Basic Elements of Design: Design Principles and Software Overview (Coursera)

A business card, brochure, or website that has good design provides content that is more inviting, more easily comprehensible and is faster to process. Design isn’t about “making it look pretty,” it’s also about content, layout and audience analysis.

Course 1 of 4 in the Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers Specialization

What You Will Learn

- Recognize ways to work with graphic designers and other creative professionals.

- Understand the history and design process of the graphic design profession.

- Compare the concepts of balance, proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast and space.

- Discover the use of white space to develop shape, form, and structure in graphic projects.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

What is Graphic Design?

This module will cover the history of graphic design, uncover what graphic designers do and review the design process.

WEEK 2

Elements of Design

This module will introduce the design principles of balance, alignment, proximity, space, repetition and contrast.

WEEK 3

Basic Concepts of Design

This module will go over the expectations of projects in this specialization, how to apply the design principles to the projects, and software needed to product course projects.