CalArts Graphic Design Study II
Graphic Design Study | CalArts | Coursera
I completed a graphic design specialization course offered by California Institute of Arts on Coursera. This course consists of fundamentals of graphic design, introduction to image-making and typography, ideas from the history of graphic design and a branding project. It had several design assignments through the course and some of the selected ones are presented here.
The Brief
Graphic design is all around us, in a myriad of forms, both on screen and in print, yet it is always made up of images and words to create a communication goal. This four-course sequence exposes students to the fundamental skills required to make sophisticated graphic design: process, historical context, and communication through image-making and typography.
The Idea
The goal of this specialization was to equip learners with a set of transferable formal and conceptual tools for “making and communicating” in the field of graphic design. The covered content and the core skill set equips learners for formal studies in graphic design, and a starting point for further work in interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design.
The Result
I achieved a deeper understanding of the process and standards of graphic designing. I was able to reflect and refine my own design ideologies. I also acquired skills which helped me in creating more interesting and meaningful visuals. Knowing deeper possibilities helped me incorporate the design ideas like composition and hierarchy even to other media like video production.
SHAPE AND COLOR EXPERIMENTS
Abstract shapes communicate through their form.
Shapes, active or passive, communicative or neutral form an invisible background to most of the graphic design and are at the heart of identity in logo design.
In this album, I started with the most basic shapes, a circle, a square and a triangle and combined them to form 12 simple shapes. Using positive negative space and figure-ground relationship I combined the simple shapes into 6 complex shapes and further combined those complex shapes to make 3 icons/symbols. Finally using the basic attributes and fundamentals of color, I colored them to convey the following connotation: Anime App Logo, Energy Company Logo, Game Studio Logo.
