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

4.8
stars
17,236 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

MB

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Well structure, informative, and very accessible introduction to graphic design. Assignments were achievable and enjoyable, and supported the lesson very well. Great course! I hope you create more!

KA

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Well structured and full of practical lessons. Clear and informative lectures for each design elements. I highly recommend this course both for beginners and graphic designers with some experiences.

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4376 - 4400 of 4,443 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Lukas F

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Aug 28, 2019

Often feels a bit too superficial and basic

By Sanaya T

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Feb 13, 2023

I found this course a little too basic.

By Abdihamid M M

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Jan 8, 2021

this course isn't for me.

thank you

By Ivy T

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Jul 30, 2020

Looks a bit outdated. A bit boring

By Jordan

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May 31, 2019

Could use a few updated changes.

By Lulu

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Feb 11, 2016

lecturer could be more personal

By Dixit U

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Nov 17, 2020

avarage course not preferable.

By Dean C

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Oct 22, 2017

Good but very beginner level.

By Natalia K

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Dec 29, 2015

It is good for beginners only

By Remington C

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Dec 7, 2015

Bit too simple for my liking.

By Ieva

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Oct 3, 2020

the lessons were very basic

By Semih S

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Dec 28, 2020

For 4 week course its ok.

By Kenneth D D

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Jul 26, 2020

Only very basic concepts.

By Afia T 2

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Aug 31, 2020

A enjoyable course😃

By German G S

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May 8, 2020

Pretty Interesting

By Muhammad F K

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Jun 26, 2020

Good. not deep.

By Dongqi L

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May 30, 2019

too fundamental

By radhvi k

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Jun 24, 2019

simply.. Wow.!

By Geffania G G

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Jul 30, 2020

It was Good.

By Claudel R

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Sep 17, 2023

Very basic!

By Nusanta S A

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Sep 28, 2020

good

By Silvana L A C

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Jun 14, 2020

Good

By Richard L

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Aug 5, 2020

The course itself was very good. I studied for many more hours than the recommended times and I learned a lot. I read books about Bauhaus, color, and typography. I watched a film about Bauhaus and did an online course by Pantone about color perception. The thing that lets the course down is the peer reviews, which are mostly useless. I've tried hard to write thoughtful reviews and I've done more than the minimum number for every assignment. In return I've received reviews like "ok" and "good". These people are just taking the mickey and CalArts and Coursera are responsible by neglect. It would be easy to automatically check for a minimum number of words in reviews. I notice that Gail Swanlund gives guidance about how to review in the Imagemaking course, but shouldn't this be in the first course so people know how to review? There ought to be a way to report these non-reviews and the people should be stripped of their course marks.

By Lisa T

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Mar 7, 2016

This course does go over some of the basics of graphic design, but I expected it to be a lot more rigorous. The assignments are incredibly simple, and I think that there should be no optional assignments in the class. The reason I'm taking this class is because I have a hard time motivating myself to learn on my own, so I need something that will really push me. I only spent about an hour a week completing this course, and I believe that you can't learn something by only spending an hour a week on it. Also what's the point of having mentors if they don't engage with you? I know I could have contacted them if I had a question, but I didn't because it was so easy. I wouldn't mind getting feedback from a professional graphic designer though if they're available. Also seeing how many students misinterpret the assignments, it makes me nervous that they are the ones grading mine.

By Trina R

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Jun 5, 2023

Quality of peer review is horrible. The course itself is very simple and deals with the basics, but I found there was no guidance on how to use the necessary programs. Most disappointed by there being no faculty review. The peers who are reviewing your work often have no idea what they're doing, and the rampant plagiarism makes it difficult to want to put effort into your work.