Ascend Training

As a director level creative and designer, it can be time consuming to keep up with the advances in the Adobe programs. There is also a stigma that senior level professionals should be at their top game, and not need continued education. I disagree with this, as there is always room to improve regardless of your accomplishments. I recently had a top-notch experience with Ascend Training in further developing skills I already had. Adobe programs are constantly updating and adding tools now that they are cloud based.

I attended three classes with Ascend, each led by a superior teacher and working professional. First I joined Rich's HTML/CSS class. I personally don't plan to code sites, but knowing the vernacular and better understanding functionality as a designer are critical to working with a successful team. I had basic HTML skills from previous classes with a different program.

The program at Ascend was miles better because over the course of three days, you build a website on your own based on a design that exists vs trying to start from scratch. The focus is on how to build it, not the design which can veer HTML classes off track for their main purpose. Design is obviously important to me, but it was not the driving factor in this class to learn.

We also learned Brackets. which is my new favorite thing! Next I attended Photoshop 1 and 2. Every day I left saying "Wow!" I have been using the creative suite for 20 years, and just about every tutorial we went through was either a better, more streamlined way to work, or a completely new tool I did not even know existed. The phrase "you don't know what you don't know" truly applies here.

We went through dozens of tutorials in which they supply the files and a book to bring home and continue practice on your own. It was such a powerful experience that I plan to take Illustrator and InDesign, programs that I always felt even more comfortable in than Photoshop. The structure of the three classes allowed me to dig in and really practice, ask questions, and save files vs an online tutorial that I personally know I would bookmark and frankly never come back to.

The teachers and staff such as Jori, Jacki and Fabiola are well versed in the programming and are there to help you have a phenomenal experience. I look forward to deepening my expertise with Ascend, continuing my path to always being a better designer.

Super practical. the instructors are showing you how to do this in Photoshop, do that in InDesign, and splitting them into beginner/advanced courses makes it helpful for a beginner Adobe user like me. But I could tell during an advanced session even the experienced students were taking notes and following along. It's really awesome to see how receptive students can be when instructors are so knowledgeable and "into it." I attended Adobe Days 2015 in Chicago where you eventually pick and choose smaller sections to go to.

These were just as practical as the speakers were whipping out their laptops and showing you on the big screen what to do. FAQs at the end in case you have questions, and they're more than willing stay after the session to answer questions and help people out - you can tell they genuinely enjoy doing it too. The facility/computer rooms are also gorgeous/comfortable. 5 stars all the way.

Amazing conference! I learned so much that will change the way that I work. Thank you! @AscendTraining #AdobeDaysRocks

Adobe Days at Ascend Training was quite the hit yesterday! Thanks to Jori Curry and team at Ascend for such a well-done event. There were so many tracks to choose from - I went with mostly InDesign and Dreamweaver-related topics. If you or your staff are looking for Adobe training, definitely check out Ascend. Located downtown Chicago at the amazing Fine Arts Building on Michigan Ave or also just off if Lake Cook Rd.

I always walk away from classes there with so much know-how. they even offer free refresher classes within 8 months. Each month they also offer a free class to someone that's currently unemployed. They just have to provide a letter describing their situation. I did this about a year ago and Jori hooked me up. It was just what I needed to sharpen my skills and feel part of such a welcoming, creative community again. You cannot beat that.

I am a business consultant with a doctorate in Business Psychology and over 10 years of experience in the corporate world. It is not as often as I want that I can recommend a business without any hesitations. When it comes to software training, Ascend Training & Consulting is as good as it gets. I had the chance of taking Photoshop training with Jori and InDesign training with Laurie, and the quality of those instructors is just extraordinary.

Both trainers are business and creative professionals with solid, current experience in the field, and they also come across as genuinely concerned about the students' growth. I came in with a list of specific questions, and they have answered every one of my questions. While I had used Photoshop for about 5 years prior to the class, Jori's 2-day workshop was informative, and allowed me to improve my performance, quality and speed.

I had no previous experience with InDesign, and Laurie's 2-day workshop was also high-quality, and offered a lot of real-world applications and solutions to everyday problems; I found her experience in printing particularly useful. Classes are informative and hands-on. Both Laurie and Jori prefer to teach the functions of each tool while developing a project; this allows not only for the information to be relevant and not abstract, but it also generates lots of questions, which they answer graciously and in detail.

As people they come across as smart, thoughtful and witty. What I appreciated most was the general attitude of the trainers. For example, even though a significant amount of my questions had to do with material taught in the advanced class, Jori took the time to answer in detail my questions - that says something about their work ethic. Ascend is not cheap, yet it is probably the best money you'll ever spend when it comes to training. I will definitely come back for more classes.

I got a jump-start on HTML5 by attending the Ascend Training Class: HTML5 & CSS3 Thank you guys.

Just finished the Dreamweaver CS5 Level 1 Class this week and recently stopped in to a free event. I was so impressed by both the facilities and the instructors! Being a recent college graduate, I was anxious about spending the money on these classes and considered just buying a book and plowing through the material on my own. But after the three-day class it was definitely worth every penny!

Rich was my instructor and he was awesome! He explained everything in a way that was easy to understand, apply, and REMEMBER! He made using the program effortless and now the world of web and html, what was a daunting environment, is now a place I am excited to explore and start designing in. I can't wait for my next Level 2 class and I just recently reserved a spot in the Flash Level 1 and 2 class.and jumped on the buy one get one 50% off promotion.

I highly recommend taking classes here if you want to get up to speed fast and with very helpful, patient, and positive instructors that have a lot of expertise and are great at what they do and how they teach. I was recommended here by a trusted co-worker and would certainly recommend Ascend to all interested students. If you're like me and just graduated in graphic design but didn't receive enough web training, this is the place to catch up and get where you need to be to do the work you need to. Although, I still would like to see a student discount for classes, I am more than happy with the services they provide and how far my skills have come with their help in only three-short days. I was actually planning on trying digitalbootcamp too, but after being at ascend, this is exactly where I need to be and what I was looking for.

Took a free seminar here the other day, and was really impressed. The lady that ushered me into the seminar (a bit late, ooops!) utterly friendly and helpful. Their list of classes looks excellent, and I got a line on an InDesign user group that got me excited about what I do for a living again, which is great. I'll be back, for classes, networking and FUN. Gorgeous space in the Fine Arts building, and a really great vibe here.

I've been to a few of the free Adobe update seminars that Ascend offers, and I recently took the introductory Flash class at the Chicago location. The location of the classes can't be beat, and the building itself makes it a treat just to visit. The class sizes are always really small, the teachers are very professional, the equipment is as up-to-date as can be, and I got a great in-depth introduction to Flash CS4. I'm excited to take the class again for free, as you can re-take within 6 months of your original class date. I'm sure a re-take could be a little boring if the material is exactly the same, but I'm someone who needs a refresher so it's great to know that they let you do this.

It was definitely a lot of money to spend on a class, so it would be hard to have taken it had my employer not paid for it, but I think the training that you get is worth the price either way.

I have taken several hands on classes from Ascend (at the Deerfield location) and have been very impressed on all levels. They are very organized - class descriptions and schedules are online, clear & accurate. The registration process is easy. Questions about courses/registrations are answered thoroughly & promptly. Class sizes are kept small to allow greater instructor/student interactions. Instructors have unfailingly queried the attendees to determine if there are specific areas of interest among students and done their best to accommodate those areas within the scope of the class. Instructors often went above & beyond and spent portions of break/lunches helping students.

The quality of instruction is very high. Instructors I have interacted with (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver) have all been top notch - extremely knowledgeable and also excellent at presenting/explaining the materials. Course formats are project based so you actually build skills thorough working with the software. Course materials are of a high quality & serve as excellent post-class references.

The 6 month retake policy is almost too good to be true - definitely use it to refresh/learn more from any class(es) you take. Although I have not taken advantage of it yet, Ascend organizes users groups & other events that look interesting. Ascend Training offers an excellent value for learning new software or expanding your skills in existing programs.

Ascend offers Adobe classes at this location and in Deerfield. They do a lot of nice introductory courses for free to give you a taste of their capabilities. Their meatier training classes are several hundred dollars, but they're very extensive, you can retake them for free, and they give you coupons for $150 off other classes. They also organize fun networking/learning events for the design community, i.e. for freelancers, RIA inclined folk, and bloggers.

I get their newsletter, so when Colin Moock (Flash expert) came to town a few years ago, I was able to go to his training course. (This is probably only really exciting to a Flash geek like me). This Ascend Training facility is conveniently located in the historic Fine Arts Building, just north of Congress on Michigan. I love the location. It's on the fourth floor and the office opens to the gorgeous center courtyard.

The space is nice and comfortable. The elevators are old with elevator attendants. I think this is an excellent resource for designers, especially if your company is willing to pay for some of the extensive courses!

Took a Dreamweaver class here. The pros: Can re-take the class within 6 months for free. Has good training facility with up-to-date computers. Give a discount to nonprofits. Cool, old building. The con: When I re-took the class, I had the same trainer who did the class almost exactly the same. Wouldn't have minded some variety in trainers/training.