To achieve the SMU-NAFA Advanced Certificate in Marketing with Visual Impact, participants will need to complete the above-mentioned modules.

Module 1: Visual Communication in the Emotional Economy (2 days)

MModule 1 provides participants with an understanding of how semiotics is used in marketing to decipher and influence consumers’ attitudes and behaviours. Participants will also learn how to draw upon the latest creative assets to skilfully compete in an emotional economy.

Module 2: The Power of Visual Language (2 days)

In this module, participants will be equipped with an understanding of the use of design elements, colours, typography and images to express their brand values and drive conversions through subconscious triggers. They will learn that design is not simply a glossy veneer that is applied after the ‘important’ work has been done. Instead, its impact is especially significant in the digital world we live in, where every generation is conditioned to think, communicate and interact visually.

Module 3: Design as Narrative (2 days)

In this module, participants will learn how to navigate through the world with an understanding of the intentionality of images and how they are framed, composed, moved and juxtaposed with sound and music. Participants will also be introduced to the craft of storytelling and will learn about the challenges in pitching a narrative to a generation of visual consumers. Additionally, they will learn how to bridge the gap with creatives working behind the lens.

Module 4: Design to Educate and Entertain (2 days)

In this module, participants will gain insights into the whimsical potential of illustration and animation and learn about the personification of brands for a human touch and the process of translating complex information into engaging and enduring visual anecdotes.

Module 5: Responsive Design (2 days)

In this module, participants will learn how these two interdependent factors can shape customers’ behaviours and impact their decision-making in the course of navigating a marketing campaign. Participants will embark on user-journey mapping to identify pain points and seek out opportunities to improve customer experience. Additionally, participants will examine how design principles and aesthetics can be used to transform human behaviour and deepen engagement.

Module 6: Design Futuring and Participatory Design (2 days)

In this module, participants will gain insights into where design is moving towards and will also learn how to make strategic choices in their organisations that enhance partnerships with future-set designers. Marketing professionals and business owners who are concerned about future trends affecting their organisations will find this module useful in generating forecasts for their businesses, causes, initiatives and concerns through the lens of design.