Floral Design Online Training

The program goal for Penn Foster's Floral Design program is to gain the knowledge and skills to work as a professional florist or start a floral business.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Recognize a long tradition of design styles, and understand how to use design techniques, including the principles of design, the elements of line, form, space, texture, and color, in addition to observing how these design elements and principles work in actual floral arrangements
• Differentiate between major styles of floral design and identify the mechanics and techniques involved in designing arrangements in these styles
• Understand the extensive tradition of design styles and the aspects of design styles in others' interpretive arrangements, and familiarize yourself in how to adapt each design style within your own interpretive work
• Recognize the floral consultant's role in helping brides prepare for their weddings, including pricing techniques, coordinating the attendants with the bride, decorating of the wedding ceremony and reception, and creating bridal bouquets, corsages, hair wreaths, and lapel boutonnieres using various design techniques
• Comprehend the use of traditional and innovative funeral arrangement techniques to fulfill clients' requests for personalized casket sprays and wreaths
• Identify how to successfully create designs in remembrance of the deceased, while presenting appropriate expressions of the feelings of the bereaved, and working within the client's budgets.
• Recognize the bride's wishes, her budget, and your own ideas of what's appropriate, tasteful, and eye-catching
• Comprehend plants varieties for different environments, including designing for commercial and home environments, indoor gardens, care and treatment of potted plants, and the diagnosis and treatment of plant infestation in order to suit clients' requests
• Identify care techniques and uses for artificial flowers, dried flowers, and plants, including using recycling containers in the construction of designs and proper displays, and the benefits of using artificial flowers, dried flowers, and plants in arrangements and wreaths, along with the relationship of floral design to the interior-decorating industry
• Understand the techniques to care for and use artificial flowers, dried flowers, and plants, and their relationship to decorating
• Identify how to prepare for Christmas traditions by combining fresh and artificial materials, flowers, Christmas plants, and Christmas trees, in addition to using floral wire services
• Identify how to prepare for the major holidays of Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's day, Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, and special occasions, including how to make flowers a part of any festivity, and how to prepare and price gift baskets
• Comprehend different ways to promote flowers during the quieter times of the year by focusing on pleasing smaller groups of customers with gifts and decorations for special events
• Understand how to create customer orders for gifts and decorations at holiday times or special occasions
• Recognize the value of and techniques involved in providing good customer service in a floral design business, including finding the best location, targeting your customers, analyzing your competition, funding sources, insurance, licensing, equipment, supplies, staffing your shop, establishing a business identity, and designing your shop's interior
• Identify common considerations of owning a floral design business, including understanding the roles of growers, suppliers, and wholesalers while having basic business skills that include hiring temporary and contracted help for seasonal fluctuations
• Recognize how effective public relations, advertising, merchandising, location, and shop design can boost the sales of a floral design business
• Understand the basic steps to establish and manage a floral business
• Demonstrate the skills to create floral arrangements for Weddings, Solemn Occasions, and Holidays using fresh flowers, artificial flowers, and plants
• Understand how floral-design concepts from the past influence modern floral design; recognize the four design categories by which florists classify flowers and foliage; identify other plants by name, shape, color, smell; and discuss traditional use in arrangements
• Comprehend the qualities needed to distinguish yourself as a designer, and understand the career opportunities available to professional floral designers
• Understand the care, handling, and seasonal availability of flowers, in addition to materials and tools and their uses in the creative perspective in floral design
• Use the website Aboutflowers.com, provided by the Society of American Florists, and the glossaries from the lessons to look up flowers and become familiar with the needs and characteristics of specific flowers
• Recognize the principles of design, including composition, scale, proportion, balance, unity, pattern, harmony, contrast, accent, rhythm, movement, and focal emphasis, in addition to, the elements of design including line, space, texture, form, and color theory
• Understand floral components and containers that satisfy a client's requests using various design techniques, including traditional and contemporary design styles

Succeed by learning how to use your Penn Foster program.

Objectives:

• Understand how to use your Student Portal.
• Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
• Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.

Start your journey to an exciting new career by exploring the history of floral design. Get tips on becoming a valuable designer, and learn how to distinguish yourself from other floral designers.

Objectives:

• Learn the basic design categories and varieties of flowers and foliage.
• Explore career opportunities.

In this course, you’ll learn the procedures for creating arrangements using various tools and techniques.

Objectives:

• Use the correct flower care and handling procedures for different types of flowers.
• Learn the seasonal availability of flowers.
• Choose the most appropriate design arrangements for hospitals, funerals, and table centerpieces.
• Create arrangements using various tools and techniques.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you've learned.

Learning Aid: Bow Package 1

Building on the fundamental concepts you’ve learned so far, you’ll learn how to incorporate color and basic design into floral arrangements, and explore more design techniques to create high-quality, beautiful arrangements.

Objectives:

• Understand principles and elements of design when creating floral arrangements.
• Explore the basics of color theory and how color affects a design.
• Distinguish traditional and contemporary design styles.
• Prep containers for both traditional and contemporary design styles.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

Learning Aid: Color wheel

This course serves as an introduction to the major floral design styles.

Objective:

• Identify the fascinating details of the following design styles:
  • Ikebana
  • Western line
  • Hogarth
  • Formal linear
  • Crescent
  • Mille de fleur
  • Biedermeier
  • Parallel-system
  • Vegetative
  • Landscape
  • New convention
  • Abstract
  • New wave
  • Waterfall
  • Hand-tied

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

Learning Aid: Floral designer’s kit

This course will teach you how to design appropriate arrangements for weddings and funerals.

Objectives:

• Understand the basics of wedding flowers.
• Analyze the floral designer’s role in a wedding.
• Explore bridal and wedding bouquet styles and designs.
• Learn techniques to coordinate the wedding party with the bride.
• Explore the construction of other types of worn flowers, such as corsages and wristlets.
• Decorate various wedding ceremony and reception sites.
• Create the proper atmosphere for funeral consultation.
• Examine the types of casket sprays and other funeral floral arrangements.
• Explore the traits and use of carnations and roses, the two most commonly used funeral flowers.
• Add personal touches to funeral arrangements that your customers will greatly appreciate.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

Learning Aids:

• Boutonniere and corsage kit
• Bow Package 2
• Wedding order forms

This course discusses both the increasing popularity of growing indoor plants and using artificial and dried flowers and foliage in your arrangements.

Objectives:

• Choose the appropriate plants for different environments.
• Care for and treat potted plants.
• Diagnosis and treat plant infestation.
• Explore the designs for commercial and home environments.
• Learn about the different types of artificial and dried flowers.
• Work with and store artificial and dried flowers.
• Explore various design styles and other decorative uses of these materials.
• Understand cross-merchandising techniques to expose your designs to new customers.
• Write professional pricing proposals for custom arrangements.
• Prepare containers for silk and dried flowers.
• Make wreaths.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

This course will prepare you to create fresh and artificial arrangements for major and minor holidays, as well as special occasions that occur throughout the year.

Objectives:

• Learn how to prepare your business for the Christmas sales season.
• Understand the handling, care, and preparation of fresh, artificial, and dried Christmas materials.
• Incorporate nonfloral materials into your designs.
• Construct arrangements for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s.
• Create and market themed arrangements for special events and everyday occasions.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

Learning Aid: Christmas wreath kit

The final course in the program explains how to establish, manage, market, and merchandise your floral design business.

Objectives:

• Find the best location by analyzing your competition and targeting your customers.
• Learn about funding sources and other financial considerations.
• Develop a business plan.
• Learn the supply chain logistics of the floral industry.
• Apply effective management techniques.
• Understand how to price your products, schedule floral deliveries, and secure your business.
• Explore professional industry organizations, conventions, and design shows.
• Market your business to maximize profits.
• Learn merchandising strategies that can help increase your sales.

This optional activity gives you the chance to apply and practice what you’ve learned.

This Final Exam Project will be critiqued by a subject matter expert.