Chevron Left
Back to Fundamentals of Graphic Design

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

4.8
stars
18,212 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

RT

Jun 25, 2020

It is a very useful course in which i learn typography Image making virtual,single,multicontrasts And what not it is a very good course i ever scene thanking course era for giving this oppurtinity

SC

Jan 8, 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.

Filter by:

1576 - 1600 of 4,664 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Namrata U

•

Jun 24, 2020

loved the way it proceeds and the way assignments are designed and the teacher. fun ride! thank you.

By Angel D M G

•

Apr 1, 2020

Very good course. It has clear and nice useful information. Easy to learn and interesting activities

By Nada M

•

Mar 11, 2020

thank you so much professor, i learned a lot of things from you and you made me love this field more

By Carlos L

•

Jul 10, 2017

great and practical course! i´m really glad i decided to go for this specialization. very insightful

By Jason L

•

Dec 24, 2015

What a wonderful introduction to graphic design. Thank you for sharing you knowledge and enthusiasm.

By Rafa

•

Jul 31, 2025

A very comprehensive approach to all the fundamental concepts, the assignments were right on point.

By Deleted A

•

Aug 10, 2023

Informative and beneficial for students who want to learn about the fundamentals of graphic design.

By Elaine L

•

Nov 14, 2020

Thank you, instructors for a very detailed course. This fueled the aspiring graphic designer in me.

By Aanchal C

•

Sep 15, 2020

Thanks Coursera and my teacher Michael Worthington for a wonderful experience of learning at home .

By Khushboo W

•

Aug 19, 2020

Extremely insightful especially for an amateur in graphic designing. Provides you a good headstart.

By Surojoy

•

May 30, 2020

It was a fantastic course and taught very well. I loved the tasks and all the new things I learned!

By Alexander H

•

Dec 28, 2019

This was a very thought provoking course. I took a lot away regarding the basics of graphic design.

By Rafeeque M

•

Mar 30, 2019

Beautiful experience. This course changed the way I looked at images.

Thank you so much Coursera. :)

By Muhammad H

•

Aug 20, 2018

Its a good course to start off the journey towards graphics design. I highly recommend this course.

By Munjeong K

•

Mar 28, 2018

I didn't expected this education.

but I've learned many thing and I was able to build my basic skill

By Linda D F

•

Apr 3, 2016

I love to do it! It's so much fun to create and experiment. The descriptions and lessons are clear.

By Maya S

•

Mar 24, 2016

Estupendo curso, buenos contenidos y ejercicios. Además el diseño de las presentaciones es hermoso.

By James B

•

Mar 16, 2016

I had so much fun and learned so much. I plan to take this course again just to do the assignments.

By Murielle U

•

Mar 10, 2016

I absolutely love this course. It's complete, precise, easy to follow, and ignites your creativity!

By Tracey D

•

Jan 20, 2016

Great introduction to the basics of graphic design. Interesting presentations and fun assignments.

By Glaucia B

•

Nov 21, 2015

A good, fun and very didactic introductory course. I'd like to have more courses on graphic design.

By Mona Z

•

Mar 29, 2025

In my opinion, the course is exceptional! It's really Fundamentals of Graphic Design! Thank you...

By Комаров Д

•

Jun 14, 2022

This course is the best I have taken. I advise everyone to go through it and get unique knowledge.

By Franchesco Z A

•

Aug 5, 2021

Muy buen curso. Si estas en nada sobre lo que es diseño grafico, este curso te tda lo fundamental.

By Krishna S B

•

Jul 4, 2021

The pacing is great. I really like how they explain things simply and let us do things in our way.