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

4.8
stars
17,036 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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1251 - 1275 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Rajesh K S

Apr 18, 2018

This course is very much helpful and recommended... there are lots of nuts and bolts to learn about through this course.

By Annamaria J

Jul 24, 2017

I very much enjoyed this course. It was very practical with the right amount of theory and a lot of practice activities.

By Jessica

Apr 10, 2016

I really enjoyed how hands on this class was! I was able to create some beginner Graphic Elements. Thanks for the class!

By Phuong T T

Mar 10, 2024

Each lesson is very logical and exciting. I got lots of information and knowledge from this course. Thank you very much

By FARAH_S_MASOUD E

Feb 25, 2023

l learned a lot from this course; it is helpful and covers all fundamentals of graphic design. I recommend this course.

By Kaitlin S

May 14, 2022

Well setup course. I was self-taught in Graphic Design, so going back and understanding the fundamentals was enjoyable.

By Ellyse E

Mar 18, 2022

Easy to follow, clear and ineteresting assignments, great for beginners and those with some design experience already!

By Lulu L

Dec 12, 2021

I've wanted to get on to graphic design for some time and this course was absolutely what I need. Super fun and useful.

By Farhana N

Jul 6, 2021

This course designed very clearly about fundamentals of graphic design. I learn so many things and I like this course.

By Lauren M

Dec 25, 2020

Excellent course! Really interesting and engaging. The professor explains these concepts in such a clear way. Loved it.

By JENISHA M

Aug 10, 2020

Very interesting, I liked the format. Easy to follow, nice exercises. It's actually good to cover the basics of design.

By Anas A

Apr 23, 2020

I really would like to thank you for this wonderful experience. I enjoined this course and the materiel we come across.

By Kris M

Dec 20, 2017

The course is good for beginners. I've realized that I've fallen in love with graphic design at the end of this course.

By Lita S

Dec 12, 2016

Excellent format for both beginner and more advanced students with optional projects and an easy to grasp presentation.

By Beatrice B

Mar 15, 2016

Thanks a lot! Great introduction course with interesting lectures and very good professors.

I loved the assignments! :)

By Evelyn L

Sep 27, 2021

I love the information and the way the profesor explained all the concepts. The platform is easy to use and friendly.

By Əä

Mar 30, 2021

It was a great experience. I was a super beginner so what I have learned increased my knowledge about Graphics Design.

By SHAKHZODAKHON K

Jan 13, 2021

I loved it, peer review was smth new to me but I loved it, so usefull. And course itself was very inspiring and simple

By Vitor E N S

Jun 24, 2020

The course teach us some skills that are basics in graphical design. The teacher didatic's is very good and motivating

By Rajesh H

Mar 24, 2019

Best course ever the briefs are awesome it gives ability to us to perform real graphic designing at the very beginning

By Eunice P

Feb 28, 2018

Thank you Michael! I learnt so much from you and I felt like it was well organized and exactly what I was looking for.

By Liudmila S

Dec 5, 2016

Very interesting, informative and a fun course. It surely is a good start of getting familiar with the specialization.

By Utku K

Jun 17, 2016

I liked that course and also the specialization very much. Very new subject to me, and it was fun to learn this stuff.

By Stephanie N

Apr 19, 2016

This course helps any beginner to understand the fundamentals of what it takes to create graphic design. Great course!

By Yu S

Dec 8, 2015

A great course. By showing the mutation and combination of elements, it makes design more approachable, and fun to do.