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⇱ Introduction to Imagemaking | Coursera

Introduction to Imagemaking

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Introduction to Imagemaking

This course is part of Graphic Design Specialization

134,525 already enrolled

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

2,962 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

2,962 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

  • Design Literacy: Analyze the evolution of visual communication and historical movements to inform modern branding and professional design strategy.

  • Strategic Application: Evaluate how technological shifts and principles from the Bauhaus to Post-modernism solve contemporary design problems.

  • Professional Vocabulary: Develop a vocabulary to articulate design choices and defend creative strategies to clients and stakeholders.

  • Creative Differentiation: Investigate the cultural origins of design trends to find unique visual references that differentiate your work.

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Assessments

4 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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This course is part of the Graphic Design Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

Designed for serious makers and aspiring designers, Introduction to Imagemaking is a process-driven laboratory for expanding your visual vocabulary. Moving beyond basic software tutorials, this course treats imagemaking as a fundamental pillar of graphic design—one rooted in fearless experimentation and the rigorous study of visual semiotics.

Through a series of hands-on prompts, you will master the relationship between denotation and connotation, learning how to intentionally drive meaning through compositional contrast, scale, and hierarchy. You will synthesize your experimental research into a professional-grade image-based book, transforming loose investigations into a cohesive narrative. By the end of this course, you will have moved from simply 'making stuff' to orchestrating complex visual relationships that define a unique, job-ready creative voice.

Establish a foundation in image-based research and visual semiotics. Define the relationship between denotation and connotation to identify how images "read" and communicate intent within a graphic design context.

What's included

4 videos20 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

4 videos•Total 9 minutes
  • Course Welcome•3 minutes
  • Practice•1 minute
  • What images do•3 minutes
  • Considering the book (in a graphic design context)•2 minutes
20 readings•Total 281 minutes
  • About this Course•3 minutes
  • Be daring and adventurous•5 minutes
  • Sister Corita Kent's Rules•10 minutes
  • About the Assignments•1 minute
  • Course Tools•10 minutes
  • Notes on using AI...and not •3 minutes
  • Some useful terms•4 minutes
  • A discussion about denotation, connotation, and “read”•4 minutes
  • Critique and feedback•2 minutes
  • How to begin: First, focus on what you see•5 minutes
  • Then, begin to analyze what you observe•7 minutes
  • Observations for when you’re working on compositions •10 minutes
  • Optional Activity: Look really closely at an artwork•120 minutes
  • Spend time with other imagemakers•1 minute
  • Visual research•5 minutes
  • Researching your subject: Mood boards•3 minutes
  • Different ways of putting together a mood board •3 minutes
  • Project: Make a Mood Board (Step 1+2)•60 minutes
  • Project: Make a Mood Board (Step 3+4) •20 minutes
  • An example of associations and connotations for owls•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 10 minutes
  • Module/Week 1 Review•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Forms of Practice•10 minutes

Execute an intensive making session exploring a wide range of representation. Master diverse media—from analog to digital—to develop a unique visual vocabulary across abstraction and realism.

What's included

5 videos18 readings1 assignment

5 videos•Total 18 minutes
  • Making Methods and Techniques•2 minutes
  • Conversation with an imagemaker 1•6 minutes
  • Conversation with an imagemaker 2•4 minutes
  • Denotation & Connotation•3 minutes
  • Range of Representation•3 minutes
18 readings•Total 353 minutes
  • Ways of making•5 minutes
  • Hand Based, Photographic, Digital Processes•3 minutes
  • Printmaking, Manipulation/Alteration, 3D and Found•3 minutes
  • Working with visual style and mood•10 minutes
  • Project: Work with Visual Style and Mood (Step 1)•45 minutes
  • Project: Work with Visual Style and Mood (Step 2+3)•90 minutes
  • Project: Work with Visual Style and Mood (Step 4)•30 minutes
  • Sparks: More making methods•2 minutes
  • Sparks: Frankenstein Lab•5 minutes
  • Sparks: Or...•5 minutes
  • Optional Activity: Poetry of everyday life•60 minutes
  • Optional Activity: Explain and illustrate•20 minutes
  • Optional Activity: Experimentation and Improvisation•30 minutes
  • Tangible, sensory and expressive quality of materials and line•5 minutes
  • Project: Range of Representation and Abstraction (Intro)•10 minutes
  • Project: Range of Representation and Abstraction (Step 1)•10 minutes
  • Project: Range of Representation and Abstraction (Step 2)•10 minutes
  • Range of Representation and Abstraction Examples•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Module/Week 2 Review•30 minutes

Investigate the core principles of relational composition. Apply strategies of visual hierarchy, scale, and figure/ground dynamics to orchestrate complex narratives within multi-page layouts.

What's included

7 videos9 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

7 videos•Total 19 minutes
  • Composition is Relational•1 minute
  • About Hierarchy•2 minutes
  • Scale•3 minutes
  • Space•4 minutes
  • Composition: Figure/Ground (from Introduction to Imagemaking)•2 minutes
  • Narrative•2 minutes
  • Simple Composition: Creating Page Spreads•4 minutes
9 readings•Total 79 minutes
  • Prompts•10 minutes
  • Composing with your images •15 minutes
  • Project: Composing Simple Spreads (Intro)•5 minutes
  • Project: Composing Simple Spreads (Step 1)•2 minutes
  • Project: Composing Simple Spreads (Step 2)•2 minutes
  • Project: Composing Simple Spreads (Step 3) •30 minutes
  • Composing iterations•3 minutes
  • Project: Composing Iterations (Step 1) •2 minutes
  • Project: Composing Iterations (Step 2)•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 10 minutes
  • Module/Week 3 Review•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Invent a prompt•10 minutes

Synthesize experimental research into a cohesive, 8-page digital book. Master the transition from individual assets to a structured narrative, resulting in a professional-grade portfolio piece.

What's included

8 videos22 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts

8 videos•Total 53 minutes
  • Bookishness•1 minute
  • Lazy Mom: Lazy Wow•8 minutes
  • Katharina Pierini/Sming Sming Books: Night Moves•9 minutes
  • Laura Owens: Hey What•4 minutes
  • Laura Owens: New Work•13 minutes
  • Bruno Munari: A Tale of Three Little Birds•6 minutes
  • Complex Composition: Putting your book together•3 minutes
  • Two simple bookbinding techniques (optional)•8 minutes
22 readings•Total 182 minutes
  • Create and plant a “surprise” in your layouts•4 minutes
  • About this lesson•1 minute
  • List of Image-Based Books•2 minutes
  • Project Overview: Design an Imagemaking Book•10 minutes
  • Composing a narrative•10 minutes
  • Other things to consider as you compose your book•10 minutes
  • Notes about using AI for building a narrative (optional)•3 minutes
  • Activity: Make thumbnail sketches•5 minutes
  • Activity: Mock Up a "Printer's Spread" for Reference•15 minutes
  • Mock-Up Example•10 minutes
  • Resources for Designing Your Book•10 minutes
  • Final Project: Design Your Imagemaking Book (Intro)•2 minutes
  • Final Project: Design Your Imagemaking Book (Step 1) •10 minutes
  • Final Project: Design Your Imagemaking Book (Step 2 - Digital)•10 minutes
  • Final Project: Design Your Imagemaking Book (Step 2 - By Hand) •10 minutes
  • Final Project: Design Your Imagemaking Book (Step 3) •10 minutes
  • If you want to print your imagemaking book for real...•10 minutes
  • Composing in Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher•10 minutes
  • If you composed with other digital applications •10 minutes
  • If you composed your book by hand•10 minutes
  • Start your own imagemaking and bookmaking club•10 minutes
  • What's Next?•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
  • Module/Week 4 Reflections•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
  • Forms of Practice: Checking in•10 minutes
  • Forms of Practice: Show us a book•10 minutes

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1 Course•134,525 learners

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Showing 3 of 2962

GA
·

Reviewed on Sep 5, 2020

Great course indeed, it tackles the true spirit of image-making. Personally, I have reached new heights in design thanks to this course and the clear explanation of the teacher.

LS
·

Reviewed on Sep 23, 2019

The assignments are really fun and put the videos into practice very efficiently! The only thing that troubles me is sometimes the "design language" is too unfamiliar for beginners.

RJ
·

Reviewed on Aug 18, 2018

This is more challenging that it seems. It forces you to think creatively and critically with a seemingly simple subject. I recommend this course for anyone who wants to work with their hands a bit

Frequently asked questions

No. Imagemaking at CalArts is about visual communication, not just fine art. You will explore a range of representation—from simple photography and digital collage to abstract mark-making. The focus is on how an image functions within a design context, regardless of your initial drawing skill.

While you may use digital tools like InDesign to compile your final book, this is not a technical software course. It is a process-driven laboratory focused on design literacy. You will learn the "why" behind image selection, composition, and visual semiotics, which can be applied using any tool, analog or digital.

Unlike traditional academic research, image-based research involves the rigorous collection and analysis of visual materials to build a formal vocabulary. You will learn to use mood boards and iterative "making" to move beyond clichés and discover original visual solutions for graphic design problems.

This is a core technical component of the course. Denotation is what an image literally depicts, while Connotation involves the cultural and emotional associations it triggers. Mastering the gap between the two allows you to "drive" the meaning of your designs with professional precision.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Financial aid available,

¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.