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

4.8
stars
17,036 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

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

CS

May 9, 2018

An ok course for beginners. A bit too basic for someone who has already had experience in design, but is great anyway cause it breaks things back down to the simplest parts to help you remember roots.

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1476 - 1500 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Norris M

Feb 13, 2016

Interesting and well-thought course for graphic design. Looking forward to earning more on the subject.

By Andres M

Dec 1, 2015

Great quick course to introduce concepts that everybody should be familiar with, really easy to follow.

By Aira

Nov 8, 2015

Very useful and interesting course. Waiting for more courses from your university about Graphic design.

By Renata B

Jul 1, 2023

Muy buen curso introductorio en el diseño grafico. Ideal para quienes quieren adentrarse en este mundo

By Tahsin A M

Dec 22, 2022

It's an excellent course. Got this through financial aid. Very happy to be able to complete the course

By Muhammad O

Mar 14, 2022

it was quite entertaining and helpful for me being a student . the way of teaching was more effective.

By Sidath R R

Feb 3, 2022

This course is full of resourceful and a very practical information. I rally learnt a lot and enjoyed.

By redwan m

Jul 8, 2021

I learned the logic behind graphic design and I've gained some skills, I'm glad I did take this course

By Abhya M

Dec 14, 2020

I really enjoyed the art work assignments and more. Thankyou so much for providing me this opportunity

By Camille S

Jun 26, 2020

Best thing I've been involved in this year (except for my baby boy of course). Exciting and inspiring.

By Melisa Z

May 26, 2020

It was really enjoyable! I love the course and making graphic design. I definitely learn something :))

By Wojciech K

Apr 21, 2020

It was the perfect way to work with my creativity and get some basic knowledge about design. Thank you

By kelly l

Mar 27, 2020

this class is very useful , very systematic. and you can learn many useful skill about graphic design.

By Veronica L P H

Jun 24, 2019

Great content and super clear assignments. It makes you try to find ways to express things differently

By Jason

Dec 22, 2022

I really enjoyed the course! I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed creating images and compositions!

By Ricmari F

Sep 27, 2022

good fundamentals, ideal to learn some basics of design, very educational and dynamic. easy to learn.

By Wenbin Y

Dec 8, 2021

Very well organized and presented. It covers most of the knowledge/concepts one needs to be aware of.

By Nasra M

Sep 8, 2021

I loved the course, I'm a graphic design graduates but I never been taught this way in my early years

By Trendy T

Feb 20, 2021

I learned a lot of things there, this is a very good platform for every hardworking student thank you

By Saravanan. S

Jun 18, 2020

Had a chance to learn the basic perspective of Designs and well organised and quality content overall

By Shruti S

May 28, 2020

Great! Gave me great exposure and insight into graphic designing. Definitely very good for beginners.

By Andrés N V D

May 17, 2020

Lovely course, Michael is a really good teacher and everything he teaches you is interesting. 100/100

By Khadiza-Tul-Sayeda

Apr 21, 2020

This course is awesome! I have learnt much information about graphic design from this course. Thanks!

By Navjot S

Apr 1, 2020

Really great course, and I think the lectures were nicely done, easy to follow, and very interesting!

By BIKRAMJIT S

Dec 25, 2019

It is a good starting course and the teacher makes the process easier to understand. Basics clear.Ty.