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

4.8
stars
17,818 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

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.

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.

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2476 - 2500 of 4,566 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By nupur s

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Jul 20, 2020

Very well explained and crafted educational material.

By Maureen S

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Jul 11, 2020

Very usefull basic concepts of design, I'm gratefull.

By Giovanna G

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Jul 3, 2020

Very nice, this course helped me a lot, i'm thankful.

By Andrea S A

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Jun 14, 2020

The assignments are fun and useful to learn by making

By Aastha S

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Jun 9, 2020

Well explained and have many interactive assignments.

By Deleted A

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May 28, 2020

A real treat. Was a pleasure. Aesthetic and fantastic

By Nasif C

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May 14, 2020

A great course to begin understanding graphic design!

By Tanvi S G

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May 12, 2020

Awesome .. I enjoyed learning with coursera thanks 😊

By abdulbasit s

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May 2, 2020

Had an excellent time learning a lot of new concepts.

By Vishal A

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Apr 25, 2020

The course was fruitful. Learned a lot of new things.

By Akshat S

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Apr 23, 2020

One of the best course to start your design journey!!

By Davida R

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May 28, 2019

concise but I have the essential for beginner like me

By susan g

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May 8, 2019

Great course! I learned so much and stretched myself.

By guérin a

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Sep 21, 2018

Great starting point for getting into graphic design.

By Kseniya P

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May 28, 2018

This is best course I've ever had! Thank you so much!

By Matheus A

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Apr 30, 2018

Excellent to learn de fundamentals of Graphic Design.

By Наталья Л

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Jun 6, 2017

This course gives a basic material but really useful.

By Elizabeth B

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Dec 3, 2016

This is a great course! I learned so much, thank you!

By Ebba J

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Nov 8, 2016

I enjoyed the course and working on the assignments.

By Tiffany X

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Dec 6, 2015

This is a cool course, and helps me a lot! Thank you!

By Carol S

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Nov 7, 2015

Excellent. The best Coursera course that I've taken.

By Lauren F

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Sep 23, 2024

Genuinely instructive and engaging briefs. Loved it!

By M. E

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May 20, 2024

Excellent course, I really enjoy it and learn a lot.

By Lilit S

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Mar 7, 2024

Absolutely grateful for the very informative course

By Ntandoyenkosi D

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Oct 26, 2022

It is an amazingly comprehensive course. Thank you.