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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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3876 - 3900 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Mrudula

Oct 24, 2020

This course really helped me cover up the basics that I could not learn in my college and let me understand what graphic design is based on. It expanded my knowledge on the subject.

By Anandita R

Sep 14, 2020

Fundamentals of Graphic Design is the right path for anyone looking forward to entering the graphic design arena. The course is well-structured and the assignments are very helpful.

By Maria V

Apr 10, 2017

I loved the course, it really help me a lot to understand Graphic Design and to find inspiration in the things that surround us, which mostly are composed of basic geometric shapes.

By Влад С

May 11, 2021

In general its good for people, who haven't heard anything about Graphic Design but if you already have at least some knowledge in this sphere, you could possibly skip this course.

By samara k

Aug 4, 2019

I really enjoyed learning the basics of graphic design and image-making. I definitely see myself utilizing and applying this knowledge in my further endeavours with graphic design.

By Nicole V

Mar 7, 2016

Great introduction of the fundementals of graphic design! I recommend it - the videos and instructor are clear and concise. I look forward to the next course in the specialization.

By JERIL J

Jun 8, 2020

Wish you should add giving some live examples to the works. Over all this course was one of the greatest courses I ever attended. I was able to study many things from this course.

By Teja H

Aug 20, 2020

I really enjoyed this course! Love that they are graded assignments and deadlines. Feeling accomplished that I've completed. 1 down 4 more to go to complete my specialization!

By prishita b

Mar 17, 2020

Amazing Course. Everything has been taught from scratch and it makes one think and look at an image from different angles and perspectives. In all a great learning experience.

By Vibhuti B

Mar 22, 2018

As the name suggests, It is a very basic course in Graphic designing. You get to know the basic principles and technicalities of composition. The way of teaching is excellent.

By Pragati A

Jun 25, 2020

Loved this course :) It helped me a lot in learning about how typography, colours, texture, weight, scale, direction and many other factors can impact the image so much.

By PHENOM V

Aug 16, 2023

I love this course because it gave me an avenue to relate and learn from other learners in this field. I also love the style of teaching. I'm really grateful Coursera.

By ANUSHKA S 1

Jun 25, 2020

It was great and I really learnt a lot but I think they could have taught us a little more about using any particular platform to create or test the things we learnt.

By Robert P

Jan 31, 2021

A very good basic overview of fundamentals. As someone just starting to dip his toe into graphic design, this was a nice introduction. Looks forward to more courses!

By ZhaoDong

Dec 29, 2017

very valuable fundamental course. the termology introduced seldom use in daily life and the content of the course trigger me to be more interested in Graphic Design.

By Fernanda V

Jun 15, 2016

Great way to get acquainted with the basic tools of graphic design. I will be sure to use them next time I am creating a presentation at work or in my personal life.

By Heather H

Feb 23, 2016

This had some really good fundamentals and some really helpful exercises. I recommend this to anyone who would like to understand a little more about Graphic Design.

By Alina I F S

Aug 29, 2016

O curso é ótimo para obter conceitos bem iniciais em design gráfico. Ele não aprofunda muito, mas oferece o ponto inicial para estudos na área e dá uma visão geral.

By Ekaterina B

Jun 11, 2016

Its a good course for people who never look at design but its a lot surface. Of course if you want to know the main aspects of design very quikly it course for you.

By Devendra J

Jul 24, 2023

Very helpful

Was very excited to do some graphic designing

the course was kinda basic but very helpful for me as a new comer in graphic designing field

enjoyed a lot

By C. M C

Apr 14, 2016

I really enjoy the exploration journey of this course!

Especially the moto of the tutor : "The best part to create it's to have fun in the process!"...Thanks a lot!

By Lina R M I E

Aug 6, 2020

It's so good, giving the principles of design without the need to complicated tools or programs. But I guess some optional assignments should have been required.

By Judith T V

Jul 20, 2020

Es un excelente curso, pero siento que puede ser más dinámico, es muy magistral para ser un curso de diseño, eso hace que se tornen un poco aburridas las clases.

By Xue Y

Jan 22, 2016

The course is pretty good and not difficult to take. I've learned basic graphic design skill via this course. Looking forward to taking more classes here again!

By Wendell O

Apr 20, 2021

I was expecting to learn a bit more about HOW to use Adobe, but I think the course theory was helpful and inciteful to gain an understanding of graphic design.