Certifications

When I first became interested in graphic design, I wanted to learn how the Affinity Suite works. It’s an alternative to Adobe, with many of the same features. I decided to complete courses on Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher through Udemy, which helped me build a strong foundation in graphic design.

These courses gave me extra experience with professional tools and techniques, such as photo editing and retouching, creating advanced shapes and graphics with fills and gradients, and designing layouts for digital publishing. I also learned how to confidently navigate each software’s interface, use key tools and export projects for different platforms and purposes.

The certificates are presented below.

A light blue certificate of completion with intricate border and floral design, awarded for a course on photo editing in Affinity Photo, dated February 28, 2021, signed by multiple instructors and issued by Udemy.

Certificate of completion awarded to Iva Omcren, indicating they've completed 11.5 hours of an online course on Affinity Designer on December 14, 2020, from Jeremy Hazel Video School and Udemy.

Certificate of completion awarded to Iva Omcren for completing 3 hours of Affinity Publisher guide on December 16, 2020, issued by Udemy, signed by Nick Nyxson.

During the Affinity courses, I worked on creative assignments where I could try out new ideas and apply the skills I was learning.
These projects gave me practical experience and helped me grow my creative skills in design.

Below are two examples.

Design 1. Hiking shoes inspired by Mount Everest

For this project, I created a shoe design inspired by Mount Everest, based on the idea of Seven Natural Wonders of the World footwear. For the design, I worked with colors sampled directly from a reference photo, applying hex codes to build a cohesive palette.

The design was built in Affinity Designer, using vector tools and color fills. This project reflects how real-life inspiration can be transformed into a unique and wearable design concept.

A color palette comparison chart with gradient squares in three rows and two columns, showing different shades of gray from dark to light.

Close-up of a modern hiking or mountaineering boot with black, gray, and white colors, featuring sturdy laces, a padded ankle collar, and a rugged sole suitable for outdoor terrain.

Snow-capped mountain peaks under a clear blue sky, with rugged dark rocks in the foreground.

Design 2. London city map on a guitar

For this project, I explored the idea of connecting musical instruments with satellite images of cities by blending a map of London onto a plain wooden guitar.

In Affinity Photo, I used masking techniques to shape the map to the guitar’s contours and applied layer adjustments, blend modes, and opacity refinements for realistic integration. This design required great attention to detail to complete.

Overall, this demonstrates how technical image editing skills can transform a simple object into a visually insteresting concept.

An acoustic guitar with a city map design on its body, resting on a wooden park bench next to a tree.

Besides the courses on Udemy, I enrollered into several other courses on LinkedIn and earned certificates of completion. Below are some examples, with the full list and certificates available on my LinkedIn profile.