My opinion is divided about this part of the course. I have worked as an editor for 20 years and I was dealing with print design for a decade. Therefor, I am not new to the topic of graphic design.

On the one hand, I have learned a lot about graphic design in this course. I wish I had seen David's explanations at the beginning of my apprenticeship. My worked would have been improved significantly.

Especially, as I haven't usually done the design of the newspapers I have worked for myself. After finishing David's course, I see the faults of "professional" designers. They have build the grid and developed the design of many papers I wrote for and that I did the typesetting for. And they sometimes did a very bad job (somebody should have told them to "design, don't decorate" a couple of times).

On the other hand, even having worked in the business, some parts of the course have been too detailed in my opinion (e.g. different families of typefaces).

Moreover, the introduction is pure ex-cathedra teaching.

After that you dive deep into design and layout. I picture myself being new to the matter, having to learn about the software you need, the usage of photos, colours, negative space etc.

If you are able to see this course as an opportunity to get a lot of information and pick some insights of it yourself, it's worth participating. But if you try to fulfil the tasks in good or excellent quality, it's quite a challenge.

Non the less, I have enjoyed (and finished) the course and learned a lot.

I think that the discussions would be more useful if students had detailed instructions on how to create the images in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and then take a screenshot to make a jpeg image.

I'm not a graphical designer and will apply the new knowledge in perspective of IT solutions design and presentation. The course perfectly fits my needs.

This introductory course provides the fundamental principles and general design tricks in condensed and very clear form.

Major ideas are defined in several best practices supported by relevant examples and engaging exercises.

I like the idea to deliver graphical design, writing, and presentation courses together with references between related topics. Such holistic approach gives us the better view on real "design of everything."

Great job David!

Thank you

I loved it its not on photoshop or any application but on the practicality on how to use everything is any design related work or medium

got to learn on maybe new minute things I used to ignore

I've been dabbling in graphic design for years, and this Coursera course was the first set up in a way that made sense to me: rules to work by and projects galore. Thank you, David, for putting this together. 👏🏻

I loved how the beginning emphasized to design where you are with what you have. Too often I find myself waiting until I'm at my computer with Photoshop or Sketch, instead of getting ideas out on paper or in a powerpoint. Great rules; thank you for the review of your rules at the end of the course. Be sure to get involved with the forums and post your work to get the most out of your learning. Highly recommended!

Amazing course! Dave put a lot of thought into creating a strong structure for the material and it showed. I feel like I have concrete methods to apply when I approach design challenges.

Dave is also a very warm instructor. I always looked forward to class as Dave had both tremendous knowledge about and love for his subject matter. This was contagious and made it fun to be part of the course.

I used to believe that being a graphic designer was hard. However with the principles i've learnt in this course, I now know for a fact that it's doable and very much achievable. Thank you very much Dave for your pointers, i see design in a different and easier light now. I have gained more confidence in my work, and that is truly what i was after.

I love this course. It showed me the basics and fundamentals for graphic design. The professor is great, he knows how to explain each concept. Great experience overall. Thank you!

This course is one of a kind. It's well- structured and nicely-presented. I learned a lot out of it and started to understand the world of design, which is not as complicated as I thought. It's really simple when you learn the basic rules and tricks. I can say I've moved from 0 to 6 with this short, but rich, course. Thanks to Dr. David and his team. I owe you a lot.

I really would recommend this course to everyone interested in graphic design and willing to work on their skills. The course is oriented to designing with digital software, and is very hands-on and practical. It gives certain approaches and tips to avoid clumsy and unattractive designs, gives useful vocabulary and practical skills.

i will definitely recommend this course not only to those interested in graphic design but also to those who have to make simple power point presentations. you will find the tips very useful!

This course shows the basics of graphic design and the way you should think about the design process. It's helpful, gives you a new aspect. For professionals it might be too basic but for beginners it's great.

I would suggest to spend more time on typography, studying it through one video is not effective for someone who has never heard about it.

The instructor, David delivers lessons clearly and shows great examples. I would have appreciated if he or a proffessional had given feedback to my work; the peer grading system is not effective at all.

To sum up, I recommend this course to anyone who wants to study (maybe) new perspective about graphic design.

This course is very good for learning the basics of graphic design. It is very valuable for those who need to know and identify good design as part of their day to day work. I am a brand manager and I don't need to design any artworks. However, it is very important in my job to be able to brief design projects and give constructive feedback to designers for their work. This course is perfect for this purpose and I highly recommend it to all those who want to learn the basics of good graphic design.

Great basic info for anyone wanting to learn more about graphic design, even beginners. I like that you can choose to do special assignments or just the basic course. I have some graphic design experience, but the world of design changes so much, I decided to take another class in design to update my skills. Through Coursera, I can watch videos and do assignments on my lunch hour - can't say that about even our local colleges! Thanks University of Colorado - Boulder

I am grateful to them. I have completed this course and now I know the basic fundamentals of Graphic Design which are highly important for a successful professional life in Graphic Design.

I was't sure that I would benefit from this course but I found the antithesis to be true. The course has given me a great understanding of design, not just in concept, but in practical ways that I can apply immediately. All ready I am seeing what I have learned instruct and direct my presentation media. Thanks for a great course, I would recommend this to anyone who is involved in any communication activity (hint....... that is everyone).

The course sticks to the basic principles of design and doesn't have any pre-requisites. The instructor is really creative and gives amazing insights to improve your design. I suggest this course if you want to improve your designing skills in any type of document. By the end of the course, you'll start to notice the impact of this course on every graphic you design or see.

This is an exceptional course, if you are looking for basics of design. Even if you are not a professional designer or don't want to be one then also, you should learn this course. This course can guide you in making & delivering better presentations. Power Point tool is all you need to explore this course. I'd recommend this course to anyone who wants to present himself/herself in a very erudite & professional manner.

Love from India!

The course was very inspirational and teached me a lot about the scaffolding of presentations. I already achieved some accomplishments at work while using what I have learned. I also appreciated the recommendation to use different programs like adobe photoshop. I had no experience with it, but got quite comfortable during the process creating the different posters. Keep up with the great work - I enjoyed it a lot!

I loved how the beginning emphasized to design where you are with what you have. Too often I find myself waiting until I'm at my computer with Photoshop or Sketch, instead of getting ideas out on paper or in a powerpoint. Great rules; thank you for the review of your rules at the end of the course. Be sure to get involved with the forums and post your work to get the most out of your learning. Highly recommended!

This course is exactly what I was looking for as a beginner. Focuses on design principles and best practices with clear examples and useful project work. Dave is a great teacher. He knows how to drive the point home. I find myself looking at design around me with a more informed and critical eye. Now I feel confident enough to go master some software that will give me options for more polished work.

Thank you so much for introducing such a good course. It really helped me to do much more than what i thought i would do regarding my presentation skills. I learnt to use Power Point in much easier yet advanced manner. I created a poster which i never thought i would be able to do. This course is really gonna help me ahead for improvising my presentation skills. Thank you once again.

This was a great introduction course. The course was well laid out and the material was easy to understand and follow. I love that the lecturer added examples as we went along. The practical approach ensured that you understood what was being taught and got a chance to practice. I would highly recommend this if you are a beginner and wanting to get your feet wet in the design world.

Dear sir,

I'm very happy about course and my teacher Mr. David underwood . I sharp my graphic design subject with this course, Usually more course learn to student about software using. But this course polish my design skill and make me good designer. I thank again to coursera team and my Teacher.

As a Buddhist I hope triple gem bless to your team (Teacher Mr. David Underwood).

A worthwhile introduction to Graphic Design that you can start putting into practice in your own presentations, illustrations and other work documents. The course is spread over 4 weeks and each week takes about 4 hours to complete - and you should definitely attempt the practice exercises. It has given me a lot of ideas and I no longer look at a blank page the way I used to.