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Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Language of Design: Form and Meaning by California Institute of the Arts

4.6
stars
768 ratings

About the Course

In this course, critique is defined as a detailed, objective analysis of a work of graphic design and its effectiveness. Critique is an integral part of the making process for designers: it’s not just how we determine if a work of design is or is not successful, it’s how we move our work forward. Critique is also where other voices and opinions can be brought into the design process. This course will introduce a lexicon (or vocabulary) in order for you to demonstrate clearer and more considered ways of talking about graphic design in the context of critique. Through this lexicon and a provided Critique Framework, we will model and then practice objectively describing how well a work of design functions based on specific, clearly articulated criteria. By refining this skill, you will enhance your ability to communicate about design with peers, colleagues, and clients. This course is essential to anyone looking to develop and refine a critical vocabulary around talking about art and design, such as: - practicing graphic designers at all levels - future and current students of art or design programs - teachers teaching visual art, design, or related subjects - any stakeholder in a design project that needs to communicate effectively with designers on their team. This course is recommended to learners enrolled in either the Graphic Design Specialization or UI/UX Design Specialization on Coursera to further develop their skills in graphic design. You may take this course before, during, or after completing either Specialization. Note this is not an art appreciation course for a general audience. While no prior experience is required to begin, the knowledge and skills taught in this course is useful only if you have some relationship to design in a professional context, i.e., practicing, studying, or teaching design, or working directly with designers. No specific software or tools are required to complete this course....

Top reviews

DO

May 19, 2022

It was well structured and every video, quiz and peer review helped the concepts and teachings really sink in. With that being said, I'm definitely going to take the course again and again and again

JB

May 6, 2020

A very thorough journey toward the very core of visual communication. It gives you the vocabulary and criteria to embark on an effective and objective design critique.

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176 - 200 of 220 Reviews for The Language of Design: Form and Meaning

By Ionela V A

Dec 1, 2022

Amazing

By Ujjwal S

Jun 2, 2020

Awesome

By Amani

Jul 5, 2022

great

By Erick O Z

Mar 24, 2021

Good

By AMAN M

Aug 20, 2021

5

By Tan Y N

May 17, 2020

Great course, with distilled content and very interesting case studies. I particularly appreciated the instructors' efforts in choosing a range of case studies and going through them in great detail, which helped to put many of the taught concepts into context. However, this course would be more suitable for those with some background in design, instead of complete beginners, as a general knowledge of art styles, visual languages and the nuances of design is still needed to keep up with the assignments.

By Karin K

Oct 20, 2020

Overall an excellent course. If I may suggest one improvement... when asking questions about a graphic design work presented inside a module, please ensure that the image is/remains accessible in the reply frame for reference even as a background image. Having to hit the backspace to return to it in order to inspect it and then try to find my place in the video again to answer the question is awkward.

By Jason T F

May 2, 2020

The course provides great insights into developing a focused and informed analysis for reviewing design. As a designer, it generates clarity on how to create good design. As a stakeholder in the design process or consumer of the final output, the course has outlined a critique structure to better understand design work and provide feedback accordingly.

By Vasita J

Jun 1, 2020

This course introduces an insightful aspect into the world of design and critique. It is very clearly structured and broken down into small stages of learning. The in-video quizzes and weekly quizzes are thought provoking and encourage your critical thinking skills, not just merely recalling information from memory.

By Michele R

Dec 18, 2022

Cours très intéressant et progressif : la démarche se construit peu à peu et nous permet de mieux exprimer notre opinion sur un design. J'avoue avoir eu du mal à comprendre les évaluations, car elles n'étaient pas traduites en français.

By Chi N

Jan 13, 2022

For me the course is really good and profound. It would be great if the lecture can use more simple words and structure so that I can fully understand what they say, since I am a foreigner, but overall it was a good experience for me.

By Pankhuri B

Nov 19, 2019

The course has been great in terms of content covered and assignment case studies. I liked the faculty Jasmine's tone however the guy was an annoying distraction. I would recommend this course for anyone in touch with graphic design!

By Mary C

Aug 6, 2020

Really enjoyed this course, completed all but one optional exercise and am still awaiting notification that I completed this course. Learning the terminology is especially helpful for my job, which entails critiquing visuals.

By Clémence L

May 21, 2020

The course was really thorough and I learned a lot.

The examples given are of interesting pieces of art (although maybe a bit too complicated sometimes) and the assignments given were of appropriate difficulty.

Thank you !

By In-Ho K

Sep 22, 2020

Overall the course is well designed in terms of broad and depth. However. although the course does not have any prerequisite, it is a little bit challenging for the beginner in graphic design.

By Winfred d R

Mar 5, 2021

Great course. One thing is annoying... the speed of the male speaker is way too high for me as a non-native English student. I played all video's at 75% speed to understand it correctly.

By vishwanth v

May 20, 2021

This course is perfect for freshers and if u want to recall the basics of design. The examples and explanations provided by the instructors were very lucid and insightful.

By Rohan H

Mar 28, 2020

During this course i learned the language of design and my perspective to see design changed a bit.

mentors also done a good job.the course is interesting and clear.

By Mahika M

Jul 1, 2020

It is a good course to build your critiquing skills and be properly able to understand the intention behind certain design decisions, if a bit simplistic.

By Piyathida C

May 13, 2020

I have zero knowledge about design but I want to learn it by myself through this course. Thank you for sharing such an amazing course like this! :)

By Ana B

Jun 7, 2020

This course is great to learn the fundamentals of design's language. It's general enough to learn how to evaluate design and easy to follow.

By Patrick O

May 4, 2020

Bit more theoretical than I thought. I expected more insight on design patterns but still, it was enjoyable and illuminating nonetheless.

By yegrett

Jul 5, 2020

I had a wonderful experience while doing this course. got to learn visual designing ideas.

By VJ

Jun 23, 2020

excellent course,thanks,it help me a lot to improve my communication design work!!

By Abrar F C

Apr 27, 2020

It's not a starter course. But helped me a lot in understanding Design language.