Graphic Design

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Below are the top discussions from Reddit that mention this online Coursera specialization from California Institute of the Arts.

Offered by California Institute of the Arts. Make Compelling Design. Learn and apply the principles of graphic design towards a ... Enroll for free.

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Taught by
Michael Worthington
Faculty, Program in Graphic Design
and 16 more instructors

Offered by
California Institute of the Arts

This specialization includes these 2 courses.

Reddit Posts and Comments

1 posts • 51 mentions • top 23 shown below

r/IWantToLearn • comment
5 points • easyamine

Start learning the basics of Illustrator, Photoshop & InDesign on youtube I mean it's the only source where you can start, after that start following tutorials from Logo design to Magazine design until you become comfortable with this kind of stuff then pick a niche and build your way up there until then go freelance ;)

​

here is a good start https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

r/starbucks • comment
2 points • makeTechnoGreatAgain

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design I strongly recommend Coursera! MIT and Stanford might also have those courses recorded for the past years. But you can at least start from there and learn if that’s your passion, before you’re fully committed.

r/gamedev • comment
2 points • lunahreddit

There's courses like this which I did a few years ago which go through quite a few of the basics: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

Also keep an eye on any course done by Aaron James Draplin, he is fantastic, he may have some courses on Skillshare?

r/greece • comment
2 points • my_other_account_471

ΟΚ. Θα πω μαλακία τωρα :)

Δες μπας και σε ενδιαφερι το παρακατω (μαλλον δεν σε ενδιαφερει όμως)

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

r/GraphicDesigning • comment
4 points • Angry_ACoN

I haven't done it, but I am interested in this one, given by CalArts:
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design?

r/design_critiques • comment
3 points • Swisst

Here are a couple suggestions:

  • Calarts offers a Graphic Design Specialization course through Coursera. It looks like a decent time commitment, but the content and teachers look great. It looks like—at the least—you can audit it for free.
  • ItCalarts also offers a UI/UX specialization course if you find this to be a good fit.
  • With your passion for UI work, I think Steve Schoger's RefactoringUI articles, videos, tips, and book could be huge for you. The book isn't free, but that might be something your internship is willing to buy for you or the company. It's worth asking when you settle in there.

There's a lot of worthless ones out there that aren't so much design as teaching you how to use software or are just "how to make a website" when you really dig into them. Make sure you find something with some design basics, typography, color theory, etc.

r/graphic_design • comment
1 points • RandomAccess42

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

You can audit the courses for free.

Learn the basics, start experimenting, pick a software and learn it. Read books on graphic design, watch tutorials on youtube. And go on from there. Also get critiqued, in reddit or better find some people in real life and ask for their critiques.

r/graphic_design • comment
1 points • awesamv

In terms of theory, Coursera has a free courses with Calarts on different aspects of graphic design! It’ll teach you the basics of image-making all the way to typography. If you want feedback and grading on your work, you have to pay but auditing the course is completely free.

Calarts Graphic Design Specialization

r/Design • comment
1 points • aleppe

May not be that much of a WIP, but I'm working on getting better at design. I'd like to know if anyone can recommend me something or simply point me in the right direction.

I already know how many things work (dropped out of Design after 1 year because what I wanted was animation), and have been using Adobe for years (After Effects is my right hand). What I'm looking for is getting better at color theory, compositing, shapes, etc, so that I can rely more on myself and less on an actual designer when it comes to designing a good "HUD for an animated explanation of how to use medical equipment", or "knowing which type to use that will help strengthen the video (like why not use a slab over a light)", or "using these colors will really help the viewers be more interested".

My only real option is Coursera's Design Specialization. Other than that I haven't found something better to try.

​

Thanks in advance

r/Design • comment
1 points • studiointhehills

Glad you liked the tips! To be honest I don't have any firsthand experience with courses myself, but Coursera has a online graphic design specialisation by CalArts which seems to be a good starting point (link below). Alternately if there are specific technical things you want to learn, the best way is to learn while trying to create stuff. https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

r/hungary • comment
1 points • tejfolosfokhagymas

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

r/dubai • comment
1 points • mziyad

When it comes to these scenarios, assuming you have time, its best to learn those skills by your self. Try online courses thats available for free at the moment. I highly recommend that. Personally had ideas for creating video contents, knew on how to shoot videos, but was weak on post production(video editing). I dedicated around 1-2 hours of my daily routine to learn from youtube (online courses wernt free at that moment), and became expert enough to create content by myself. To get most out of your ideas, its best to become and expert in the field. Its worth it

Here's a link to few courses I found online. Youtube is also a big source. I hope this gets your idea running. Graphic Designing courses

r/india • comment
1 points • Holypatchouli

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

r/graphic_design • comment
1 points • divys17
r/algeria • comment
1 points • amine23

I would rather teach myself online, there are tons of (free) resources out there. Just as an example, you can take the courses in this specialization for free: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design?

r/graphic_design • comment
1 points • Michinllama

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design?

you can audit this entire course for free.

r/homeschool • comment
1 points • HildaMarin

Sure of course you can do it at home. You can freestyle all you want or take online courses. Depending on his age. If he's very small and you're much older then you could take some courses and then share what you learn with him.

Let's say you're doing graphic design. Well there's this: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

If he's younger than middle school I'd not do the online stuff yet, other than Khan Academy for math. And speaking of Khan Academy in general, for middle or high school there's a lot of art history and such there: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/

r/web_design • comment
1 points • chemicloud

Check out this Coursera course: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design it is pretty deep in content and may have what you are looking for.

r/web_design • comment
6 points • KeuriseuDotCom

The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett is really good for given a structured, foundational understanding of UX. You can download the second chapter for free on his website.

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman is basically an industry standard now when it comes to user-centered design. This is a broader conception of design, but it's applicable to UI/UX.

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited by Steve Krug is another in the essential reading category. If you just apply the title itself, you'll eliminate tons of frustration.

For graphic design, you can read The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams and Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton. There are of course tons of other decent books in the field if you search Amazon.

Calarts offers a specialization on Coursera for UI/UX Design and Graphic Design. I've completed several courses in the Graphic Design one. It's decent. And these can all be completed for free. (Look for the "course only" or "audit only" options as Coursera likes to make them hard to find sometimes.)

And don't over look your library or Archive.org as a potential resource. A lot of the books mentioned are either offered as physical books or they can be checked out online as ebooks.

r/minimalism • comment
1 points • wildflowerhag

I’m the Senior Digital Designer at an agency, so I handle everything from wireframing/mockups to ad creative and landing pages to storyboarding video to brand strategy. Everything I do is digital and marketing-focused, so lots of UX, UI, brand, and general design. I do more UX-related work than anything, but no day is the same - which I love. TLDR; a pretty generalist digital designer, lol.

If you don’t have a design background, start where you are! Plenty of free and low cost courses online you can do. After just recently hiring a mid-level designer, I can tell you an excellent portfolio is usually more important than what college you went to. (Side note: I didn’t go to college.) Keep learning, keep practicing, and keep growing - over and over. The design industry is always changing.

I haven’t tried these course, but worth sharing: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design#courses https://www.springboard.com/resources/learning-paths/user-experience-design/ https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/digital-skills-user-experience

r/learndesign • comment
3 points • PristineTreat

Even though 4-year bachelor's degrees are more common, in my experience, graphic design is definitely an area where you can get a degree from a 2-year community college and still thrive! There's a lot of opportunity for freelance work and running your own small business, so I don't think your dream is unobtainable at all!

Considering you're a junior in high school and only have one course under your belt, I'd say the best next step is to sign up for more foundational courses in your senior year to learn how to use industry standard design software (Adobe creative Cloud, especially Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator), and also some art courses to learn some fundamental theories of design and composition, like color theory.

For now, I would definitely suggest that you continue to build your portfolio through your courses. Good supplementary courses are Udemy courses and EdX or other MOOCs (like this one). Once you have some more foundational design knowledge, then you could start working on prompts on your own. If you google "graphic design prompts," this is the first result on google. There's also tons of logo prompts out there, it just takes a simple google search to find them.

Next, probably in your second year at college, you could start doing actual design work for others, like entering into contests, doing a 99 Designs logo, or finding volunteer work on Catchafire. That will start bringing semi-professional work into your student portfolio. This will put you in a good position when you graduate to set yourself up for a job in a design firm or to use your portfolio to attract customers if you want to go freelance.

Good luck!

r/graphic_design • comment
2 points • artnerdsociety

Be sure to do your research before you commit. Understand the difference between degree types and curriculum.

  1. BFA = roughly 2/3 studio classes 1/3 general requirements.
  2. BA = 1/3 studio and 2/3 general requirements
  3. Associates can vary depending on whether it is transfer track or not. There are associate degrees out there that are just studio classes.

There is some solid advice in this thread but be sure to research the faculty and type of work being done by both students and faculty at various places. It is not all equal, even in BFA programs.

A good place to start research - https://nasad.arts-accredit.org/accreditation/

​

In terms of value, it is important to understand the difference between design degree and design education. Design education is hugely important and has little to do with learning computer programs or even specialized skillsets. Design degrees (the credential you get from paying for and completing a degree path) are less and less important and decreasing in value every day. There are more and more ways to get a solid design education (including critique) without going to a specialized BFA program. This will only increase over the next 5-10 years.

Do not go into too much debt for the degree. The school I previously worked for (Pratt) now costs $50,000 per year tuition plus 20-25k living expenses per year (mid-range for AICAD schools). Debt crushes career options and hits really fast after graduation.

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Some useful resources to take a look at.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSkoolRocks

https://www.kadenze.com/

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/graphic-design

https://www.ideou.com/

Best of luck.

r/webdev • comment
1 points • AgentXTree

>good eye for website design

Let me save you from this idea. Design is not about aesthetics. Design is about problem-solving.

Web designers place too much emphasis on aesthetics. They play a fairly diminished role overall. That's not to say that problems are never solved by aesthetics (e.g., luxury brands), but most of the time they're simply not that important beyond "good enough" (i.e., simple, clean, and stays out of the way of the user completing tasks).

That said, here are some resources.

Design Disciplines

  • BOOK: The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett. This particular books provides an excellent framework for thinking about websites. It specifically focuses on UX Design. It's one of the most important books that I've read.
  • BOOK: Graphic Design Thinking by Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips. This teaches you Design Thinking and Graphic Design concurrently.
  • BOOK: Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Eupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips. By the duo above, a basic introduction to graphic design.
  • BOOK: The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams. This is great book on basic Graphic Design.
  • BOOK: Design: A Very Short Introduction by John Heskett. A good introduction to Design as a broader discipline. It's good for helping understanding that design is much more than aesthetics.
  • BOOK: Typography Workbook by Timothy Samara. One of the best books on typography that I've come across.
  • BOOK: The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. Considered by many to be one of the key texts for designers, across all disciplines, to read. It promotes a user-centered design approach.
  • COURSE: Graphic Design Specialization on Coursera.
  • COURSE: Interaction Design Specialization on Coursera.
  • COURSE: UI/UX Design Specialization on Coursera.
  • WEBSITE: Smashing Magazine. Great resources on web design in general.
  • WEBSITE: A List Apart. While I don't see it recommended much anymore, they were the one who popularized responsive design.
  • WEBSITE: Nielsen-Norman Group. They place a strong emphasis on user-centered design. The Norman in the name is Donald Norman from above.

Communication (Soft Skills)

  • BOOK: Writing for Multimedia and the Web by Timothy Garrand. Writing is one of the most important tools we can developed. That's because communication is so fundamental to everything we do.

Business (Soft Skills)

  • BOOK: Value-Based Fees by Alan Weiss. This is primarily about how to price services based on value rather than time and other approaches. You'll find that value is a fundamental concept in business, so it's helpful to be business savvy even if you're not on the business side of things.
  • BOOK: Jobs to Be Done by Stephen Wunker and Jessica Wattman. This book is focused on marketing, particularly knowing your customers, but the jobs-to-be-done concept is actually quite helpful in a design context (e.g., What are your users trying to get done on your website?).
  • COURSE: Digital Marketing Specialization on Coursera.