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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Fundamentals of Graphic Design by California Institute of the Arts

4.8
stars
17,754 ratings

About the Course

Graphic Design is all around us! Words and pictures—the building blocks of graphic design—are the elements that carry the majority of the content in both the digital world and the printed world. As graphic design becomes more visible and prevalent in our lives, graphic design as a practice becomes more important in our culture. Through visual examples, this course will teach you the fundamental principles of graphic design: imagemaking, typography, composition, working with color and shape... foundational skills that are common in all areas of graphic design practice. I don't just want you to watch a video of someone talking about design, I want you to MAKE design! If you want to be a designer you have to be a maker and a communicator, so this course will offer you lots of opportunities to get your hands dirty with exercises and with more practical projects. At the end of this course you will have learned how to explore and investigate visual representation through a range of image-making techniques; understand basic principles of working with shape, color and pattern; been exposed to the language and skills of typography; and understand and have applied the principles of composition and visual contrast. If you complete the course, along with its optional (but highly recommended) briefs, you will have a core set of graphic design skills that you can apply to your own projects, or to more deeply investigate a specialized area of graphic design. To succeed in this course you will need access to a computer. You can complete this course without one but it will be tougher. Access to, and a beginner's level knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite programs, such as Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign will help you, especially if you want to complete the optional briefs....

Top reviews

MN

May 18, 2022

very good introductory course. i enjoyed the assignments, they are not overwhelming, easy to start, and the optional ones offer great opportunity to dig little deeper into graphic design fundamentals.

CS

May 9, 2018

An ok course for beginners. A bit too basic for someone who has already had experience in design, but is great anyway cause it breaks things back down to the simplest parts to help you remember roots.

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826 - 850 of 4,555 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Valerie V K

Jul 21, 2018

Excellent course, I especially liked how it focuses on trying things for yourself. The videos are short but very informative, perfect for re-watching from time to time.

By Liz S

Feb 15, 2023

I enjoyed learning about every aspect about Graphic Design and this course has put me on a journey to keep learning as much as I can about GD. I have begun a new path!

By Mamadú S

Aug 19, 2020

This course make me more confident in my abilities, because I could do many briefs and test my creativity. I will continue learn more and more in the coursera courses.

By Liniya E S

Apr 13, 2020

Peer graded assignments are good , they work well . But negative feedback has been given by fellow peers even though I have followed the rules mentioned in the brief.

By EDELVIRA S

Dec 5, 2019

I think Fundamentals of Graphic Design gives more a deep perspective of what a graphic designer does and the theory is more objective in the course. I liked very much.

By saloni d

Mar 24, 2018

it was a very good experience and i have learned so much. thanks to the instructor to teach the basics so easily . the sessions were interactive and well communicated.

By Emma S

Nov 9, 2015

Very good, well paced course which gives you a flavor of graphic design. Nicely presented and concepts demonstrated well. I would definitely do more courses from them.

By Tetiana H

Nov 1, 2023

It was interesting , sometimes hard to carry out assignments . But I am happy to complete the course, which gives me new skills and oppotunities. Thank you , Coursera

By Mario U H H

Feb 20, 2023

Para hablar de los fundamentos del diseño gráfico es el curso más completo que existe se los recomiendo mucho estoy muy contento con los resultados aprendí demaciado.

By Pedram M T

Jan 20, 2023

This was fun and full of interesting! I got everything I needed to know for beginning. I don't anything special to say just, I wanna thanks from Coursera and Cal Art.

By Bohdan O

Dec 9, 2021

This is a great course that will give you a basic understanding of Graphic Design in simple terms. Thank you very much to the authors of the course, you are the best.

By Navpreet S

May 20, 2021

I've really enjoyed and learned a lot from this course about graphic designing and its core principles. This would really help me in achieving my future career goals.

By Iván I H Á

Oct 16, 2020

Its good for starters, I liked the activities and the theory. Maybe it would be better if all activities were necessary to finish the course. To be a forced practice.

By Ashraf F H A E

Jun 20, 2020

I learned a lot with this course and I think it is important for everyone associated with any artwork

Designers must understand if you want them exactly what you want

By Ahmed M A

Jan 6, 2018

this course is very useful if you want to start a new career as graphic designer.

many concepts,terminology you need and assignments do it with your hand. its awesome

By Askar G

Jul 5, 2017

This course giving you basics of graphic design. I like it. If you starting create some graphic, I reccomend apply for the course. Course giving you idea, impression.

By Anne G

Mar 5, 2016

What a great course! The content was prescient to the artwork I do and the assignments fun and applicable. I look forward to taking the next course in the sequence.

By Aaliyah-Janay C W

Sep 26, 2023

This course was extremely helpful for the conceptual thinking of graphic design. Thinking about these elements has helped me to overall better understand the concept

By hammad a

Dec 25, 2022

It is a brilliant course, very good initiation I did to take start with this course and with the professional Mentor i have done all initial aspect graphics design.

By GAOUAOUI A

Oct 21, 2021

un cours de haut niveau, et des professeurs vraiment sympa qui essayent de faciliter au maximum les choses, j'ai beaucoup appris avec cette formation, merci beaucoup

By Alex L

Jul 6, 2020

Great course for beginners! I do recommend taking this because it changes your perception of different aspects of design that may have been taken for granted before.

By ZUHAINA Z K

May 7, 2020

Excellent course to improve your aesthetic skill and design aspects. I studied new things and it is wonderful experience to me. really helpful to nurture our talent.

By Manon P

Oct 1, 2019

This course is great if you're a beginner or even more advanced as you can go further in the course with the optional projects. I'm looking forward the next course !

By A C

Apr 14, 2019

I really enjoyed every bit of this course!

Awesome content and teacher. It was also nice to get feedback on my work from peers as well to view the work of others! :)

By Kara K

Feb 14, 2016

This course does an awesome job of integrating beginner's knowledge with practical graphic design projects. I'm enjoying it tremendously. I'd highly recommend it! :)