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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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301 - 325 of 4,398 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Jenny R R

May 27, 2020

I learned from zero this course. I am glad that at the end I got at least a piece of knowledge in Design. This is definitely my first motivation to keep going deeper into this wonderful world of Design. congratulations to Michael Worthington to be a nice and very clear in his videos, I learned a lot.

By Tracy B

Apr 27, 2017

Really enjoyed this course - very glad I saw it through to the end. Got a bit discouraged around week 3 because I don't have any experience with Illustrator or Photoshop yet, so I couldn't do those optional assignments. That's just a heads-up though, not a complaint. Would fully recommend the course.

By Henry M L

Jan 26, 2016

Not so long ago i decided that I no longer wanted to practice the art of graphic design hazily since i was self taught. I wanted to know everything about it and this course has been quite helpful. For once i can now speak fluently about the fundamentals of graphic design. Thanks to the Coursera team.

By Валентина М

Mar 29, 2021

The course gives an idea of the different areas of graphic design and gives you the opportunity to try each of them in practice. The tasks are interconnected and this helps to understand the process of creating projects in graphic design. I liked the course, some tasks require knowledge of software.

By Archie

Jan 31, 2020

Excellent graphic design course. It has the perfect balance of content and the way it tests you is very effective and memorable. The way it is structured makes it an ideal starting point for any graphic designer, whether they already have some design experience, or if they are starting from scratch.

By resta a

Jan 11, 2021

very good and very useful, here it is taught in detail a basic graphic design with different methods, not only for computers but taught skills with our own hands, moreover changing the mindset of what design is like and how. I highly recommend this course for all levels of bass or for professionals

By Michele R

Feb 26, 2023

Très bon cours, tout est dans le titre. Beaucoup de thèmes sont abordés, et cela donne envie de poursuivre avec les autres cours de la spécialisation.

Very good course, it's all in the title. Many topics are covered, and this makes you want to continue with the other courses of the specialization.

By Stephen M F

Jun 30, 2020

The peer reviews are great to take advantage of and you should definitely do the optional assignments that way you will learn the most. In some ways I don't think they should be optional and make sure to get your assignments in as early as possible otherwise you may be waiting a while for a grade.

By Nikoletta

Jul 19, 2018

Love the course, it was amazing, I think that starting at the fundamentals even if you have some experience, or are self-taught or talented is a must, you just learn the most obvious thing that you forgot while trying to make your designs better.

I learn so much, and I recommend this one to all.

By Guilherme A B

Jul 3, 2021

The course goes into the theorical basics with some sprinkles of pratical work. I really liked it, as a complete begginner I found it really easy to go along and the exercises were fun to make. I would say that knowing how to use the basics of some graphical design tools will really help you.

By Megumi N

May 1, 2020

Disfruté mucho del curso. Fue muy didáctico y pude entender mucho de los conceptos básicos de diseño. Sugeriría que puedan ser un poco más específicos en las tareas y comentar que es algo muy sencillo puesto que muchas cosas se pierden en la interpretación. Muchas gracias por todo el esfuerzo.

By Veena V

May 9, 2016

This course is excellent. Being very informative and fun, it is a great introduction to the design process. All of the assignments are well thought out and are very interesting. This course provides a lot of scope for learning and discovery of new techniques for image making and composition.

By Ephram D

Jan 28, 2021

I have taken three courses from Coursera, all courses are straight forward, enjoyable, and with strict followup. I feel excited about this course and others. After I finished the course I feel as I can do it in the practical world. My trust is increasing in my capabilities, Thank you so much!

By Chirag J

Aug 26, 2018

This was one of the most fantastic course since I got the basics of not only art but also contemporary designs. Visual Literacy and how forms, contrast, typography works and the most important aspect to think like a viewer or the viewer's perspective. I recommend this course to all my friends

By Ahmed H K

Jul 20, 2020

To know the basic in graphic design is very important. Because a designer has not just remember but as well as think inside the box as well as outside the box. This course offer the basic idea that will give any student an understanding that will help to create a strong foundation in them.

By Valentina T

Mar 20, 2016

The course was exactly what I expected. Professor Worthington made the videos quite interesting and was always to the point. The assignments were also interesting and not too much time-consuming. I'm happy I took the specialisation and I hope that the rest of the courses are as satisfying.

By Abigail P

May 31, 2022

The material was extremly comprehensive! I was never confused as to what my requirements are or what was expected of me throughout the course. I also enjoyed the visuals presented within the video, and felt that the information was shared in a creative manner that was pleasing to the eye.

By vithika j

Mar 6, 2022

The course was great, it helped me in understanding the basic principles of Graphic design, the course was very informative and very helpful for an aspiring designers like me. It also helped me understand how to view or understand when I receive feedback. I highly recommend this course.

By FATTEEN B B 2 (

Nov 28, 2021

Fundamentals of Graphic Design is very intersting course. I learned alot of new things there. But it remained stuck to full basics things. CALarts need to improve this course. Moreover, important assignments were putted as optional. You need to make assinments required as much as you can.

By Tomas W

Feb 26, 2020

A super interesting and engaging entrance into the world of graphic design. I took this at the same time as the Shaw Academy Graphic Design program. Comparing this to Shaw Academy was night and day. This course did everything right, and I dropped out of Shaw Academy. Highly recommend.

By Thiago A L

Jul 3, 2019

The course Fundamentals of Graphic Design is excellent! I learned a lot and practiced a lot with the exercises. It is an excellent base for anyone who is starting out in professional design and for professionals who already work in this market and need to recycle their knowledge. Thank´s!

By Tereza M

May 9, 2018

The course is very well constructed. The videos are great, the assignments push you to experience what you learn, and peers reviews give you the feedback. It teaches me a lot, and especially it makes me look at common things as a graphic designer and boost my creativity. All I wished for.

By Tea G

Feb 9, 2016

It is a really good course, but it is designed for complete beginers. I took it as a review of fundamentals and didn't learn nothing new, but I didn't have those expectations. I just wanted a pure review of things I already know. It was fun and maybe a bit too easy - even for beginers. :)

By Darshita K

Jul 17, 2020

This course was enriching for not only the concepts covered but also due to the manner in which it was presented. It is evident that all professors and personnel involved in curating this course have done an exceptional job in ensuring that the fundamentals are explained in great detail.

By Ada F

Nov 26, 2019

I believe this was a great course. I think as with many classes, you get out of it what you put into it. If you practice and complete even the optional assignments you will have a great foundation or jumping off point for your education in graphic design. I really enjoyed this course.