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Fundamentals of Graphic Design, California Institute of the Arts

4.8
5,178 ratings
•
1,280 reviews

About this 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

By AR

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Apr 18, 2016

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.

By CS

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May 10, 2018

An ok course for beginners. A bit too basic for someone who has already had experience in design, but is great anyway cause it breaks things back down to the simplest parts to help you remember roots.

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1,240 Reviews

By Chia-Lun-Hsieh

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Feb 21, 2019

great class !

By Chrisha Manahan

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Feb 18, 2019

Absolutely helpful when you're a beginner. It explains as well as put examples so it's easier to understand, especially in visual art, I think that's needed

By Crystal Lam

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Feb 17, 2019

It is a great way to enter the world of graphic design. The pace of the course is easy to follow, and the exercises made me understood the theories presented and had fun at the same time. I recommend it to anyone who is interested by this subject.

By Andra Martinescu

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Feb 17, 2019

I enjoyed a lot this course! So creative, fun, easy explained and inspiring. Highly recommended!

Congrats to everyone involved in the creation of this course!

By Amir Baklouti

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Feb 14, 2019

N

By Karla Liivmann

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Feb 13, 2019

I liked the course, I've enjoyed doing it as well. Instructors was great, Thank you!

By Hari Gopalan

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Feb 13, 2019

I wish the examples and the projects were a bit more fun/engaging. I understand that this was a fundamentals course, but I found it a little dry. Some of the examples were also "ok." Did not really inspire me to create as much as I would have liked.

By Art Fil D. Sandalo

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Feb 13, 2019

Very detailed and informative.

By Ksusha

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Feb 13, 2019

Good course, everything is clear and intelligible!Thanks you!

By Tina Lee Odinsky Zec

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Feb 12, 2019

Rigorous if you take the time to do the optional work which has a lot of depth and value.

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