Graphics Conceptualization & Design (On-Demand)

$595.00

This course provides the skills necessary to develop a concept for a proposal graphic that conveys your solution in a customer-centric way to contribute to the persuasive power of your proposal.

This class will also show you how to ensure that your graphics have a professional look and feel, including graphics templates and design principles. All the skills taught in this class are specific to Government proposals, which may be different from the traditional graphics design principles.

This class is also offered in a live lecture format that you can attend in person or virtually. To learn more click here.

SKU: ONDEM-GRPHCON Category:

Description

It is impossible to imagine modern sales and marketing without visual elements—and proposals are no different. Graphics serve as one of the most important proposal persuasion elements.

In addition to brainstorming on a graphic idea, this course also shows you how to design an action caption, sketch a graphic concept, determine how to deliver a specific visual message to the Government customer, and use professional graphic design principles and resources to make your proposal graphics look attractive.

Professional proposal graphics artists are not the only ones who need to learn how to conceptualize and design persuasive proposal graphics. It also happens to be an indispensable skill for capture managers, proposal managers, and proposal writers.

Desktop publishers and even editors will benefit greatly from this proposal graphics training, expanding their professional range and earning potential. This course will also help those who in the small Government contracting businesses who not have the luxury of working with a professional graphic artist and have to design graphics on their own.

This course is 40 percent lecture, 50 percent practice, and 10 percent discussion. You will learn the entire process of creating visuals for your solution, from managing the graphics process to conceptualizing and designing large, graphics-intensive items like cover pages and spines.

The experts who teach our Government business development, capture and proposal training are highly experienced currently practicing proposal professionals whose years of successful experience in Government acquisition and training allow them to offer valuable insights to our students. Our instructors can answer tough questions as they come up during the course. They can also tailor the material to their students’ specific challenges, and share their experience based on the most current realities. Check our instructor’s bios on our About Us page.

Course Curriculum

Learning Objectives

  • Choosing the right type of visual to represent your information
  • Planning space for graphics and visuals in the document
  • ​Allocating resources to account for graphic conceptualization, creation, and rendering
  • ​Conceptualizing infographics and customer-centric representations of your solution
  • ​Using basic design principles to create attractive graphics
  • ​Finding and using graphics templates and stock art
  • ​Developing powerful action captions to increase persuasiveness of the graphics
  • ​Creating large, graphic-intensive proposal elements such as covers and spines
  • ​Editing graphics to ensure a professional finish
  • ​Inserting and calling out a graphic in the proposal.
Module 1: Introduction
  • Introductions and learning objectives
  • Introduction to graphics and their importance in a proposal
Module 2: Preparing for Graphics Development
  • Types of visuals in the proposal
  • ​Ideal proportion of graphics and text
  • ​Resource planning for graphics development
  • ​Graphics management process in a large, graphics-intensive proposal
  • ​Rules and free resources for setting up a customer-centric graphics template and palette
  • ​Establishing graphics sizes and mockups
    ​Exercise: Select a graphics template and palette for the proposal.
Module 3: Easy Principles of Graphics Conceptualization
  • Three steps to conceptualizing graphics
  • ​Unlocking the creative process
  • ​Sources of inspiration and ideas
  • ​Types of graphic representation, including an infographic representing your entire solution
  • ​Developing customer-focused, persuasive action captions
  • ​Determining the purpose for the graphic
    ​Exercise: Apply three steps to conceptualize a graphic and its action caption.
Module 4: Designing the Graphics
  • Seven cardinal graphics rules
  • ​Four design methods for creating graphics
  • ​Sources of graphics templates and stock art
  • ​How to select and apply graphics templates and stock art to ensure professional results
  • ​Graphics tools and their capabilities and benefits
  • ​Using PowerPoint and other commonly available tools to render professional graphics
  • ​Basic design techniques and shortcuts in PowerPoint
    ​Exercise: Create the first draft of the conceptualized graphic using the available resources.
Module 5: Finishing Touches
  • Design principles such as alignment, proportion, and balance
  • ​Editing your graphics to create a professional look and feel
  • ​Designing vignettes, pull-quotes, focus boxes, tables, and other visuals
    ​Exercise: Apply finishing touches to a graphic.
Module 6: Creating Covers and Spines
  • Setting up covers
  • ​Preparing cover text
  • ​Selecting photos and images for covers
  • ​Designing spines
  • ​Designing CD covers
  • ​Printing and applying CD covers
    ​Exercise: Design a proposal cover.
Module 7: Graphics in the Proposal Document
  • Preparing the graphics for insertion in the proposal
  • ​Graphics file types and sizes
  • ​Placing graphics on the page
  • ​Rules for referencing graphics in the proposal
    ​Exercise: Insert a graphic and its action caption in the proposal.
Module 8: Summary and Recap

Meet Your Instructor

Olessia Smotrova Profile Photo 2024 Updated OST Global Solutions IncOlessia Smotrova, CF.APMP Fellow

Olessia has more than 25 years of experience in business development. She led winning bids for four out of the top five Government contractors, winning more than $26 billion over the course of her career in single award contracts. She is an AI developer and strategist, pioneering the use of generative AI in Government contracting. She has created and implemented AI tools for business development processes, proposal strategy formulation, and competitive analysis. She is an AI super-user and thought leader in the practical application of generative AI in synthesizing complex data, generating innovative solutions, and driving decision-making in high-stakes Government BD environments.

She is the author of the book How to Get Government Contracts: Have a Slice of $1 Trillion Pie and seven other books. She has taught a graduate course for the Stevens Institute of Technology, and she provided training to Treasury and NASA. She has served for 2 years as the President of the National Contracts Management Association (NCMA) Bethesda/Medical Chapter and for 2 years as the President of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) National Capital Area Chapter.

Olessia is recognized as an APMP Fellow for her contributions to the field of capture and proposals – the highest honor in the business development profession. Her skills span every aspect of business development, sales, and marketing. Prior to supporting Fortune 500 companies and small businesses as a proposal consultant and growing OST, she worked as a business developer for Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and wrote for the Financial Times of London.

Student Reviews

Anthony Needam Avatar
Anthony Needam
12/10/2024
This was new to me. It was very I formative. We received our packets late. I was not aware of how interactive this would be.
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Nao Gamo Avatar
Nao Gamo
11/07/2024
I highly recommend the "MASTER AI TO ENHANCE BD, CAPTURE AND PROPOSAL PROCESSES" course! Not just a high-level overview of AI and its capabilities, the course is full of practical tips that you can apply immediately. All the courses I have taken with OST Global Solutions have been well worth it!!
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Francisca Celmer Avatar
Francisca Celmer
11/07/2024
The "Master AI to Enhanced BD, Capture, and Proposal Processes" class given by OST Global Solutions was truly outstanding. The instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. She made the material easy to understand and directly applicable. I highly recommend this class.
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Jay Yudof Avatar
Jay Yudof
11/06/2024
The BD and capture using AI course what is comprehensive and effectively taught.
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andre downey Avatar
andre downey
11/06/2024
The class taught alot of useful information on ai & working it in to our proposal development process
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Lilliana Reyes Avatar
Lilliana Reyes
9/20/2024
Great course! Clear information and great pace.
The information was very helpful for someone getting started in the proposal world or someone just trying to learn how to easily transition from InDesign to Microsoft Word.
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Aislinn Berge Avatar
Aislinn Berge
9/20/2024
Took the full day training on Desktop Publishing For Proposal Writing with Phillip Pettet. I learned so much! Phillip was fantastic at explaining things and gave lots of tips and tricks for using Word. Thank you!
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TC Phil Avatar
TC Phil
8/28/2024
I recently completed the year-long Business Development Apprenticeship with OST Global Solutions, Inc., and it exceeded my expectations! The program is comprehensive, covering BD, capture, proposal skills, and so much more. It’s clear that OST is the best in the business—they have addressed the real skill gap in this field.

Their curriculum, aligned with Department of Labor standards for Federal Government Business Development, is TOP-NOTCH and the first of its kind in the nation! The training was practical, directly applicable to our business, and provided the expertise needed to succeed in this competitive industry. I highly recommend this apprenticeship to anyone looking to advance their career in Business Development. I plan on taking many additional courses over the next few years as they continue to stay ahead of the curve. Thank you, OST!
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George Franz Avatar
George Franz
6/13/2024
Great course from OST Global Solutions! Olessia's vast experience in this area shines through and the course is chocked full of tips, tactics, and information sources to consider to perform competitive analysis and determine price to win for opportunities.
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Tiffany & Jay Jackson Avatar
Tiffany & Jay Jackson
4/29/2024
I've taken multiple classes with Olessia of OST Global Solutions and the classes are always well-structured and informative. The lastest course on AI is phenomenal - highly recommend it if you're looking to enhance your BD, Capture, and Proposal processes via AI!
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LaKeisha Thomas Avatar
LaKeisha Thomas
4/25/2024
Alexia was a very engaging instructor. The AI class was mind blowing! The capabilities using AI to assist with BD processes are endless. I'm looking forward to implementing all of these new tools.
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Erica Blue Avatar
Erica Blue
4/25/2024
Olessia did a wonderful job of teaching how to use AI for all stages of the Biz Dev process. She had practical examples and hands on practice. Helped change my perspective of AI overall, including its capabilities and limitations.
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