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

4.8
stars
17,817 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.

GA

Aug 20, 2018

Very interesting, I liked the format. Easy to follow, nice excercises. It's actually good to cover the basics of design, even if you are not an absolute beginner, and especially if you are self taught

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1676 - 1700 of 4,565 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Pavlo S

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Jul 17, 2020

Thank you. It's very useful information and I and I'm sure it's can help me find a nice job.

By Mohamed Y M

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Jun 29, 2020

The course answers all the questions that non-designers might think of about graphic design.

By Maha R

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Jun 26, 2020

this is an amazing course , it taught me to make an image give a message and also designing!

By Rui A M d S

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May 20, 2020

The nicest part of this course, it really talks about the main fundaments of Graphic Design.

By Muhammad F N

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Mar 6, 2020

Extremely well informative and well delivered course. Made graphics designing better for me.

By Cris G

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Jan 27, 2020

Great course for a beginner. Lots of assignments which is the best way to learn. I loved it!

By Anaika J

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Nov 4, 2018

I think this was a great and effective course for Graphic Design students just starting out.

By Teodor V

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Jul 30, 2018

Excellent starting point for those who are eager to learn about the abc's of Graphic design.

By Pablo R T

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Dec 11, 2017

A great course to introduce to the fundamentals of graphic design with an enjoyable approach

By Saahil J

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May 30, 2017

Great course. Of course, it's a small start, but I think I'm just beginning to 'get' design.

By Karina K

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Oct 26, 2016

Excellent course! This course is better than University classes in Brazil. I recommended it!

By JO G

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May 30, 2016

It's a great introduction to Graphic Design!!!

Really amazing !

Congratulations from Spain ;-)

By Elizaveta B

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Dec 9, 2015

Very inspirational course. Great tips and amazing opportunities to gain hands on experience.

By Mariia

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Sep 24, 2024

Excellent course. Knowledge to help anyone start their graphic design career. Thanks a lot.

By Sarahi C P

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Jun 25, 2024

Easy. Fun. Interesting. Very helpful to improve or learn design theory and skills. Love it!

By Vanessa S

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Jul 19, 2023

This course is the best hands on experimental course to learn the basics of Graphic Design!

By Marcos S

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Jun 25, 2022

Thank You for this amazing course it has been a stepping stone in my journey as a Designer!

By Amie T

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Mar 29, 2022

I love how this course is taught. Easily digestible with no concept too difficult to grasp.

By Victoria S

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Jun 28, 2021

I had so much fun and i felt very motivated and inspired to do more in my artistic future.

By Mutembo K

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May 17, 2021

I enjoyed taking a course outside my comfort zone. I would recommend this course to others.

By Nicole B

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Mar 17, 2021

Really enjoy the course format and the insight that it has given me to pursue this program.

By Cherrelyn J M

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Jan 2, 2021

Awesome Course, Thank you Calarts & Coursera for making this course possible to achieve. <3

By Nejla N M

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Nov 15, 2020

Really helpful course for beginners. It gives all the basic knowledge about graphic design.

By Saúl E T H

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Aug 25, 2020

Very entertaining, easy to understand and the most important thing is the practical part :)

By Damla K

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Jul 4, 2020

It was a very successful course. I developed myself in graphic design. Thank you very much.