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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Imagemaking by California Institute of the Arts

4.5
stars
2,820 ratings

About the Course

This course 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. For the sake of this online platform, we have applied some structure to our investigations, but for the most part imagemaking is loose and unstructured. If we must adopt a rule in this course it is only this: you will not become a graphic designer by watching videos alone. Or, don't just make stuff just in your head. So here, the focus here is on making, and you are expected to devote serious time and intellectual energy to that activity in this course. Specifically, you will: - experiment with a range of materials and techniques to make images for graphic design - expand your visual vocabulary both in terms of making and talking about work, in order to discuss your work and work of others - learn how to make, manipulate and arrange images to create compositions, eventually culminating in the design and production of an-image-based book. The first half of the course is an opportunity to experiment and explore imagemaking in order to expand your visual vocabulary. You will create pieces that are expressive, meditative, or 'design-y' to instigate, evoke, experiment, record, explain, or try out a media. In the second two weeks, we’ll invite the images to deliberately and intentionally carry meaning and communication through relational moves like juxtaposition, composition, and context. We’ll look at developing and expanding the range of approaches for putting things together by composing page spreads with your images. Since nothing exists without context, we look at how to intentionally drive the image’s connotations, meanings, and associations generated through elements of composition and “visual contrasts.” Ultimately, we will take the images that you create and make a book from them. The results of your assignments (and experiments) may generate something completely unknowable now or in the future—and that's the goal....

Top reviews

LC

Oct 8, 2017

I'm so happy i did this course. Gail, you're amazing and you made my imagination go wild with just your words. I can see you love your craft and that's very inspiring. Enjoyed this course all the way!

TA

May 22, 2023

In fact i am very much glad for this because before taking this course, i know nothing about Indesign but i can now use it and more, Thank you for this financial aid opportunities, Blessings coursera

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1 - 25 of 633 Reviews for Introduction to Imagemaking

By Jeannie N

Aug 30, 2016

As an educator myself, I found this class to be rather pathetic in its structure and the assignments. These are topics and activities that I was doing as a student in middle school and junior high (both public schools mind you, not arts centered charters). Charging people for a certificate in this "class" is tantamount to what diploma mills do as the course requirements are not up to even senior high school level coursework. Truly, Coursera, what happened to your open education offering real education?

By Viorel-Daniel S

Sep 16, 2017

The course failed to make me enthusiastic about image making the way I was enthusiastic about typography in the preceding course.

By Dave L

Aug 31, 2016

The weakest of the series so far. Overlap with some of the other courses. Too much art therapy.

By Christine

Jun 12, 2016

Not up to the standard of the previous two courses. The material was already covered in the first course - Fundamentals of Graphic Design - and nothing new was brought to the table. Even the assignments were a re-hash of the ones from the first course. I realize the point of the lack of specific guidance was intended to encourage us to explore the "making" of multiple iterations of the images. I just would have liked to have more instruction or examples of the elements of composition hierarchy.

By Mary A V

Nov 7, 2019

To be honest, the professor had a lot of extraneous meandering monologues that seemed poorly written (or possibly off the cuff), and I sometimes felt that criteria for performance evaluation was very subjective or ambiguously written for a course where we are subject to peer evaluation.

By Elzbieta Z

May 22, 2020

I am very sad with my rating because I had great expectation. This was the part of this specialization where I expected to unleash my creativity, and it's a pity that it turned out to be the weakest link. The instructor failed to instruct, simply said. Of course, imagemaking and creative arts in general, can't be easily systematized and subjected to measurable rules and conditions. However, the instructor made the whole course and the assignments incredibly confusing. I believe, such a teaching technique works in person, when all the questions and doubts can be cleared, the coursework follows a certain rhytm and develops naturally, an many iterations are possible. Unfortunately, the instructor's style doesn't translate well to online course. Discussion forum is full of people not sure what the assignments are about and the staff, although present and active, doesn't do more than copying and pasting same instructions the students are asking about, as if it made things clearer. This lack of clarity impacts final grade, because all the peers understand the tasks differently and rate accordingly.

By Holly H

Jun 1, 2018

Out of all the different ones in this specialisation, I felt like this one was the course that could have the most work done to it. I didn't feel like I learnt anything in this section, as yes you could be imaginative, however there was no real structural lessons apart from showing how to make your booklet at the end. Lessons about random placement and other overlapping didn't really give me any more depth of understanding compared to what I learnt in the last few courses in the Graphic Design specialisation.

By Dries N

Jun 29, 2017

Not enough video's and explanation and what's there is to simplistic.

Not so good questions to review other people's work.

By Aaron M

Dec 24, 2019

Instructions were very unclear and were interpreted differently by each student. Instructor was very dull compared to the other instructors. Because each student interpreted the instructions differently, grades were all over the place and it was very hard to understand what we were supposed to do.

By Georgios A

Jun 1, 2019

complete waste of time, I didn't learn anything valuable

By Milo X

Aug 29, 2019

Lectures are just weird. I managed to get 91% when accidentally submitting week 1 work to week 2 assignment. Course is too artsy and so full of questionable hipster quirks.

By Gaetano S

Apr 29, 2016

I personally did not find it constructive enough to spend money on.

It is way too general and basic. I expected something more articulated and not so elementary

By Daniel B A

Nov 19, 2017

mostly abstractions and not many objective guidance

By Christine E

May 17, 2020

The assignments were complicated and it wasn't always easy to follow.

By Irina K

May 5, 2016

Nothing interesting. Common information about nothing. Sorry

By Sayem W

Dec 7, 2017

Almost nothing is taught! :/ Assignments are boring and uninspired. Everything is really abstract and more guidance is needed.

By Iskra D

May 22, 2019

Very useful course. Really puts you to practice. I learned a lot and feel encouraged to continue. Reviewing other peer's work was inspiring and gave me fresh ideas about what I could have done better.

By Ruth J

Aug 19, 2018

This is more challenging that it seems. It forces you to think creatively and critically with a seemingly simple subject. I recommend this course for anyone who wants to work with their hands a bit

By Lin Z

Sep 11, 2017

The course is generally interesting as a purely visual exercise, but It's not very clear what are the learning points are. Even the final assignment is not very clear in its objective, and no samples are shown. (The final video shows the process of handcrafting a book, but doesn't even show us the final book!) Would recommend this only for people who have created artwork before, or at least have a keen desire to do so.

By Britt B C

Jun 11, 2017

I felt like this course was a super waste of my time and if anything should have been an intro class. There wasn't much that came out of it. If you have ever taken an intro to art class it's essentially the same thing. I feel like there should have been more to gain from the class than just making projects

By Allaa m

May 10, 2018

I Didn't find it helpful actually

By Sabrina S

Jun 21, 2020

Super inspiring course with a super creative instructor: I really loved Gail Swanlund's unconventional way of teaching. Her videos are really poetic, encouraging and teeny-tiny bit crazy as well. I had a lot of fun experimenting, creating and making images, but also giving feedback to other students and seeing their creative work. Learned a lot, but in a really playful (and unusual) way!

By Rohit N

Aug 31, 2016

The course content was good but the assignments weren't structured that well. While reviewing I realised some people made very simplistic stuff like me after following instructions, while others with more design experience created really amazing stuff. They should have included some advanced example for demo.

By Chana M H

Jul 31, 2018

I enjoyed this course. I do not draw or paint, but the course did expand my knowledge of layout and establishing visual hierarchy in designs. I was forced to think more about using a grid as part my concept development. It was also helpful in developing a stronger sense of how to integrate colors scale and text into my work. Great additional reading suggestions for continued growth in image making for those who are into making their own image, which I am not!

By Lisa A C

Oct 9, 2017

I'm so happy i did this course. Gail, you're amazing and you made my imagination go wild with just your words. I can see you love your craft and that's very inspiring. Enjoyed this course all the way!