Master the elements and principles of design, composition, color theory and typography, and apply them to your own brand.
Graphic Design Diploma – Module 1: Design Foundations. Part of the Master Graphic Design Diploma by Up Academy, and also available as a standalone course.
Course Curriculum
| 0. Starter Brand Kit | |||
| 0.1 Starter Brand Kit – work on a ready brand Details | FREE | 00:05:00 | |
| 1. Design Elements | |||
| 1.1 Line: types, direction and emotion Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 1.2 Line as a guide for the eye Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 1.3 Shape: geometric vs. organic Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 1.4 Positive and negative shapes Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Shape in Design | 7665, 00:00 | ||
| 1.5 Form: 2D vs. 3D, light and shadow Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| Assignment For Forms In Design | 30, 00:00 | ||
| 1.6 Texture: visual vs. tactile, when texture helps Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 1.7 White space and breathing room Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 1.8 Positive/negative space in layouts Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Space In Design | 30, 00:00 | ||
| 1.9 Brand practice: elements in competitor ads Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 2. Contrast | |||
| 2.1 Color contrast Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 2.2 Size and shape contrast Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 2.3 Typography and texture contrast Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 2.4 Contrast for readability and focus Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 2.5 Common contrast mistakes Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| Assignment For Contrast in Design Principles | 7, 00:00 | ||
| 3. Balance | |||
| 3.1 Symmetrical balance Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 3.2 Asymmetrical balance Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 3.3 Radial and mosaic balance Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 3.4 Visual weight: what makes an element heavy Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 3.5 Tools to achieve balance Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 4. Emphasis & Hierarchy | |||
| 4.1 Creating a focal point Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 4.2 Visual hierarchy: first, second, third Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 4.3 Hierarchy in real layouts Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 4.4 Size and color as hierarchy tools Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Hierarchy | 10950, 00:00 | ||
| 4.5 Position and isolation as hierarchy tools Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 4.6 Emphasis is not chaos: one hero per design Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 5. Proportion & Scale | |||
| 5.1 Natural proportion Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 5.2 Exaggerated and hierarchical proportion Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 5.3 Using scale to tell a story Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 6. Repetition, Rhythm & Pattern | |||
| 6.1 Repetition for consistency and branding Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 6.2 Regular and alternating rhythm Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 6.3 Progressive and flowing rhythm Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Rhythm | 10950, 00:00 | ||
| 6.4 Patterns: what they are and where we see them Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 6.5 Using patterns in brand design Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| Assignment Of Pattern In Design | 14235, 00:00 | ||
| 7. Movement | |||
| 7.1 Leading the eye through a layout Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 7.2 Direction cues: lines and shapes Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 7.3 Common movement mistakes Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 8. Unity & Variety | |||
| 8.1 Making many elements feel like one design Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 8.2 Unity tools: color, type, alignment Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| Assignment For Unity in Design | 10950, 00:00 | ||
| 8.3 Adding variety without breaking unity Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 9. Gestalt Principles | |||
| 9.1 Proximity Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 9.2 Similarity Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 9.3 Continuity Details | 00:03:00 | ||
| 9.4 Closure Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 9.5 Figure/Ground Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 9.6 Common Fate Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 9.7 Symmetry & Order (Prägnanz) Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| Assignment For Symmetry & Order (Prägnanz) | 30, 00:00 | ||
| 9.8 Gestalt in famous logos Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 9.9 Gestalt practice on your brand Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 10. Composition | |||
| 10.1 What a grid is and why designers use it Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 10.2 Column, modular and baseline grids Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 10.3 Alignment Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 10.4 Rule of Thirds Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 10.5 Rule of Thirds in practice Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Rule Of Third | 30, 00:00 | ||
| 10.6 The Golden Ratio Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 10.7 The Golden Ratio in practice Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 10.8 Natural and graphic frames Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 10.9 Framing in practice Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 11. Color Theory | |||
| 11.1 The color wheel Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.2 Primary, secondary, tertiary colors Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.3 Hue, saturation, value Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 11.4 Complementary and split-complementary harmony Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.5 Analogous and monochrome harmony Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.6 Triadic harmony Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.7 Color psychology Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.8 Color and culture in Egypt and the Gulf Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.9 RGB vs. CMYK Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.10 HEX and Pantone Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 11.11 Brand palette: primary and secondary colors Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 11.12 Brand palette: accent and neutral colors Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 11.13 Adobe Color and Coolors Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 12. Typography | |||
| 12.1 Anatomy of a letter Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Assignment For Typography in Design | 4015, 00:00 | ||
| 12.2 Letter anatomy in practice Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 12.3 Serif and sans-serif Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 12.4 Script and display Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| 12.5 Font pairing rules Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| Assignment For Typography In Design Principles | 30, 00:00 | ||
| 12.6 Font pairing examples Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 12.7 Type hierarchy: headline and subhead Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 12.8 Type hierarchy: body and caption Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 12.9 Kerning Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| 12.10 Tracking and leading Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 12.11 Choosing Arabic fonts Details | 00:06:00 | ||
| 12.12 Pairing Arabic and English fonts Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 13. Design Critique with AI | |||
| 13.1 Asking ChatGPT / Claude to critique a design using the principles Details | 00:08:00 | ||
| 13.2 Critiquing your Brand Board with AI Details | 00:07:00 | ||
| 13.3 Why the designer still makes the final call Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Final Exam | |||
| The Design Elements & Principles Quiz | 00:30:00 | ||
| Extra lessons from the previous course | |||
| Design Principles Details | 00:03:00 | ||
| Design Elements Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| What is Composition? Details | 00:05:00 | ||
| Why is Composition Important? Details | 00:04:00 | ||
| Key Factors of Strong Composition Details | 00:03:00 | ||
| Techniques to Improve Composition Details | 00:03:00 | ||
Course Reviews
No Reviews found for this course.
Related Courses
13 STUDENTS ENROLLED
