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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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526 - 550 of 4,402 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Wejdan H

Mar 8, 2021

I like the quality of the information. I like the tasks and I should participate even in the optional tasks. I like the instructor approach on emphasizing information. This a very needed course to begin in graphic design.

By Regine A

Oct 18, 2020

Thankful to have at least a month of taking a graphic design course in our homes, this course helped me improve my knowledge in making designs. Looking forward to more in-depth learning on other aspects of graphic design.

By Dung N

Nov 8, 2019

As the name of the course prompted, this course is very hardcore & fundamental. This is a stepping stone for those who are looking to dive deep into the field of arts or graphic design. Highly recommended it for everyone.

By Erica M

Apr 21, 2016

Great course on graphic design. Explain graphic design in more detail than most college classes I have taken. Would recommend this class to others wanting to understand or explore graphic design as a possible career move.

By Muhammad A

Jul 13, 2023

The instruction was really clear, and this has given me the assurance to continue improving in my career. The entire Team is appreciated. I am grateful that the university chose me as a recipient of their financial help.

By Liezl S

Jul 9, 2021

I learned a lot from this online course and the chat support was very responsive. Thank you a million folds Coursera more power. You helped a lot of students by providing them the tools needed for improving their career.

By Eleonora D L

Jun 11, 2020

Great course, it gave me a lot of inspiration and it made me reflect. Also, amazing teacher. Sometimes I forget why I love this field, but this teacher was able to remind me what made me fall in love with graphic design.

By PANKAJ K

Feb 7, 2020

A special thanks to the coursera who given me opportunity to learn a new skill by granting me aid for this course. The skill i earned in this course will definitely gonna help me to reach my future goals.

Thousand Thanks.

By Prakriti G

Jul 22, 2018

With the brilliant optional assignments and research prompts told in every video, this course lets you experience actual graphic design by many hands-on activities and make you to love graphic design! Love the course!!!!

By Анастасия А

Nov 27, 2017

Fundamentals of Graphic Design is very interesting course. I really enjoy the education time. It was full of theory and useful practical part. Do not doubt if you would like to begin study. Just start! You will love it!

By Diana S

Jul 10, 2016

I have been working in the field for a couple of years now, but this course gave me some key fundamental bits of knowledge. Recommended for those who are self-taught or simply those who want to brush up on some concepts.

By Abdulrahman A

Dec 18, 2022

very academic and sufficient , informative and precise .

I enjoyed the course so much, easy to grasp the concepts .

big thanks for the remarkable teacher Michael Worthington, and for the staff who are fast and accurate.

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By Ana C

Jan 28, 2017

I'm a journalism student and some knowledge of design is a requirement for most internships, and honestly this coursed helped me a lot with undestanding basic concepts. It's very interesting, fun and easy to understand.

By Marius B

Jun 27, 2022

Can't wait for more courses from CalArts. I'm very happy with the course, I like the structure, the peer-review approach, I feel like I've grown a bit and I want to learn more. I recommend this class to every beginner.

By Aimee Z

Jun 10, 2022

Such a helpful course! It provides a great introduction to graphic design, and the way this course is structured is fantastic and engaging. Could not recommend it more highly to those looking to start creating content.

By Pablo G O

Oct 26, 2020

Good course. Concepts are well explained, however it gets a little boring sometimes. It's easy enough for anyone to understand and it gives you new insights if you have never studied anything related to Graphic Design.

By Tania P T A

Feb 27, 2019

Perfect course to learn the basic and fundamental things of graphic design. The course is easy to understand and it allows you to start working in designing small things using the elements you learn through the course.

By Sharon K H

Apr 2, 2016

There was just the right balance of instruction and hands-on assignments that let me explore my creative side. The only problem is that if you are paying for this class, your grade depends on reviews by other students.

By Enikő M

Feb 18, 2021

I really liked the course. The theory part is easy to understand and there's a great selections of assignments that help you to improve your skills. I think it's a good start a good start to become a graphic desginer!

By PRAVEEN K S - C

Jun 3, 2020

This course really helps a person to build a fundamental idea on how to work and think to become a graphic designer.The course instructor took the exact amount of time needed not more nor less with a good flow on time

By Peggy L

Jan 2, 2023

I found the lectures to be clear, concise and informative. Relevant examples were shown throughout and after completing this course, I find myself much more aware of all the contrasts and elements in graphic design.

By Deleted A

Jan 2, 2022

I love learning new things and upgrade myself with several skills. This course provided all the contents for beginner, which helped me to improve my image making idea. I enjoyed thoroughly while learning. Thank you .

By Matias B

Sep 17, 2021

Sinceramente no crei en pode hacerlo de manera gratuita (obteniendo la Beca que brinda la pagina). Muy buen curso, personas que saben muchisimo. Es un curso interesante que abre la cabeza a nuevas formas de trabajar.

By Rose R

Nov 23, 2020

I took a graphic design course a decade ago, and found this an excellent review that caught me back up! I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs a review or is just starting. Very accessible and well laid out.

By Yi X P

Aug 12, 2020

This course is chill and interesting. It is practical for the learner to gain basic knowledge of graphic design. And it really embarks my desire to learn more about graphic design even though I am a business student.