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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

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.

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.

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926 - 950 of 4,419 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Madalina H

Mar 18, 2022

Very useful, easy to understand for begginers, very well structured, nice homeworks that you can use to build your portfolio or to explore the field more.

By mariana b

Jun 25, 2021

I loved the course. It explains the fundamentals in a way that teaches you about the thought process. I enyojed it very much! Would deffinitly reccomend.

By Sushmita M

Jun 11, 2021

This was such a great fundamentals course. All the major components were covered and it was incredible how much I got to learn in such a short time span.

By Miada A

Mar 28, 2021

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Assignments were interesting and challenging enough, pace was very good, and it was perfect for a newbie like me. Highly recommend!

By JAVIERA F B

Sep 14, 2020

Muy interesante! Me gustó mucho, empieza desde lo más básico y eso me acomodó mucho pues tenia cero conocimiento previo. Muy bien explicado y entretenido.

By Kizong L (

Aug 3, 2020

It's amazing, it helped me to learn new things and also brush up few things I had forgotten.

It was fun learning and aslo putting my creativity to the test

By Basile G

May 19, 2020

Wonderful course, and a fantastic way to delve into the wonderful world of graphic design! I'm very much looking forward to continuing the specialisation.

By Artem A

Nov 1, 2016

This course is very useful and good. Cool, interesting tasks and beutiful lecture. I gained valuable experience and knowledge in the performance of tasks.

By Newsha M

May 20, 2023

I loved this course very much and i learned many things that change my point of view in artistic subjects. i recommend this course to every art students.

By Youssef B

May 7, 2023

An Amazing Course for a beginner and someone who wants to learn the basics of Graphic Design.

Easy going, Enjoyable and the Instructors are really good!!!

By Djacson

Sep 21, 2022

This was a great introduction to graphic design and definitely removed some of the concerns I had about possibly pursing this as a career in the future.

By Abdu E

Mar 10, 2022

The course is very beautiful, interesting and very useful. This is a course that helped me love graphics more than before. Thank you for a beautiful work

By Sheikh M s

Aug 30, 2020

It was a good course to gain fundamentals. It would be great if a course on Photoshop will be added. I am eager and curious to learn this specialization.

By Bethany M

Jul 9, 2020

I learned more in this short course than I did in my college class that cost significantly more! Awesome material and very easy to follow and understand.

By Claudia L T

May 4, 2020

The classes were easy to follow and I appreciated how it covered a lot of basic areas in a way that was understandable for someone who is not a designer.

By Egle H

Nov 5, 2019

I really liked the course. Gave a good grasp to what I am submitting myself when pursuing a degree in graphic design. I am continuing the specialization.

By Qamar A A

Apr 7, 2018

I really enjoyed this course. very easy to understand and nice learning way. i will continue with next.

I really appreciate Professor on your work for us.

By Adam T

Mar 9, 2016

Took this as a bit of a 'looks interesting' - wasn't disappointed; was well taught, engaging and pitched at the right level. I'd recommend it to anyone.

By Gunjari B

Mar 6, 2016

The course has been very illuminating and informative, not to mention the engaging assignments! I have really learned a huge deal and wish to learn more!

By Anisa S

Jul 12, 2023

loved the content and how the instructor has designed the course. i recommend it to all beginners wanting to start learning the basics of graphic design

By Hannah Y

Sep 25, 2022

This course was very informative, I thoroughly enjoyed getting feedback from my peers while studying all areas of graphic design throuhout the process.

By Matthew Y

Mar 12, 2020

As a non-designer, I learned a lot about the fundamentals of design and I feel I can have meaningful conversations about design elements now. Thank you.

By Zsuzsanna S

Jan 1, 2016

I did really enjoy the whole course. The videos were easy to understand and follow. All the assignments helped me to transpose the theory into practice.

By Ghada C A E

Apr 5, 2023

Really a great course to begin with in the graphic design field, it's not about how to use different tools and apps but how to think in a creative way.

By Yasmine E

Oct 4, 2022

Loved the class and the prof made me love and appreciate graphic design. He's passionate about the subject and it shows. I wish I was there in person.