Chevron Left
Back to Fundamentals of Graphic Design

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

4.8
stars
17,129 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

Filter by:

1026 - 1050 of 4,419 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Ricardo I

Oct 13, 2017

Great course! Introductory but motivational; very professionally thought and performed; very nice assignments to learn making. Congratulations.

By Lucero A

Mar 19, 2016

Loving have the opportunity to take this course.

The lectures are brief but full of valuable contet.

The assignments fun and practical.

THANK YOU!

By Lina M A

Jan 29, 2016

Excellent course! It really gives you the fundamental of graphic design, and it fuels you with lots of ideas to continue creating and learning.

By Stephanie S

Oct 31, 2021

This course is an excellent introduction or refresher into the principles of design. Great activities and videos to guide you on your journey

By Mahardika

Dec 2, 2020

Special thanks to course instructor Michael Worthington the way you explain each topic is very clear, and I was able to understand it quickly.

By Natasha N G

Oct 29, 2019

The course gives you an overview of the design theory in a didactic and illustrative way, which helps capturing the soft details of this craft

By Thuong N

Jan 5, 2017

Great course! Learned a lot. This a a great introduction which covers basics on design: Colour, Composition, Medium, Typography, Methods, etc.

By Briana S

May 10, 2016

This course was great from beginning to end. It woke up this creativity in me that i haven't seen since i was in freshmen year of high school.

By Indy B

May 29, 2023

It has been not only a knowledgeable, engaging, informative, and interesting but also enjoyable class. I learned so much from him. Thank you.

By Vaniza L

May 18, 2023

Thank you so much! I've learned basic terminologies in graphic design. The course is super friendly and the professor explained it very well!

By Manuela G

May 13, 2022

In terms of knowledge and assignments, it is very well structured, I did not miss my time at all and there were always new challenges for me.

By Nataly

Jan 27, 2021

I like it! it was very nice and useful to follow this course. Im sure, that new knowledge now is accepted and adopted by my mind)) Thank you!

By Paola C G

Jul 19, 2020

Excellent course. Gives use a solid base and explains the concepts in an easy to grasp way. It is also full of activities that help you learn

By Randa A

Jul 18, 2020

Absolutely great and useful for starting out in graphic design. I feel I definitely got one step closer to being more familiar with the field

By Carlos C

Jun 23, 2020

Me ha gustado mucho la metodología, el manejo de los temas, la plataforma. Estoy teniendo una muy buena experiencia en formación profesional.

By Sarah F

May 11, 2020

Really useful as a beginner, I learned a lot and I'm sure all of this basic knowledge will be very helpful in my future designing endeavours.

By Simo

Apr 29, 2020

Very good fundamental principles and interesting assignments, I enjoyed playing around with shapes and colors. Looking forward to learn more!

By Denny L M P

Feb 21, 2018

I have learned do much in this course. Thank you very much! Now doing my 2nd course. Thank you CalArts and Coursera for making this possible.

By Christine S

Feb 7, 2016

This was a fantastic course, and I really enjoyed what I learned in this class. It was awesome to be able to learn from a CalArts instructor!

By María F R S

Apr 1, 2022

Me gusto mucho, es muy practico, te da la informacion muy resumida y es una buena opcion para comprender un poco más sobre el diseño grafico

By Bianca P

Feb 28, 2022

I can honestely say this introduction already changed the way I look at compositions and upgraded my skills and undestending graphic design.

By Agnes M

Dec 15, 2020

Thank you for the course Coursera, i learned a lot from this course! I wish, i have an opportunity to take more course about graphic design.

By Armin C C S

Sep 30, 2020

Was very helpful in exploring the graphic design field! Very positively looking forward for more in what I have learned and what I can apply

By Caesar O

Aug 23, 2020

I really enjoyed this easy yet very practical set of short lectures. It will really give me more of the shareable vocabulary with designers!

By Ana K F R

Aug 19, 2020

Realmente explica los fundamentos... muy básicos y muy sencillos de aprender... muy ejemplificadosy con ejercicios muy prácticos. ¡ME GUSTÓ!