California Institute of the Arts
Introduction to Imagemaking
California Institute of the Arts

Introduction to Imagemaking

This course is part of Graphic Design Specialization

Gail Swanlund

Instructor: Gail Swanlund

Access provided by Tallinn University of Technology

131,397 already enrolled

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(2,944 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(2,944 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

  • Make informed design choices using image-based research

  • Create ranges of representation using images

  • Compose spreads for your own book

  • Design a book with your own images

Details to know

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Assessments

4 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

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This course is part of the Graphic Design Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Welcome! This week we will introduce image-based research, discuss what images do and how to talk about them, and define a few useful terms for the course. You will choose a subject of your own to research that will become the basis for all your experiments and designs in the coming weeks.

What's included

4 videos20 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

This week is a making session! Working with the subject you selected last week, make images featuring it in a range of techniques, materials, colors, styles, and moods. From simple to complex, hand to digital, realistic to abstract, explanatory, poetic, and everything in between—we'll explore and experiment freely. We'll also contemplate the poetry of everyday life, levels of abstraction, and improvisation prompts.

What's included

5 videos18 readings1 assignment

In this third week module, we will define and investigate core principles of composition, and begin to compose spreads that might be a good starting point for your digital imagemaking book (final project). Feel free to use some or all of the images you created for this course (but with the same subject you started with). You may want to make more images too. Composing and creating relationships with your images is magical! This is where you can experiment and control the power of communication and meaning, with your own images. Welcome to the next step!

What's included

7 videos9 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

In this final week, we will pull together your work from the previous weeks to compose spreads using your favorite images from your assignments, and compile them into a 8-page digital book. Note that for the final assignment, I'm inviting you to create a digital book through an online flip-book application like Issuu or a similar application. Instructions are included in the project desciption. For the images you created by hand, you will want a camera or scanner and a computer to save as digital image files to use for your compositions. If you wish to compose spreads for your book by hand, I’ll show you a way to set up your spreads (the way zines were made before personal computers). You’ll still want to make a PDFs to upload to a flip-book platform (scan or photograph pages and save as single page PDFs). I'm also video-sharing a few image-based book examples that might inspire some ideas about structuring your book. If you want to print your book (optional!), I will give instructions for both digital and by-hand production and binding.

What's included

8 videos21 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

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Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.4 (390 ratings)
Gail Swanlund
1 Course131,397 learners

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