This condensed survey course focuses on four key periods or themes from the history of design. Together we’ll trace the emergence of design as a recognized practice, why things look the way they do, and how designers approached specific design problems in their work. Each week, a short quiz will test your knowledge of concepts, and a short reflective assignment will give you the opportunity to analyze the questions designers ask themselves today. This is an essential course for emerging designers entering the field, or for students interested in learning more about visual culture and analysis. No previous experience is required.
This course is part of the Graphic Design Specialization
Ideas from the History of Graphic Design
Offered By
About this Course
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What you will learn
Learn about graphic design radicalism in late 1950s to early 1970s
Learn about the history of graphic design
Make informed design choices
Understand the emergence of design as a recognized practice
Skills you will gain
Art HistoryHistoryGraphic ArtsGraphic Design
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
12 hours to complete
Early Mass Marketing
This week we are going to take a look at the effects of industrialization in the late 19th century, and how goods were produced, sold, and marketed.
11 videos (Total 43 min), 6 readings, 2 quizzes
11 videos
Introduction to Early Mass Marketing1m
Form Follows Function4m
A Democratization of Choice2m
A Revival of Styles4m
Style Mash-up
4m
An Exaggeration of Type5m
Branding5m
A Household Name3m
Text and Image5m
"Words doing the work"2m
6 readings
About this course8m
About the assignments8m
Forum Guidelines2m
Requesting Peer Reviews2m
Academic Integrity2m
The Designer's Toolbox: Wood Type5m
1 practice exercise
Week 1 Quiz10m
Week
22 hours to complete
The Bauhaus
This week, we'll look at how the work and teachings of The Bauhaus (1919-1933), and how design emerged as a recognized practice.
11 videos (Total 42 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes
11 videos
Founding the Bauhaus5m
The Foundation Year6m
The Bauhaus and Architecture4m
Klee, Schlemmer & Albers5m
László Moholy-Nagy1m
Herbert Bayer5m
Color & Image3m
Textiles & Ceramics1m
Typography2m
Publications3m
1 reading
Week 2 Resources10m
1 practice exercise
Week 2 Quiz10m
Week
32 hours to complete
Modernism in America
Modernism in mid-century America through the eyes of four key designers.
13 videos (Total 41 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes
13 videos
The Bauhaus influence4m
A symbolic language4m
Case Study: Scope Magazine1m
Developing corporate identities3m
A new subjectivity3m
Case Study: Fortune Magazine2m
Play and humor4m
Case Study: The Mechanized Mule brochure1m
Duality & Simplicity4m
Case Study: El Producto cigars1m
Rand’s Logo Designs3m
A clear identity3m
1 reading
Week 3 Resources1m
1 practice exercise
Week 3 Quiz10m
Week
42 hours to complete
Graphic Design Radicalism
Design practice in the late 1950s to early 1970s was new, radical and divergent. To show you just how varied it was, we’ll look at the work of four key players/movements.
14 videos (Total 59 min), 5 readings, 2 quizzes
14 videos
The objectivity of Swiss Design6m
Incorporating abstraction1m
Josef Mueller-Brockmann4m
The Grid4m
Emil Ruder1m
Compositional Strategies2m
The subjectivity of Push Pin6m
Milton Glaser5m
“The South”2m
The Psychedelic Poster and Looking to the Past7m
The Diggers5m
Sister Corita’s Aesthetics6m
Sister Corita’s Politics2m
5 readings
Week 4 Resources1m
The Designer's Toolbox: Four-color printing1m
The Designer's Toolbox: "Psychedelic" Effects5m
The Designer's Toolbox: Gestetner Machine3m
The Designer's Toolbox: Screen printing3m
1 practice exercise
Week 4 Quiz10m
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got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top reviews from Ideas from the History of Graphic Design
Its been a great course, many info and points that are fantastic in the learning or adding new knowledge always. I will always recommend this course for those who want to know more and learn design.
Loved it and all the examples the teachers put into it, as well as the organization and evolution of themes. Big thank you to the teacher ladies. I learned a lot and enjoyed the lessons very much.
Instructors
Louise Sandhaus
Faculty, Program in Graphic DesignSchool of Art
Lorraine Wild
Faculty, Program in Graphic DesignSchool of Art
About California Institute of the Arts
CalArts has earned an international reputation as the leading college of the visual and performing arts in the United States. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions.
About the Graphic Design Specialization
Graphic design is all around us, in a myriad of forms, both on screen and in print, yet it is always made up of images and words to create a communication goal. This four-course sequence exposes students to the fundamental skills required to make sophisticated graphic design: process, historical context, and communication through image-making and typography. The sequence is completed by a capstone project that applies the skills of each course and peer feedback in a finished branding project suitable for a professional portfolio.
The goal of this specialization is to equip learners with a set of transferable formal and conceptual tools for “making and communicating” in the field of graphic design. This core skill set will equip learners for formal studies in graphic design, and a starting point for further work in interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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