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

4.8
stars
17,081 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

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

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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4051 - 4075 of 4,410 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Sharan j

Jun 7, 2020

This was simple, but always remember without basics we cannot do anything. Thankyou:)

By Sayem W

Nov 22, 2017

It is a good introduction to graphic design. Some assignments are however uninspired.

By Филатов Д О

Aug 29, 2023

Good basis.

But some videous (for example: painting apples) is too long and boring.

By Deng Y

Jul 11, 2020

When it comes to peer review, some reviews are not very helpful for me to improve.

By Rhythm

May 13, 2020

It was a fun and informative course, the assignments were interesting and engaging

By Alison J

May 23, 2021

I learned a lot of basic concepts that I hope I can expand on in the next course.

By Melissa W

Nov 22, 2020

Thoroughly enjoyed this course. Very simple yet packed with valuable information

By david v

Mar 15, 2016

Good course. Interesting clear lectures and interesting, enjoyable assignments.

By Sarmishta S

Mar 31, 2016

A very precise and interesting overview into the world of design and graphics.

By Janaina L V

Dec 4, 2017

student's support should be better, they take long time to answer our doubts.

By Edmond T

Feb 4, 2017

Good introduction to graphic design. The videos have a lot of "mouth noises".

By Constanza M C M

Sep 4, 2020

It's exactly what I was looking for, the basics of desing: color and shapes.

By Ritesh K

Jan 7, 2019

One of the Best Course, I have done lot on courser, Thanks for this one...!!

By Veda L

Apr 30, 2016

A very good course and has helped understand a lot about The said subject :)

By Kham S K (

Apr 7, 2023

This course helps me a lot in learning graphic design and I really like it.

By Marta J

Jun 15, 2020

It would me more useful if you could learn of to use the computer programs.

By Svenja B

Mar 26, 2024

Covered the basics. Could be slightly more in depth for my personal taste.

By Sonia A

Sep 28, 2020

Excellent course for beginners and i learned so many aspects of creativity

By Eslam K H

Feb 17, 2020

This course served as my starting point in graphic design, which is better

By Clare D

Sep 15, 2016

A decent course, but flawed by student reviewers with subjective opinions.

By Ashley H

Feb 3, 2017

I learned some stuff and this was one of the easier courses I have taken.

By Regina M G

Nov 26, 2016

I was hoping they would taught me softwares in order to do my assignments

By Virginia L

Dec 31, 2015

Very helpful, I love it!

It would have been 5 stars if it had been longer.

By Hanan N

Oct 25, 2022

A useful course and thank you to everyone who contributed to this course

By Vitória O R D C

Apr 23, 2022

É um ótimo curso para revisar os fundamentos de forma, cor e composição.