Graphic Design for Teachers

I cannot praise Stef Bowker, from Working Dog Resources, highly enough! My experience working with her has been an absolute game-changer with regards to my TPT store. When I initially approached her, I thought I was only looking for help creating a custom set of social media templates, but now I've ended up with a complete brand refresh, along with individualized training on both the Adobe CC suite and on the process of creating accessible documents. I've taken many courses and purchased many memberships and nothing else has even come close to giving me as great a return on my investment as the work I've done with Stef!

I worked with Stef on a number of occasions to train my staff in Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, and other Adobe products. She is extremely knowledgeable in Adobe products but is able to translate that simply into learning material for the novice, or to challenge the expert. I would recommend her as an exceptional trainer of graphic design tools.

Stef is a top-notch lecturer with invaluable industry knowledge and an approachable one at that. I say this because she respects her students. She taught me essential Design and Technology skills which have formed the foundation for my work today, and she ran a specialised course which gave me invaluable insight into the printing process. I've also had the privilege of assisting a class alongside her. When students had questions she was encouraging and would take the time to explain; you could tell she wanted her students to grow in their understanding. I highly recommend her as a lecturer. She doesn't just have a vast trove of knowledge, she also understands how to effectively share that knowledge in an engaging manner.

I was already using InDesign, but Stef has been able to show me so many tips and tricks to get more out of the program, which has made me so much more efficient in my workflow! Products that used to take days to create I can now do in roughly an hour, Now that I have a template set up, I can churn out previews in under 10 minutes! I have a much deeper understanding of the specific capabilities of each of the Adobe programs and have learned how to use them together to maximize their power while creating a workflow that is efficient and comfortable for me. Stef is a fantastic teacher and has a great balance between demonstrating different techniques and walking me through the various processes on my own documents. She provides truly customized training and is always there to answer any questions I have.

Stef has worked with us for a great many years as a trainer and lecturer. Her knowledge (and thirst for more knowledge) and the ability to communicate this knowledge has helped us greatly in our relationships with clients. The extended length of time that we have utilised Stef's skills speaks volumes in its own right. I was also impressed with Stef's ability to think outside the square when handling student's questions.

Bowks is one of the rare teachers that tick all the boxes. She leads by example to earn the respect of her students, she puts in the hours to keep her classes interesting and she encourages her students to learn new creative skills. As a writer working in advertising, I'm grateful that Bowks pushed me to learn and develop my design skills. It has added another string to my bow and made finding a job much easier.

Stef lectured me for my final year in Graphic Design, at The Australian Academy of Design in Melbourne. Under Stef's guidance, I learnt a lot about advanced concept development, packaging design, project planning, visual presentation, merchandising, design research, cost effective design, logistical and material issues and typefaces just to name a few. As a lecturer, Stef made herself incredibly available to me and any student who needed extra one-on-one tutoring outside of the scheduled lecture hours. She also helped me with taking a book that I had designed to print.

I hired Stef as a trainer-instructor for my company. Stef was brilliant from the moment she started with us: effective, knowledgeable and totally professional at all times. She was always personable and reliable regardless of circumstances. Stef was a pleasure to work with and I would engage her again without hesitation should the need ever arise.

Stef is a brilliant tutor with strong practical skills to support her craft. Stephane has excellent software and prepress knowledge, a great energy and genuine interest in her students' learning. A real asset to any institution or studio.

I had the privilege of being in Stef’s graphics class for two years while attending the Australian Academy of Design and she was definitely one of my favourite lectures there! Apart from being an awesome teacher Stef pushed us as a class to seek her help at any time and making herself available if we needed the extra help. She shared her knowledge of photography by holding a photography lesson after class in order to get to know the students and to help us understand the camera a little better. Apart from the bonus photography lesson Stephane has a broad knowledge of graphic design and gave us a great understanding of what the design world is like in real life. She taught us some valuable lessons about brand identity, printing processes, packaging, setting up die cut for print, along side many more. I highly respect Stephane and would take her advice any day. She was a great influence to me and helped a lot with my plans for the future.