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

4.8
stars
17,912 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

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

AR

Apr 17, 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.

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4176 - 4200 of 4,596 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Gautam J

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Nov 28, 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 16, 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 29, 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 6, 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 16, 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 24, 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 6, 2018

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

By Yuying R

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Feb 22, 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 14, 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 22, 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 10, 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 18, 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 3, 2020

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

By Pramita B

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Jul 29, 2020

This course was very informative .Thank you coursera for providing such a awesome course.

By Tina L O Z

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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.

By pooja

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Feb 24, 2021

very good course to learn basics and how to approach graphic design in the initial stage