Basic Principles of Graphic Design

Get to know your teacher, creative director Christopher Pierce, as he talks about his career and how he swapped out journalism for graphic design. As a branding specialist, he also shares his main influences as well as what the course entails.

Christopher gives a brief introduction on the history of design before moving on to the more technical side of things, covering color, space, typography, balance, rhythm, contrast, hierarchy, alignment, and grids.

Discover how to put together a brief with the basic requirements of your final project: an event poster. Next, look for inspiration and reference materials and use the basic principles already covered to do your first sketch.

Learn to decide on the composition for your poster and organize it clearly in Adobe Illustrator. See how to work with layers, a must for any designer, how to use masking layers, as well as shapes, images, and typefaces.

After exploring the various options, create the final version of your poster taking into account the format and get it ready for printing. Wrap up the course with some invaluable tips on blazing your own path through the world of design.