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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Ideas from the History of Graphic Design by California Institute of the Arts

4.7
stars
2,436 ratings

About the Course

This condensed survey course focuses on four key periods or themes from the history of design in the West. 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. Students will develop an understanding of where the wide variety of today’s design practice comes from. By participating in this survey of the works of innovative groups and individuals, we outline the process by which graphic design moved from a purely instrumental practice, to becoming a demanding creative and hybridized field. Each week, a short quiz will test your knowledge of concepts, and a short reflective assignment will give you the opportunity to analyze the questions designers ask themselves today. This is an essential course for emerging designers entering the field, or for students interested in learning more about visual culture and analysis. No previous experience is required. A note about this course: This course is taught from the perspective of contemporary design, to connect ideas that helped formulate design practice from the 1850s through the 1960s to the ways that designers think today. The relationship of words and pictures in graphic design is looked at through the ever-changing social and cultural contexts, technologies, aesthetics, and politics of their eras. The definition and practice of graphic design includes all public visual communications, which is a global practice. It was the evolution of mass production and communication in the West that specifically redefined graphic design as a professional practice and is this course’s particular narrative. We hope students will consider how to connect the themes and ideas offered in this course to your own culture....

Top reviews

P

Nov 26, 2016

Its been a great course, many info and points that are fantastic in the learning or adding new knowledge always. I will always recommend this course for those who want to know more and learn design.

ER

Mar 21, 2022

I was a little bit nervous about this course, I always hated History in school, but surprisingly this was very good! I enjoyed it! The assignments were easy to understand and managebale to complete.

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426 - 450 of 517 Reviews for Ideas from the History of Graphic Design

By Jai C

Aug 2, 2017

It was a wonderful course. I have designed things but never took a formal design education. I think knowing the history of a particular field helps. It gives you a picture of how things evolved to be what they are today. I would not have known where to start even if I wanted to learn history of graphic design. This course has given me a good start. Now I can go deeper in that study. Thank you

By Maneesh P

Jun 4, 2017

It was interesting learning about the history of graphic design the only reason I didn't give the course 5 stars is the course didn't really have many opportunities for students to work on their own graphic design. Courses 1 through 3 were all about creation this felt more like a survey course studying the history of the field, while interesting I am more fascinated with the art of making.

By Tereza M

Aug 13, 2018

I've learned a lot thanks to this course. It is a great part of whole specialization because of the brief introduction to the history. It is very clearly described and inspiring. Actually I would appreciate to continue with my education about history :) So I can just recommend this course.

By Sushen W

Sep 5, 2017

It was great learning all about the foundation of Graphic Design,how it originated,where it started,about Bauhaus,about all the famous graphic designers of the 19th century,about the subcultures etc. It was a course that made me take a step back and learn about history.:)

By Cris G

Apr 2, 2020

This was a good course all in all. I really enjoyed the assignments and the lectures were quite instructive. I think I would have liked it to be even more instructive with more info and more videos and examples. In other words, more content would have been appreciated!

By Dina M

Mar 22, 2021

Very interesting addition to Graphic Design Specialization, it's important to learn the history of the field you're studying. I recommend taking it with other courses of Specialization, or as a separate if you are just curious about the history of graphic design.

By Indah P

May 18, 2017

I learned many things from this lecture! Not just the information about the history itself, but also how those graphic designer in late era came out with ideas. Their thinking, their purpose, their effect and inspiration to the new designer. Great!

By Sayeed H

Mar 17, 2022

I had a lot of trouble completing the course.

The worse thing that happened was someone rated my submission with all NO answers. He does not have a name.

I could not find a place to write this injustice. I had to submit the assignment again.

By Teri L

Jul 20, 2018

A really nice set of lessons to teach you about what brought about graphic design in the first place. Peer-reviewed assignments and quizzes make sure you're understanding every part (especially the most essential). Really enjoyed it!

By Megan C

Aug 15, 2016

This was a very interesting and informative addition to this specialization. I loved the lecturer's style, and found this to be one of my favourite offerings so far. Very much looking forward to the capstone course and project.

By Elizabeth O

Dec 18, 2017

Interesting and informative. More historic and research based than creating and doing. The professeur's lectures were bit fragmented and scattered at times which made it more difficult to follow, but great information overall.

By David M

Nov 4, 2019

It was fun and helpful to view other designer's work through different generations. This course was a great way to view references and become inspired with certain techniques and new approaches to graphic design.

By Lauren M

Jul 17, 2017

I didn't feel like I learned much from this course that I didn't learn in the intro course. I understand there are a lot of way to make and display images, but I didn't think the assignments were that helpful.

By Joly F Z

Aug 8, 2018

It gives a quick overview of key milestones in graphic design history through examples. It is very enjoyable and I have learnt to analyse the design thinking behind different work and appreciate design more.

By Liangchi C

Nov 19, 2017

Through this course, I have learned many great examples of graphic design and how people convey ideas through image over the last centuries. I would like to develop my own style after seeing others' works.

By Kelly J

Dec 5, 2016

Useful intro to the history of graphic design. The quizzes could have been more challenging though or involved doing more independent research on some of the graphic design periods discussed.

By Nicolle U

Apr 22, 2020

The content of the course is very interesting, it helps you understand the evolution of image making processes and its cultural influence.

Ps: The audio of the videos was a little bit low.

By Hannah C

Aug 21, 2017

It's a lovely course and the lecturers are great, but it focus mostly on American design or the impact of other designers in the USA. I would love to learn more about non-USA design.

By Randy B

Aug 1, 2020

Really interesting information. I wish there was a bit more hands on assignments, even if they are optional, to really get to play around with the different styles.

By Hector E

Aug 29, 2016

Although this course is rich in content, it lacks a lot of perspective around The History of Graphic Design, since it only talks from the american point of view.

By julieta

May 8, 2020

Me gusto mucho el curso y sus contenidos. No esperaba igual tener que hacer tantas tareas, era algo que me resultaba engorroso. En general fue bueno.

By Jay N P

Aug 17, 2020

Good Course for learning the History of Graphic Designing. And also to take inspiration from it by understanding the meaning conveyed and how.

By yasmine f

Jun 19, 2023

Thank You ! the course is very imformative and useful , but actually the vedios is very long and the quizs is not direct enough to understand

By Clara

Jul 27, 2016

it gives a good understanding of graphic design evolution from post second WW to contemporary time. Very focused on American design.

By Anjani

Dec 22, 2022

It was interesting to learn about the history of graphic design, however, I would have loved to go back further into history.