How design instructor Kat Kremser empowers learners from scratch

When seasoned digital illustrator and graphic design pro Kat Kremser reflects on the roots of her creativity, she doesn’t launch into a list of software credentials. Instead, she describes the living room floor of her childhood home, covered in computer parts. 

“My dad worked in technology and he would bring stuff home,” says Kremser. “He would teach us how to plug in monitors and hand me parts and say, ‘Try it! See what it does.’”

Those hours of youthful experimentation shaped the way Kremser thinks and the approach she brings to her classrooms at Concordia Continuing Education, where she has taught Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign in digital design and UX/UI programs since last fall.

Before any formal training, Kremser learned by observing, clicking and testing — breaking things and then fixing them.

“I was always a tech nerd. I loved computers,” she says.

That curiosity, she believes, forms a creative foundation upon which any learner can grow.

Frontline learning

When she wasn’t busy learning about computer components, Kremser drew constantly. Filling sketch pads, scrap paper, and the margins of her school workbooks, she naturally found her way toward early graphics programs. 

As digital design tools evolved, she learned them the same way she learned hardware by opening programs, testing features, and figuring out what every button did.

A high school internship at a small design studio was her first step in the industry. She expected to file assets and observe from the sidelines. But her boss — whom she now calls her mentor — immediately recognized Kremser’s aptitude for hands-on learning and soon began giving her client work.

“He trusted me before I trusted myself,” she says. “He would show me the basics, let me try, and then push me a little further.”

The opportunity became her full-time job for the next five years, as she worked directly with clients and absorbed lessons from daily practice.

“You learn fast when the work is in front of you,” Kresmer says. “You make mistakes, you fix them, and the next day you understand something you did not know before.”

While skills came quickly, confidence took longer.

“It took time for me to believe I belonged in the room,” she says. “Every time I solved something on my own, that feeling grew. That is the trust I try to build in my students now.”

A classroom designed for real-life learning

Early student feedback described her instructional style as clear, practical, and welcoming, which Kremser greets with a mix of pride and humility. 

“I thought I was just doing what made sense,” she laughs. “But students kept saying the way I broke things down made everything feel possible.”

Her courses draw a mix of newcomers who have never opened design software, working professionals adding design to their skillset, and artists returning after years away from digital tools. 

She recognizes how anxious learners can be on their first day.

“I see that look,” she says. “People open the software and think they are already behind. But they are not. They are just starting.”

Each session begins with reassurance and structure. Students start small and build step by step, learning to take problems apart, understand the components, then put everything back together.

“People learn faster when they can see what is happening,” she says. “If they understand why something works, they can use that skill anywhere.”

Her teaching style draws on years spent guiding thousands of learners in public creative spaces. She has moderated busy graphic design and illustration forums and shared instructional videos on her popular YouTube channel, Vector Art Academy. 

These communities showed her how learners troubleshoot, experiment, and even celebrate small breakthroughs together. Seeing where people get stuck and what helps them move forward also shaped her understanding of how confidence grows.

Her goal is not to cover every feature or drill home every answer, but to help learners take the next step on their own.

“I want them to trust themselves,” she says. “If they stay curious, they can learn anything.”

Design as a language

For Kremser, learning design software is about treating it like a language they improve with practice and use in real situations. 

“You do not need to memorize everything,” she says. “Learn what you need in the moment and say it a little better each time.”

As learners draw, build shapes, adjust color, visualize layouts and solve problems with a designer’s mindset, many begin to see themselves differently. 

The most rewarding moments, Kremser says, are when someone creates something they once believed was out of reach.

“That spark is the entire reason I teach.”