Graphic Design for Beginners
A course by Silvia Ferpal
, Designer and Visual Artist
Learn the fundamentals of design by giving shape to your ideas with images, typography, color, and composition
- Best seller Spanish with subtitles in English
- 99% positive reviews (605)
- 13388 students

Learn the fundamentals of design by giving shape to your ideas with images, typography, color, and composition
- 99% positive reviews (605)
- 13388 students
- 17 lessons (2h 18m)
- 32 additional resources (3 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish
- Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Graphic design is made up of several key concepts that anyone interested in pursuing this art form needs to know. Silvia Ferpal, graphic designer, visual artist, and winner of the 2019 Spanish National Design Award, teaches you the traditional principles of design that will help you take on any project that comes your way.
In this course, learn the four cornerstones of graphic design: shape, typography, color, and composition. Discover how to mold your ideas around these key concepts and create a visual universe based on your imagination, creativity, and graphic resources that you can use for your final project.
And if you want to learn how to develop your ideas and bring them to life, check out Silvia's course Techniques for Developing your Creativity.

What will you learn in this online course?
Course table of contents
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U1U1. Introduction
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U2U2. How do you create an image?
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U3U3. Typography
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U4U4. Colour
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U5U5. Composition
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FPFP Final project
Begin the course by getting to know Silvia Fernández, who tells you about her career, her work, and her personal approach to design. She also shows you her biggest influences and shares some of her favorite books.
Jump into the theory and see how to create an image based on its concept while exploring the ideas of literalism and subjectivity. Continue studying design through the lens of geometry and express a set of concepts using basic shapes. Then, review the laws of perception and start working on your final project.
Move on to the second cornerstone of design and immerse yourself in the world of typography. Look at the different kinds of letters that exist and practice creating some simple designs with a series of exercises. Silvia gives you some tips on how to use letters properly to create a visually appealing group of text and explains some of the most common mistakes to avoid in your designs. Consolidate what you've learned and develop a typography palette for your project.
Next, discover how we perceive color and how to create visual harmony before applying these concepts through a variety of practice exercises. Learn about different color modes and how to use efficient formulas to create attractive color palettes that are strongly associated with what you want to convey in your design. Tie everything together by developing your own color scheme.
Now it's time to focus on composition and learn how to combine shapes, typography, and color within a defined space. Experiment with different techniques and ways to adapt your designs to any format following Silvia's advice. Wrap up the course by arranging your designs on a grid and sharing your final project on Instagram.
What is this course's project?
Design a series of images that express your visual universe in template form for Instagram.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone who wants to get started in the art of graphic design or enhance their own designs, from client presentations to university projects. This course is also perfect for entrepreneurs interested in learning a new skill set to better express their ideas.
Requirements and materials
Basic notions of Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, or Figma are recommended, but not necessary.
The only materials you need are a pencil, paper, your cell phone camera, and a design program. In this course, your teacher uses the free design program Figma.

Reviews

A course by Silvia Ferpal
Silvia Fernández Palomar, better known as Silvia Ferpal, walks the line between art and design in her work. In 2019, she won the Spanish National Design Award in the youth category thanks to her unique approach to design that blends traditional disciplines with more contemporary forms of expression. She currently works as a freelance designer and teaches design at the IED art school.
She has collaborated on projects for Ogilvy & Mather, Paseo, Designit Madrid, Designit New York, and, more notably, on a design project for the Royal Spanish Academy which led her to live in Rome for the duration of it. Her client list includes Harvard, Bloomberg, Inditex, and Leroy Merlin; she also designed the official typography for the City of Madrid. Her work has been published by other major companies such as Corraini and Santillana.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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U2
How do you create an image?
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Literality / subjectivity
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Bauhaus and geometric shapes
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Laws of perception (Gestalt)
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Shaping the project
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U3
Typography
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Types of types
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The crimes
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The tricks
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Project: adding texts
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U4
Colour
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Perception
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Color mixing and modes
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Color palettes
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Project: adding color and consistency
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U5
Composition
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Balance and grids
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Schemes that work
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Project: ordering the elements
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FP
Final project
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Graphic design for beginners
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
mokasp20
Súper recomendado! Un curso que vale mucho la pena.
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luisa.rechtman
Um curso bem bacana para quem procura uma base de design gráfico, que apresenta maneiras de treinar o nosso olhar de artista gráfico, Silvia destrincha os diferentes elementos que compõe um projeto e apresenta referências que vão além do design gráfico.
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acascaron
Un curso muy recomendable para cualquier persona que le interese el diseño, me gustó mucho.
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janainanorat
O curso é muito bom, mas sinto falta de feedback das atividades.
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leca.duck
O curso é excelente! A Silvia explica super bem e dá exemplos pertinentes.. ótimo para estimular um olhar mais atento.
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