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

4.8
stars
17,005 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

AR

Apr 17, 2016

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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276 - 300 of 4,397 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Diana

Jul 9, 2020

Todo muy bien, me gustó bastante, las tareas me parecieron sencillas pero perfectas para entender lo que se estaba viendo en el curso. Los videos son muy claros, en ocasiones un poco pesados pero buenos y con buen contenido. Es recomendable pata aquellas personas que les interesa y están por comenzar en este mundo.

By Tushar G

Feb 3, 2022

Awesome couse for anyone starting to learn about Graphic Design. This course will give you basic understanding of concepts like imagemaking, typography, contrast etc. The instructor is very ingaging and the peer-graded assignment is very fun. You will have a great time going through this course. Highly Recomended.

By BEN P

Dec 8, 2021

This course opened my eyes to Graphic design. Before now I thought graphic design is all about the use of adobe creative software's to create a compelling design, but after taking this course i realize that the use of software is just 30% of what graphic design is all about , the first 70% lies in the fundamental.

By Amr S

Apr 13, 2020

I really, enjoyed this course. I recommend it for any new learner as well as experienced graphic designers whom need to polish the foundation of their talent. Instructor is highly skilled, sincer and, organised. Course is built around a real life project, yet, lays the scientific background in a super easy method.

By Lesti L

May 27, 2022

This is a great course! Mr. Michael Worthington is a great teacher and takes the time to thoroughly explain the fundamentals of graphic design in the course. I enjoy taking these courses and have learned some valuable skills. I plan to take more of his courses to improve my skills. I highly recommend this course.

By Clare B

Jun 23, 2020

I had a really great time with this course. I graduated with an Associates Degree in Graphic Design a few years ago and took this course as a refresher, but I felt like I learned almost as much in four weeks as I did in 2 years at an Art School. I wish Coursera had been around then, I might have saved some money.

By Claudia U R

Oct 17, 2019

A wonderful introduction to Graphic Design. If you're interested in Graphic design, this is a great course to start with. The videos have so much valuable content and the assignments are well though-out. I would recommend everyone do the optional assignments because it's where you will apply the concepts learned.

By Dan E

Jan 8, 2020

I have been working in designing and mostly learning on my own, I always wanted to study graphic design but never really have the opportunity, I really liked the course and everything that it coveredt, it helped me to understand the basic theory behind the design and Im looking forward to take the second course.

By Florencia T

May 20, 2023

This course provides a solid, clear, and simple overview of how graphic design works. It shows you how to better understand and work with the elements that designers use while designing. I recommend doing all the "Briefs" to gain a better understanding and perspective of what is explained throughout the course.

By Maria L

Sep 26, 2022

I really liked the course because it not only provides basic knowledge of graphic design, but also teaches non-standard thinking and reveals creativity. I got the understanding that design is my path, which I should move. Big thanks to Michael Warrington! He is a professional, creative person and charismatic :)

By Pratik R K

Jun 21, 2020

Great way to start learning about Graphic Designing if you are a beginner or even have any level of experience in this field. This course covers all the basics which will serve as a great foundation for your future endeavour in this field. I highly recommend you all to join and take the most out of this course.

By Jeneen W

Sep 29, 2022

This course was very well done. The lessons were very well set out and each concept visually explained with adequate guidance for each physical assignment. The rubric for grading matched the instructions given thus making it hassle free to complete assignments. Im excited to continue in this series of courses

By Morgan G

Jul 22, 2020

This course was amazing! I love the ability to work at my own pace, it allowed me to learn so fast! I went from never having used a single digital design application to being very confident in three weeks!

The instructor was extremely clear and knowledgeable, the course assignments were clear cut and focused.

By Fernando J

May 20, 2022

Awesome course for learing the fundamentals of graphic design. Recommended for beginners, or self-taught designers looking to refresh and improve their critical thinking. Peer review is a little bit of problem because not everyone has the same comitmnet to the course, but the content in the course is great!

By Laura A J

Jul 25, 2018

i highly recommend this course for those who want to start their journey in Graphic Design and they don't know how to start. i love how the tutor tries to encourage us to experiment and try something new and not to be afraid of that. the assignments were fun and useful i am very glad for taking this course.

By Olga P

Dec 14, 2019

An excellent class that teaches you the basics of graphic design!!! Very thorough videos and exercises that get your creative mind evolving! The exercises are very fun to complete as the videos give you all the instructions needed to complete them. You will learn form, typography composition and much more!

By Madison R

Apr 26, 2022

This is a great course for understanding the fundamentals of graphic design. My only issue is that most of the time the feedback I received from other students wasnt that constructive, it was something along the lines of "looks good" which isnt particularly helpful. Otherwise, the course itself is great!

By Lois E

Nov 17, 2021

I really loved taking this course, it opened my eyes on the fundamentals of graphics design and i hope that in the near future, i will be able to continue with the other specialization course attached to this one. Thank you Michael Worthington for this thoughtfully drafted training videos and guidelines.

By Augoustinos K

Feb 19, 2024

Based in California, all the lectures of that school involve the essence of modern style in a variety nuances of creative ideas, under search of new imaginative perspective of reasons and outcomes. At the end of that voyage in the world of design a great result pleases and satisfies your artistic sense.

By Luisa M

Jul 27, 2020

The course is very interesting. It really teaches you the basics of Graphic Design, stimulates you to explore your creativity. I just wished our exercises were evaluated for at least one professional or more knowledgeable person instead of only our course colleagues. Overall I would highly recommend it!

By Lorna W

May 30, 2017

Really enjoyable course that was really easy to follow. The videos are great for visual learners, with transcripts that help with note taking, and the practical assignments help you learn by doing. Would definitely recommend as a starting point for anyone wanting to get into the graphic design industry!

By Eduardo G

May 15, 2020

Very well structured, lessons were clear, concise and very engaging and interesting. You build up on the assignments little by little but the concepts are powerful I recomment doing all the optional assignments since they are very fun to make and you learn and practice a lot. Thank you for this course.

By Nikola J

Aug 28, 2018

Being a self-learner in graphic design (photoshop, illustrator and so on) for more than a year, this course provided me with the necessary knowledge of design fundamentals, which I was lacking before. I am more confident to experiment and to think about my work from the theoretical perspective as well.

By John M T

Nov 20, 2021

I expected the course to just be a tip of an iceberg but, it is more than just a tip of an iceberg. This course is absolutely a very helpful tool in my preparation in Graphic Design journey. I will absolutely apply everything I learned from small to bigger principles if be needed. Thank you very much!

By Steven C

Jun 22, 2020

I found this course really useful for learning the basics of graphics design. The assignments helped me to think deeply about many of the design elements, e.g. typography, shapes, colors, textures & composition, which I don't usually do. It has given me a better understanding & appreciation of design.