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

4.8
stars
17,037 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

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.

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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1201 - 1225 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By hend s

Sep 21, 2021

It was good fun, I benefited a lot from the course and the practical part was great. I am excited for the rest of the course

By Brooke H

Mar 27, 2021

loved this course. from the first assignment which is more broad-art focused to the monograms, it was very fun and engaging.

By Wasiul I R

Dec 16, 2020

Gave me a really solid background on graphics design. Seems like really good fundamentals, leading to the following courses.

By Peria A

Nov 22, 2020

It provided me with basics and I gained confidence on my designing skills. Its a good learning platform. Highly recommended.

By Lizeth S M C

Oct 24, 2020

To have more creativity, because I used to see the figures posing alone and not joining them to create something magnificent

By Md A

Jul 3, 2020

Really deep dive and clear illustration for a beginner. Thanks, CalArts for offering the course. It's a good point to start.

By Harshdeep K

May 19, 2020

Learning the Fundamentals of Graphics Design with Coursera is a great experience.

Thanks to Prof. Michael Worthington & team

By Cheng Q L D

May 11, 2020

Good introduction to the fundamentals of graphic design. Assignments are easy and fun for the beginner learner to the topic.

By Connor M

Jul 19, 2019

I absolutely loved this instructor. The way in which he shared information is perfect for an introduction to graphic design.

By Ancil V

Jul 15, 2019

This course provides a smooth path to learn graphic designing from the very beginning. Must do course for all the beginners.

By Angie F

Aug 16, 2016

Excellent introduction to the basic principles of graphic design. It made me excited to continue through the specialization.

By Nisha

Apr 17, 2016

Thoroughly enjoyed it, and learned a lot. Highly recommend it! Thanks to the prof and everyone who made this class possible.

By Irlanda N

Apr 5, 2016

Great start for people who don't know anything about graphic design, and a great refresh for people already in the industry!

By Joanne Y

Nov 30, 2015

Great introduction to graphic design - well paced, clear and the assignments were very useful to help digest the principles!

By Alexandra

Nov 12, 2015

Just watched the first week and I am already excited about it! Please, I BEG YOU, make the Graphic design specialization! :)

By M H

Dec 3, 2021

This is a great introduction to Graphic Design concepts. Covers terminology, design fundamentals, and basics of typography.

By Alexandr K

Apr 19, 2021

Awesome course! Want to go forward! I thank Coursera for such an opportunity and thank CalArts University for this program!

By Sarah H

Oct 5, 2020

This course is a really great introduction to graphic design. It covers the main fundamentals quickly but covers them well.

By Luciano G C

Jul 27, 2020

It's a quite simple yet satisfactory course. The exercises are easy yet challenging and really focus on the lessons taught.

By Aya E

Jun 16, 2020

I loved it, it was pretty clear on all their lessons, gave me the space to be creative, and the confidence to try and error

By Debry W

Oct 14, 2019

It is a fun and creative course. Love the way the teacher explains the concepts. The exercises are interesting! I lover it!

By Xue Z

Jul 27, 2017

Good fundamental course, very practical. All the assignments are true hands-on work. Arouse the interest of graphic design.

By Jorge L C S

Mar 13, 2016

Really nice introduction to fundamentals, very punctual, brief but juicy in content. So glad that I've found this Coursera.

By Ivan L

Dec 14, 2015

Really useful course for beginners.

It would be nice if some of our submissions is reviewed by professors instead of peers.

By Maria K G R

Jul 19, 2022

I have really learned a lot from this course! I enjoyed making the assignments and helping my peers as well! Thank you! :)