics
Week 1: Defining Your Style | Walk with Traci through the different styles of scrapbook design, and receive personal insight into her own style so you can better define YOUR desired style!
Week 2: Color Theory | Learn how to choose complimentary kit colors with a focus on brightness and saturation, discover what gamut really means and how to choose a kick-butt color palette that will have customers clicking “buy” every time.
Week 3: Paper Design | Traci shares how to construct simple flowers using the custom shape tool and then demonstrates how to make delightful repeating patterns you can use over and over again.
Week 4: Typography | Discover what fonts to use, what fonts not to use, and how to mix them together for eye-catching word art.
Week 5: Embellishments | Learn how to develop simple embellishments from scratch as well as how to effectively photograph and extract real life objects.
Week 6: Increasing Productivity | Every designer knows files can start stacking up fast! Traci will show you her own tried and tested methods of organization as well as touch on the great Commercial Use debate and the Ethics of designing.
Week 7: Putting It All Together | In week seven, take all you’ve learned in the last 6 weeks and package it together in a sample mini kit for self-refinement.
Week 8: Instructor Feedback | For the final week of class, Traci will chat with you privately about your design strengths and areas for improvement. Don’t miss this invaluable chance to talk to an industry veteran about your designs!
Workshop Includes
Weekly introductory video lessons
Design demonstrations via 17+ hours of pre-recorded webinars
“I signed up for Design Star for three reasons. First, because I wanted to improve my design. I’ve been a designer for 2 1/2 years but had no method. I was just making things as I feel them. I also wanted to change my style. Finally, I wanted to improve my design — it’s a full time job and I want to work in one of my dream shops and earn money from this business. I’m extremely satisfied with Design Star and loved that the webinars were recorded because I can watch them again and again, on my time. Traci has a unique talent to explain this very simply; everything becomes evident and easy. I learned many useful tips and tricks and I totally loved this class. Thank you Traci!” – Design Star student
“I have been wanting to learn how to design kits for a few years and always wished I could have a designer sit beside me and show me the ropes. As soon as this course came out I enrolled with high hopes for it. Taking this course was just what I was looking for and I really felt you, Traci, were sitting beside me showing me everything you know about digital kit design. The initial lessons were really short and you went a bit too fast. I was expecting more to be in the lessons but I enjoyed the webinars most. I loved how you revealed the “secrets” of kit design and showed us exactly how to make elements. For example, showing us all your layer styles to make flare. I thought this course was excellent value for the money! In fact, for how much I learned it was a steal!” – Design Star student
“I enrolled into Design Star to learn more Photoshop techniques. I am a quilt/pattern designer and have worked in the greeting card industry and have several years of experience. The scrapbooking techniques carry over nicely to these occupations. But I apologize that I did not get finish my kit and participate more. I got a new client just after the class started and the work involved left me no time to do the homework. It’s okay, a new client is a good thing! But I always have access to the material and can start again when I’m ready. I know I can schedule a review with you when I’m ready! I really enjoyed the class; very nice teaching style.” – Design Star student
Frequent Questions
Q. I have Adobe Photoshop Elements. Can I take this class too?
A. Yes. The course material was recorded using Adobe Photoshop CS6; however, most of the techniques demonstrated can be recreated using Adobe Photoshop Elements version 9 and above. Traci strongly suggests signing up for the Creative Cloud to really start off on the right foot as a designer.
Q. I’m relatively new to digital scrapbooking and using a photo-editor. Will this class teach me the basics of using Adobe’s photo-editors while learning how to design?
A. No, Design Star is suitable for digital creatives who are comfortable with the Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements interface. New to digital scrapbooking? We recommend Sans Paper Scissors for the beginning digital scrapbooker.
Q. Will Design Star also focus on marketing strategies and social media resources that will help me build my digital design business?
A. Design Star will help you design digital kits other digital scrapbookers will want to buy. For marketing strategies, we suggest Traci’s Crafty Marketing Made Easy workshop, a self-paced 6 module course that will walk you through how to maximize your sales potential.
Q. How long will I have access to the class?
A. Scrapaneer workshops you have purchased will be available for the lifetime of site.
Have additional questions? Visit our FAQ center for quick answers. Or contact us directly at the Student Support center. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.
