Graphic Design: Zero to Professional
Design like a professional: the principles, typography, colour, layout, free tools (Photopea, Inkscape) and Illustrator, logos and full brand identities — then build a portfolio and land clients.
What you'll learn
- Apply the principles of design: hierarchy, contrast, alignment, balance, proximity and white space
- Choose and pair typefaces confidently
- Build colour palettes with colour theory
- Edit images in Photopea and create vector graphics in Inkscape or Illustrator
- Design logos through a professional process
- Create a complete brand identity and style guide
- Build a portfolio, price your work and find clients
Course content
Part 1. Start here: how designers think3 lessons
Part 2. The principles of design3 lessons
Part 3. Typography and colour6 lessons
- The ultimate guide to typography for beginnersby DesignSpo14 min
- The ultimate guide to typography: free course (Envato)by Envato39 min
- How typography takes design from good to great (The Futur)by The Futur7 min
- The only colour theory video you need (Satori Graphics)by Satori Graphics32 min
- Colour theory for beginners: free course (Envato)by Envato25 min
- Quiz: type and colour
Part 4. Tools: Photopea, Inkscape and Illustrator7 lessons
- Photopea for beginners in 13 minutesby Skills Factory13 min
- Learn Photopea: the free Photoshop alternative (Teacher's Tech)by Teacher's Tech29 min
- Inkscape for beginners in 13 minutesby Skills Factory14 min
- Inkscape: complete starter guide (Logos By Nick)by Logos By Nick48 min
- Learn Adobe Illustrator in 1 hour (Will Paterson)by Will Paterson1h 10m
- Adobe Illustrator crash course for beginners (Flux Academy)by Flux Academy46 min
- Practice: event flyer and social post
Part 5. Logos and brand identity6 lessons
- Full 1-hour logo design course (Satori Graphics)by Satori Graphics58 min
- Logo design process: a real client's logo from scratch (Will Paterson)by Will Paterson16 min
- What is branding? A 4-minute crash course (The Futur)by The Futur4 min
- How to actually design a brand identity (Jack Watson)by Jack Watson31 min
- Brand identity design from start to finish (Ndubuisi Increase)by Ndubuisi Increase26 min
- Quiz: logos and brands
Part 6. Working as a designer2 lessons
Part 7. Final project1 lesson
Capstone project: Capstone: a complete brand identity. You finish by building something real; a mentor reviews it before your certificate is issued.
About this course
Good design sells products, wins elections, fills churches and makes small businesses look trustworthy — and designers are paid for it everywhere. This course teaches the thinking behind great design, not just the buttons: the principles of design and the psychology of how people see, typography, colour theory and layout, then the tools — free Photopea (a Photoshop alternative that runs in your browser) and Inkscape, plus Adobe Illustrator if you have it. You'll design logos the way professionals do, build a full brand identity (with a lesson from Nigerian designer Ndubuisi Increase), and learn how to find clients and price your work. Finish with a complete brand identity project for your portfolio. About 10 hours of video plus practice.
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