Are you wanting to learn graphic design online with a comprehensive course?

You’ve found the right place.

Although we’ve shared free & premium graphic design courses in the past, this offer from Coursera has to be one of the most comprehensive graphic design courses available online.

In fact, the “Graphic Design Specialization” career learning path from Coursera is compromised of 5 courses in one and you can get access with Coursera Plus. More on that below.

It will teach how to make compelling designs and how to apply the principles of graphic design towards a comprehensive branding project.

SALE – Save $100 off Coursera Plus

Get $100 off Coursera Plus until January 10, 2021. Click here

What you will learn

• Gain the fundamental skills needed to be a graphic designer
• Communicate through image-making and typography
• Complete a capstone project to add to your professional portfolio
• Learn everything you need to know to work in interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design

Graphic Design Specialization Overview

Created by: California Institute of Arts | Cost: 7-day free trial then $49/month or Coursera Plus ($499/year) | Duration: Approx 3-6 months

Offered by the California Institute of the Arts, the Graphic Design Specialization course is designed the give students the formal and conceptual tools for succeeding in graphic design.
Broken into five courses including Fundamentals of Graphic Design, Introduction to Typography, Introduction to Imagemaking, Ideas from the History of Graphic Design, and Brand New Brand.

Designed to be completed within 3-6 months, students will learn how to communicate using typography and image-making as well as completing a capstone project that you can add to your professional profile, and learn everything you need to know to work in motion graphics, editorial, and interface design.

Skills You Will Gain

• Visual Communication
• Branding
• Communication
• Graphic Design
• Art History
• Typography
• Creativity
• Graphic Design Theory
• Color Theory
• Adobe Illustrator
• History
• Adobe Indesign

 

Graphic Design Specialization Overview

Below is an overview of the 5 courses within Graphic Design Specialization.

• Fundamentals of Graphic Design

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.

• Introduction to Typography

Typography is the art of manipulating the visual form of language to enrich and control its meaning. It’s an essential area of skill and knowledge for graphic designers. Typography predates modern graphic design by around 500 years; it is rich in rules, conventions, and esoteric terminology—but it remains an exciting space for invention and expression.

• Introduction to Imagemaking

This course is for serious makers, and for students new to imagemaking. Imagemaking is a fluid and exciting area of graphic design that comes out of practice and process: experimenting fearlessly, showing and sharing ideas, and giving and receiving knowledgeable and constructive input.

• Ideas from the History of Graphic Design

This condensed survey course focuses on four key periods or themes from the history of design. Together we’ll trace the emergence of design as a recognized practice, why things look the way they do, and how designers approached specific design problems in their work.

• Brand New Brand

This course is the culmination of the Graphic Design Specialization and gives you an opportunity to tie together your knowledge and skills into a single project: a brand development guide for a company you will invent.

 

Get Access to this Specialization and 3000+ more with Coursera Plus

You can access Coursera for free for 7 days as a trial, or for $49/month or for $499 a year with Coursera Plus, which is where the value is at.

You can access the Graphic Design Specialization through Coursera Plus, as well as 3,000+ other courses in variety of domains including business, computer science, health, personal development, humanities, and more.

• See our related post: Best 9 Coursera Courses for Creatives

Coursera Plus will save you money if you are planning on taking multiple courses over the year.

A ‘specialization’ such as this 5 part graphic design course takes an average of three months to complete, so that would save you approximately $130 over three months or $520 over the year.

With Coursera Plus you can:

• Learn anything
  Explore any interest or trending topic, take prerequisites, and advance your skills
• Save money
  Spend less money on your learning if you plan to take multiple courses this year
• Flexible learning
  Learn at your own pace, move between multiple courses, or switch to a different course
• Unlimited certificates
  Earn a certificate for every learning program that you complete at no additional cost

 

SALE – Save $100 off Coursera Plus

Get $100 off Coursera Plus until January 10, 2021. Click here

 

Other specializations from Coursera

Once you’ve finished your graphic design specilization you could move into any of these:

• Graphic Design Specialization (as outlined above)
• Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers Specialization
• UI/UX Design Specialization
• Interaction Design Specialization
• User Experience Research and Design Specialization

Ready to tackle a graphic design course? What specialization are you going to choose?