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

4.8
stars
17,037 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.

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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3851 - 3875 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Maggie H

Jan 29, 2024

I really enjoyed this course and the assignments. The only place that need improvement is the peer review portion. I wish there was som moderation of it or more interaction with the professor to get professional input.

By Anthony J S

Jan 22, 2016

Four stars, because there is always room for improvement. But this is a well structured course and gives a great grounding for anyone looking at graphic design.

Thanks to those who put this course together, great work.

By Ceci A

Mar 12, 2021

I think this is a good course for being an introduction, but I think it will be better if we could get feedback of some professionals not only students. Otherwise I believe is a really good content in this course.

By Kelly L

Mar 4, 2018

Good information, wish there were more assignments and perhaps multiple presenters. This class is part of a specialization, so you can not get the certificate for completion unless you join the specialization.

By Anastassiya R

Dec 12, 2016

I found the course rather interesting and useful for the beginners in graphic design, however I think the students need the feedback from the instructor. I missed some professional critic during the course.

By erin n

Oct 7, 2020

The course itself was well done, however the peer review is useless. Only one person actually made a comment beyone "good". So it makes it difficult to grow when there is no feedback at all on the work.

By Alan S

May 28, 2017

I liked the course as a beginner to graphic design and I would recommend it for everyone. Maybe to be perfect I would like it to include more examples and technical classes, but it was definitely worthy.

By Sheena P

Feb 2, 2017

This Course has opened my eyes to different simple concepts I had forgotten or not quiet understood until now. I am going to work through all of the 5 coursed for Graphic design. this was a great start.

By Thais G d S

Feb 9, 2022

This course is nice for who is starting in this field. For those who have some experience it can be a little slow and repetitive. Even so, may be good to take a step back and remember the fundamentals.

By Alicia W

Oct 2, 2023

It was good, I don't really like the peer evaluation - some people don't read which can effect your grades. Other than that its good. The moderators don't respond so if you need help you won't get it.

By Raquel B

Nov 20, 2020

El curso en sí esta bien pero para mi gusto se hace un poco aburrido. Entiendo que es como una introducción pero podrían haber puesto ejemplo mucho más visuales y no tanto todo en una pizarra blanca

By Sandrine C

Jan 7, 2016

The fundamentals, like the title says. Very well explaineI wish there was more info on what software to use for the assignments for those of us more used to traditional mediums rather than digital.

By Stephanie M

May 2, 2021

The course, concepts and everything were very well conveyed and assignments helpful. I did expect there would be one 'instructor graded' assignment at the end vs relying totally on peer reviews.

By Danielle E

Sep 13, 2020

I think this course is fun to learn the fundamentals of design and how to apply it in Graphic Design. It is good for those who are new or want to refresh on the basics and have extra practice.

By Mariia A

Aug 16, 2018

It would be great if you also include some Adobe Illustrator basics into the curriculum, rather than that I had lots of fun learning with you and acquiring new skills in design and typography.

By Festa I

Jun 3, 2019

In terms of lectures, it was a great course. I undoubtedly learned a lot and enjoyed it. The last star is missing since I wish there was a bit more interaction among people taking the course.

By Dilara

Oct 11, 2021

It helped me a lot in understanding the basics of graphic design. Thanks to the course, I learned how to combine design elements. I also learned to look at the whole picture while designing.

By Shashaank

Jun 4, 2021

The course was a great introduction to the fundamental principles of graphic design. Suitable for any new comer. I only wish the assignments were a tad more demanding as they felt too easy.

By M Z

Mar 17, 2019

This is a very fundamental and inspiring courser for those who are new to the area of graphic design. It is not just about technical skills but instead, it focuses on explore and experiment.

By Aniruddha M

Jun 3, 2020

Quite in-depth course on the Fundamentals of Graphic Design, beautifully broken down into small components. Perfect for beginners and students interested to start learning Graphic Design.

By Lara L

Jan 19, 2020

Gave me an okay, very basic understanding of basic concepts. I feel like a good chunk was missing though as I've been going through a separate free course which was much more in depth.

By Brittany H

Mar 23, 2021

A good brief overview of graphic design concepts. The optional and required assignments were fun and interesting. A fun way to get started in understanding elements of graphic design.

By Michelle L

Oct 30, 2016

Great overview of graphic design for someone who does not have any experience in this area. Encourages creativity and new ways of thinking about every day objects and representations.

By Catharina M M K

Jan 24, 2018

I liked this course a lot - great basic information. The voice sometimes was a little too monotone and sometimes it was too slow (at least for me, everyone perceives it differently).