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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Typography by California Institute of the Arts

4.8
stars
5,564 ratings

About the Course

Typography is the art of manipulating the visual form of language to enrich and control its meaning. It’s an essential area of skill and knowledge for graphic designers. Typography predates modern graphic design by around 500 years; it is rich in rules, conventions, and esoteric terminology—but it remains an exciting space for invention and expression. In this rigorous introductory course, we will study, name, and measure the characteristics of letterforms. We’ll consider the pragmatic concerns involved in selecting and combining type. We’ll peek into the 
rich historical, cultural, and aesthetic histories of familiar typefaces. We’ll discuss time-tested conventions and best practices in setting type, as governed by principles of hierarchy and spatial organization. And we’ll explore the expressive, meaning-making potential of type. Informative lectures will be complemented by a series of three peer-assessed assignments, culminating 
in an opportunity to design a full-scale typographic poster. Please note that this is not a software course; a basic working knowledge of Adobe InDesign or other 
page layout software will be assumed. You will need access to a computer and page layout software, such as InDesign, to complete the assignments....

Top reviews

MB

Jul 25, 2020

The course is very interesting and well presented, the assignments are really helpful for the learning process. I would recommend to anyone interested in design, art, web design or just for curiosity.

BG

Aug 3, 2020

I thought the assignments worked really cohesively with one another. It helped to keep terms and skills in mind from one assignment to the next. The lecture videos were great, short, and to the point.

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1051 - 1075 of 1,203 Reviews for Introduction to Typography

By Tamara S

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Mar 19, 2024

Some repetition of what was learned in the Fundamentals of Graphic Design Course but still some good extension and deepening of those concepts. The assignments were interesting and helpful for application of skills

By sakshi j

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May 12, 2018

It was a wonderful course with brief but concise delivery of various aspects of typography. I wish the grading was done by experts and not peers, as it would have helped me receive some valuable expert feedback.

By Leroy S

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May 23, 2016

Very good overall explanations on the basics of Typography. Anther Kiley did a great job of explaining things in a simple yet detailed format. I never realized there was so much to letters and words in type!

By Helen H

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Mar 20, 2019

I liked the course overall and found it informative. I think that the topics in week 3 and 4 could be combined. I also wasn't sure where I could post questions to clarify something in the assignments.

By Rose G

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Aug 2, 2019

I was excited to learn about typography, these assignments were fun to do. I wished there were more assignments to create more posters for this typography course, overall I enjoyed and learned a lot.

By Roger X

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Apr 10, 2018

Good way to start with typography. The only problem I see is that there is not enough practice. I think that maybe with two or three more exercises it would be better. But in general, good course!!

By Jorinde B

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Feb 10, 2022

Amazing course. I have learned so much. As a tip I would give to include more knowledge about working creatively with type. But maybe that would be a nice part II of the course? Sign me up <3!

By Louise D

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Jun 14, 2017

Clear content and actual homework that lets you understand what you just studied. A very useful course ! Thank you so much for sharing this, it's incredible to be able to learn from home.

By Allison C

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Nov 26, 2016

I would have liked a few more / longer videos, but I really found the assignments helpful. I like how each one built off of each other, so the final project did not feel so overwhelming.

By Stefano S

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Aug 1, 2020

It was a nice course with a lot of information and good practice good for the beginning. As always I would like to have some recommendations of books and web sites from the teachers.

By Md. N M H

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May 14, 2020

I recommend enrolling in online courses that allow you to gain insights into how you want to build yours typography differently. All of this can be done if you take this course.

By Sazidur R

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Jun 24, 2020

I really enjoyed the course. The instructor was able to communicate the importance aspect of typography. Being an introductory course, the content was really diverse. Thank you,

By Sol I

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Nov 29, 2016

This is a fantastic course to start with Typography. This course will help you get the basics of typography and fonts. Highly recommended if you are starting out in this field.

By Matias B

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Oct 24, 2021

Muy buen aporte educativo, la teoria es muy clara, los contenidos faciles de leer y entender. Lo unico malo es que a veces los subtitulos en español no están bien traducidos.

By Aditya R

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May 15, 2021

It's good but they have left the judgement of last 2 major assignments on their users which is a drawback bcoz some of them have literally no idea how to rate people's work.

By Emmelie K G

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Jan 26, 2020

In general a great course where you learn a lot about typography. But it was a little to easy I think. Worked through this course in 1 week and didn't feel pressured at all.

By Christos C

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Aug 18, 2016

Thoroughly enjoyable and didactic! Some further elaboration on each subject would do it merit. Poster design should be optional — not everyone is keen on handling software.

By Ana M

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Dec 14, 2020

Thanks to Coursera for providing these courses. Thanks to the teacher, it was very clear and the classes were didactic. Thanks to the people who corrected my assignments.

By david v

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Mar 15, 2016

Nice, brief intro to typography. Good, clear lecture content and interesting assignments. I feel like the "by the book" assignment should not be entirely peer graded.

By Katie S

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Jul 7, 2020

This was a great course--really introductory and yet also really informative. I will definitely take some of the things I learned into future design work! Thanks!

By Georgina P

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Sep 20, 2017

Recomendated for those who want to learn about how to be creative with typography and for designers of course. Letters and words are key part of the compossition.

By Paola H G

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Oct 6, 2020

Me gustó bastante, es un curso introductorio pero que profundiza en algunos conceptos importantes para entender cómo funciona la tipografía en el diseño gráfico

By Christine

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Jun 12, 2016

I'm hooked on typography now. I've read a number of the books that were recommended. Instructor was interesting and the material was engaging. Would recommend.

By Carola M

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Jul 10, 2020

A well done course, but it doesn't actually explain you anything about programs of graphics. Assignments can be very hard if you have never used any of them

By Alvaro M

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Apr 3, 2019

This got me started into typography by giving me the confidence that only foundational theory can. Totally recommended if you want to understand the basics!