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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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2076 - 2100 of 4,596 Reviews for Fundamentals of Graphic Design

By Samuel G M

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Apr 20, 2020

Still yet to find a better introduction to Graphic Design than this one.

By roya s k

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Nov 30, 2019

so helpful. this course is an easy way to learn basics of graphic design

By Aymen J

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Nov 11, 2019

I'm so grateful to Coursera, to CAL ARTS and to Mr. Michael Worthington.

By Aušrinė O

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Dec 13, 2018

Easy understandable fundamentals of graphic design with practical tasks.

By Pavel S

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Feb 1, 2017

Great course! I strongly recommend it to anyone studying graphic design.

By Dora F

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Jan 31, 2017

Excellent, easy to understand and step by step instruction! Thank you!!!

By Anatoli M

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Nov 30, 2016

Very nice introduction course, on my way to become a graphic designer :)

By Maya R

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Feb 7, 2016

Amazing course! great for people who are interested in graphic design :)

By Katarzyna M

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Jan 3, 2016

Great course, very engaging and useful !

I hope there will be a part II.

By Haseeb J

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Nov 17, 2015

Very helpful course covering all the important aspects for a new person.

By Leo N E

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Jan 30, 2025

The course gave me sound perspectives into the world of Graphic Design!

By Ilja R

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Jun 22, 2023

Really great course! Very interactive and easy to follow! 10/10 easily!

By Helene G

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Jan 15, 2023

A great course for people who wants to learn (or refresh) fundamentals.

By maruyue

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Dec 26, 2021

this coursera is very useful and I have been more interested in design.

By Parvina K

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Jul 8, 2021

Very cool, original, clear, creative, modern course and its instructor.

By Cameron A G

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Mar 24, 2021

Simple steps for a big world of design.

Very well taught. I enjoyed it.

By Muhammad A P

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Oct 24, 2020

thanks you very much!, i get much knowledge about fundamental of design

By Melanie D S J

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Aug 3, 2020

I really liked having taken the course, due to the dynamism it handled.

By Sampath F

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Jun 10, 2020

Amazing course, I got very good theoretical knowledge from this course!

By Deleted A

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May 21, 2020

I got the chance to really understand the terminology of graphic design

By JR

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Oct 14, 2019

I only audited the course, but this is an excellent Graphic Design 101!

By Sotiria T

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May 14, 2019

I really enjoyed this course as a beginner with no previous experience.

By Lamees A

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Apr 4, 2017

Really great and helpful. it helps to look to art from different point.

By Devangi Y

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Aug 7, 2016

It was a learning experience to get other people's views on my designs.

By Cristina L F

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Mar 10, 2016

Good course to learn more about graphic design and some aspects. Thanks