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

4.8
stars
18,365 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

XZ

Jan 3, 2020

Very great course to start designing. It helped me become bolder in creating contrasts in my work. Great for anyone interested in graphic design, or anything like bullet journalling, cooking, etc.

TN

Jul 25, 2020

this course has given me the best information about the basics of Graphic design, and i am delighted for finishing this course, looking forward to building upon the basics obtained from this course!!

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4251 - 4275 of 4,681 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Liz H

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Apr 24, 2021

Started out strong but the end of the course some of the lessons were more dry. Good fundamentals.

By Viorel-Daniel S

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Sep 12, 2017

It was a well organized course, but it did not manage to get me very excited about graphic design.

By Gautam J

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Nov 29, 2016

This course sets a decent foundation for anybody interested in pursuing graphic design seriously.

By Ana L T M

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Mar 17, 2016

Es un buen curso, he aprendido en la primera semana más que en algunos de mis años en la carrera.

By Jennifer A P

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Sep 30, 2022

Very elementary, but a great start with the concepts of design and a great block to build upon!

By Diego O H D L C

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Jul 7, 2021

IT IS A VERY INTERESTING COURSE, I HAVE LEARNED A LOT AND I AM SATISFIED WITH WHAT I HAVE TAUGHT

By Rajendra K O

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Jul 17, 2020

The teaching way is very informative. The way it was presented was easy to understand .Thank You

By Faiyaz A

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Jun 25, 2020

Overall a good course but just wish that the course also focused on graphic designing softwares.

By Jose H

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Feb 7, 2018

Great course for refresh existing knowledge and start learn about compsition and graphic design.

By Yuying R

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Feb 23, 2016

The strongest part of this course is that it prompts the learners to apply the designing skills.

By Zuzana S

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Jan 12, 2016

I was unable to follow up bc of vacation and some busines travel, I wish to do it again one day.

By Manu J

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Aug 15, 2020

This was my first online course. Its a good one to begin with, got to learn a lot great course!

By Aadya M

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May 15, 2021

it was an interesting and knowledgeable journey. with creative easy and intriguing assignments

By Sandi S

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Aug 23, 2024

It was okay, but not as well organized nor informative and other Coursera courses I've taken.

By Danielle S

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Oct 11, 2020

exercises were easy and accessible to do for everyone -even if they didn't have the software.

By Chathrapathi N K

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Jul 6, 2020

Everything is there in this course but the only problem is that the classes are a bit boring.

By Huma A

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Apr 27, 2020

THIS COURSE WAS A HELPFUL ATTEMPT TOWARDS FUNDAMENTALS, INTERESTING AND EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE

By Julian V

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Jan 8, 2016

I'm really excited to complete this course and have a better understanding of graphic design!

By Abdul L S

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Oct 16, 2020

This was very basic but if you give yourself all in this is most powerful source for basics.

By Arden D

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Jun 28, 2020

Great course to set basics on track. well worth the time & effort. Good instructions by Mich

By HUSANDEEP S

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Jul 19, 2020

there are many new things that i have learnt in this but there still a room for improvement

By Monjuara P M

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Apr 30, 2020

I really feeling great and want to learn about graphic designing. This course motivated me.

By Keith W

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Jun 8, 2016

A very good introduction to this specialization, with fun and thought-provoking exercisees.

By Kelsey R

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Jun 4, 2020

Good course. Would have been better if more assignments were graded, rather than optional.