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FutureLearn

Design Your Future: A BA Graphic Design Taster

Arden University via FutureLearn

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Overview

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Explore creative design skills and build your portfolio through fun projects

Curious about what makes great design work? Ready to unleash your creativity? This hands-on taster course invites you to explore drawing, logo design, and animation so you can start building your own mini portfolio.

You’ll learn drawing skills that sharpen how you see the world, play with design principles like balance and contrast, and create your own original logo. Plus, you’ll have fun with stop motion animation and pull everything together to showcase your creative journey.

Drawing and design fundamentals that shape how you see

Immerse yourself in drawing exercises that focus on tonal shading and composition.

You’ll develop your observation skills and understand how these fundamentals underpin professional visual communication. These aren’t just techniques, they’re ways of seeing and thinking that every designer needs.

Create logos, experiment with animation, and build your portfolio

Design a logo that actually means something and reflects real brand identity.

You’ll try your hand at stop motion animation to bring your ideas to life and see how movement adds another dimension to design.

Then pull it all together into a mini portfolio that shows off what you’ve learned and created.

Discover your creative voice through practical projects

Throughout the course, you’ll experiment with different techniques, make creative decisions, and develop your own design approach.

By the end, you’ll have practical skills, completed projects, and a clearer sense of whether graphic design is the path for you, whether as a career or a creative hobby.

This course is ideal for aspiring designers, creative beginners, or anyone wondering if graphic design might be their thing—whether you’re considering it as a career or just for fun.

Syllabus

  • Seeing Like a Designer: Getting Started with Drawing
    • Introduction to Week 1
    • Drawing with Basic Shapes
    • Rendering Form and Tone
    • Analytical Drawing
    • Summary of Week 1
  • Poster Design: Layout & Composition
    • Introduction to Week 2
    • Design Fundamentals
    • Fundamentals of Composition Grids
    • Digital Poster Design – Using Canva
    • Summary of Week 2
  • Introduction to Logo Design
    • Introduction to Week 3
    • Redesigning with Purpose
    • Idea Development
    • Typography, Variation & Finalisation
    • Summary of Week 3
  • Introduction to Animation: Storytelling Through Motion​
    • Introduction to Week 4
    • Storyboarding Your Ideas
    • Create a Stop Motion Animation from your Storyboard
    • Adding Sound to Your Animation
    • Summary of Week 4
  • Working in the Creative Industries​
    • Introduction to Week 5
    • What is it like to work in the Creative Industries?
    • Putting Together a Creative Careers Plan
    • Showcasing your Work
    • Summary of Week 5

Taught by

Katy Fowler

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