We are thrilled to announce that our first CAD lessons are live on the University of Fashion site! For those of you who are familiar with our philosophy, you know that we believe there is no substitute for the art and craft of fashion design. And therefore, we believe there is no substitute for illustration as you take your designs from conception to paper.

However, the University of Fashion is also dedicated to giving our designers the skills you need to be competitive in today’s job market. Computer Aided Design (CAD) is now on the list of necessary skills as designers apply for jobs in mass market and ready-to-wear fashion companies.

If you are starting or running your own line, the time will come when you need to present your collection to buyers. Professional line sheets with expertly drawn flats representing your garments will be what’s left in buyers’ hands long after you have presented your collection and met face-to-face with buyers. The ability to accurately represent your garments in two-dimensional form will be of great value to you.

With these reasons in mind, we present the first nine videos in our brand new section dedicated to CAD, specifically in Illustrator, on our site: Introduction to Adobe Illustrator for Fashion, Create a New File with Open Palettes, Drawing Pockets, Buttons & Belt Loops, Adjusting & Coloring Flat Illustrations, Adjusting & Resize a Pocket on a Flat Illustration, Moving, Copying & Arranging Objects, Aligning & Distributing Objects, The Pen Tool – Drawing & Editing Paths and Reflecting & Joining Paths.

Whether you drape, draw or pattern as you are initially conceiving your designs, the time will come when you need to represent them in flat form. If your goal is to work for a fashion company, you will open up your options considerably if you have proficient Illustrator skills. Look forward to many more videos as we build our CAD section at the U of F. Is there something specific you would like to learn? Do not hesitate to let us know. We develop our curriculum to suit the needs of our students, and we would like to hear from you!