Founded in 2007, Nicole’s Classes offers a curriculum of online classes in photography, design, and Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Our courses are fun and interesting with practical examples that help our students have lots of “ah ha!” moments.
The Nicole’s Classes application is a downloadable program you install on your computer. (The link to download will be provided the day the class starts.) Learning is divided into 2 or 4 weeks depending on the course and within those weeks you can learn at your own pace, anytime, anywhere. There are no set class times, so you needn’t worry about scheduling babysitters or being tardy for class. Our courses are flexible, fit into most any schedule and we happily welcome international students!
What makes our classes unique is our instructor involvement! We know how difficult it is to learn new material all on your own. You think you’re doing everything right, and for some reason, what you’re trying just isn’t working! And without someone to point out to you that one thing you’re doing wrong, you may never get it (or you’ll waste hours trying to figure it out). At Nicole’s Classes, you’re not left on your own. You watch the instructional videos at your own pace, and you are invited to email your instructor any time you have a question. In addition to email access to your instructor throughout your course, all courses include homework assignments that challenge you to try out what you’re learning. This is where the real learning happens! In the public homework galleries, instructors leave timely feedback, letting you know what you’ve done right, and what else you may want to try out. Your fellow students may also leave you a friendly comment or two!
If you want to get a sense of how our classes work, we invite you to check out our free tutorials. If you’re amazed at what you can learn in three minutes, imagine what you can learn in a month’s worth of instruction!
NICOLE HILL GERULAT teaches our photography classes. She graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Commercial/Advertising Photography and has been working for over 10 years. Her clients include Real Simple, HGTV, Kiwi Magazine, Parents Magazine and more. Examples of her work can be found on her site as well as her blog, A Little Sussy. Nicole started teaching photography classes in September 2007 and teaches from her own curriculum.
ALMA LOVELAND teaches our Illustrator and InDesign classes. She is a graphic designer who works primarily in Illustrator and InDesign. With her husband, Alma owns an art and design company, Ollibird, and is known for her clean, cheerful style. She designs mobile apps and products and identities for a variety of companies. Get a sense of her teaching style by watching a few of her free tutorials and reading a few Illustrator-related blog posts here at Nicole’s Classes!
MIKE LOVELAND teaches our Photoshop and Photoshop Elements classes. He is a Photoshop pro who has been using the program for the last 15 years. For eight years, he headed up the post-production team of a stock photography company where he was responsible for processing tens of thousands of images. With his wife, Mike owns an art and design company, Ollibird, and in addition to his Photoshop work, is known for his illustrations and art. He uses Photoshop to enhance and improve photography, as well as in his own artistic process. Get a sense of his teaching style by watching a few of his free tutorials and reading a few Photoshop-related blog posts on the Nicole’s Classes blog!
MELANIE BURK teaches our typography class. She is a graphic designer who is obsessed with type. She believes there are three rules to good design: “typography, typography, typography.” Melanie is the founder of Fifth and Hazel, a company that produces websites, branding, catalogues, and surface design. With the belief that art impacts people, Melanie aspires to create good design that invokes change for the better. Get a sense of her teaching style by watching a few of her free tutorials and reading a few design tip blog posts!
DAVID LESUE teaches our branding class. He is a Sr. User Experience Designer at Adobe Systems. In the past, he worked as an art director at Riser Media and taught Principles of Digital Design as an adjunct professor at Utah Valley University. He loves designing beautiful, usable, useful things.
MALLORY ULLMAN is our Customer Service Manager. If you have questions about our classes, your purchase or just want to hear from a real person, Mallory will be on it!
KARA KIMBALL is our Shipping Manager. She makes sure all our textbooks make it to your mailboxes and helps in many capacities behind the scenes to keep Nicole’s Classes running smoothly!
