Graphic Design Essentials: Free Course

This compilation will teach you the fundamentals of graphic design—layout, colour, and typography.

We’ve curated Matt's most valuable videos on the subject into a collection which will take you from total beginner to a designer who is familiar with the essentials principles that underpin all great work.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:37 Principles of Layout Part 1
11:47 Principles of Layout Part 2
21:41 Principles of Layout Part 3
38:05 Grids
59:34 Sound like a Pro designer in 5 steps
1:07:11 Selecting colors
1:47:13 Choosing fonts
2:31:20 Typesetting
2:46:25 20 years graphic design experience in 5 minutes

📱 Find us on SOCIAL MEDIA
Matt's YouTube channel 👉 @MattBruntonUK

[MattBruntonUK]

Hope this helps someone progress on their graphic design journey. ✌

Lots of ideas in this video, go out and apply them!

[busterjay]

What wizardry is this? A free three hour course by an excellent teacher/presenter. Another gem from Flux, thank you!

[JeronimoGinaca]

Flux Academy keeping the motivation on!

[InfoCodex]

An arduous task to make such a powerful video. Hats off to all who played their part in creating it.

[izaaclem]

I love the editing of the video. I am getting inspiration.

[Bharpurkazmi]

I am the first one who commented this beneficial video. And in my opinion this video will stay ranked for a long term. And with this my comment will also rank. Hopefully ❤

[Orchssentials]

I not only learned graphic design, but also some important orchestral music ideas

[PerpetualEducation]

What a gem. This is a great collection with excellent examples. Now: will people actually spend hundreds and thousands of hours working though the process? It'll be up them them!

[Jonesrful]

Absolutely legendary to have this as a resource.

[hyperadapted]

for me as someone relatively new to the field this video is super valuable to get a decent high level overview over the topics. Now I know what to look for and which topics to drill into to get better a better understanding. This is great! Thank you so much

[ChiemerieMba]

i love the way he explained everything, detail to detail

[SathishKumar-czuk]

From india in chennai ❤

That video really cool the particular content leveling my graphic design career I am not academic learner start with nowadays all so improve myself in YouTube only thanks a lot keep more that kind of content make and share your knowledge.

[saaiqshariar]

Very helpful video!! How do you create your videos? Your edits are excellent. Could you make a special video showing your process?

[pasticciottiontheroad]

What a fantastic course. Thank you so much I've learned so many things.
Where can I finde all the links mentioned?

[shaanbaghi]

Nice! the same way I can make my own portfolio Style using your reference?

[SyncXwave]

Graphic design essential free course please make video on that.

[edikanessiet]

Great course for every beginner out there 👏🏾

[isak]

Where can i find your free e-book that you mention at 1:08:59 about color selection? 😅

[arshath-jvjc]

Giving such valuable content for free is illegal.

[epicscenes]

🎯 Key points for quick navigation:

00:27 *🎨 Focal point is crucial in design, guiding the viewer's eye to the central element of interest, whether it's centered or strategically placed off-center.*
03:12 *🌟 White space is essential for visual clarity, providing areas of rest that highlight important elements in a design.*
04:18 *🏛️ Hierarchy ensures that key elements stand out, guiding the viewer through a design by emphasizing what's most important.*
11:57 *🔄 Grouping related elements enhances readability and helps organize information effectively within a layout.*
13:35 *📏 Scale variation adds visual interest and hierarchy by using elements of different sizes to create contrast and emphasis.*
16:30 *🎬 Sequencing in design, akin to film editing, guides the viewer through a narrative flow within a layout.*
21:51 *📐 Alignment of elements along axes enhances cohesion and readability, ensuring a design looks deliberate and professional.*
25:05 *📐 Alignment should be carefully checked across different screen sizes for consistent and deliberate design.*
25:32 *🎨 Asymmetrical layouts offer flexibility and elegance compared to symmetrical layouts, especially for longer text ranges.*
26:55 *📏 Grids are essential for creating visually balanced and organized layouts, providing structure and order to designs.*
28:33 *🖼️ Leaving empty spaces within a grid enhances design balance and aesthetic appeal.*
32:27 *🎨 Poor designs often lack focal points, hierarchy, and balanced grouping, resulting in cluttered and ineffective layouts.*
37:33 *🌟 Effective web design utilizes grids to structure content, ensuring alignment and visual harmony across different sections.*
40:58 *📱 Grid systems in digital design, like in Figma, help maintain consistent alignment and spacing for app and web layouts.*
49:54 *📄 Setting up page numbers in Adobe InDesign involves selecting the type tool, typing the number aligned to the bottom left, and using a grid for layout.*
51:33 *🖋️ To insert current page numbers in Adobe InDesign, use the shortcut Option + Shift + Command + N on Mac, ensuring dynamic updating across pages.*
52:32 *🖼️ Creating magazine spreads involves adding headlines and images, adjusting sizes to establish hierarchy and visual flow.*
53:48 *📝 Sketching layout ideas before designing helps visualize different grid compositions and establish effective visual hierarchies.*
55:54 *🎨 Utilizing grids in InDesign facilitates quick experimentation with layouts, ensuring elements align and maintain balance on the page.*
01:13:35 *🎨 Adjust brightness and saturation levels to create effective background colors that complement foreground elements.*
01:15:09 *🎨 When building a color palette, consider using few colors to minimize design mistakes and ensure coherence.*
01:19:31 *🎨 Explore different color scheme options like monochromatic, analogous, and complimentary to achieve varying moods and effects in design.*
01:26:39 *🎨 Use Adobe Color or similar tools to experiment with color harmonies and easily integrate them into design software for practical application.*
01:31:32 *🎨 Maintain consistency in tone and shade across colors in a palette to ensure visual harmony and avoid clashing elements in design layouts.*
01:36:33 *🎨 The use of colors in web design should evoke the right mood and complement the brand identity, as seen in examples like Cowboy's website.*
01:37:28 *🌈 Implementing an analogous color palette, such as greens and browns, can create a cohesive and visually appealing design with subtle highlights.*
01:38:50 *🖌️ Using lower saturation colors can produce a calm feel in interface design without overwhelming the user.*
01:39:29 *🔍 Establishing clear rules for color usage, such as the 60-30-10 rule, ensures consistency and effectiveness across different design elements.*
01:41:08 *🎨 Selecting primary brand colors and defining their usage helps maintain brand identity and coherence across various applications.*
01:45:06 *✨ Color can enhance appeal in design, even in functional contexts like payment processing interfaces, by adding visual interest and guiding user actions.*
01:59:53 *🌟 Limit your font selection to a few go-to options to save time and improve focus when searching for upgrades.*
02:00:49 *🎨 Use distinctive display fonts to enhance visual interest and establish brand identity effectively.*
02:03:21 *🌐 Consider licensing and ethical use of fonts, supporting type designers for quality and legality in your projects.*
02:05:09 *📚 Utilize resources like Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts, and independent foundries to explore diverse font options based on your project needs.*
02:08:37 *🔄 Trial and compare fonts using real copy to evaluate legibility, aesthetics, and compatibility within your design layouts.*
02:22:55 *🎨 Use decorative typefaces sparingly for headlines or as decorative elements to maintain design consistency.*
02:23:51 *🖋️ Pair typefaces that have complementary features or evoke similar moods to ensure they work well together in design.*
02:25:30 *📚 Consider using fonts like Roboto Serif and Roboto Sans for their complimentary features in design applications.*
02:26:39 *🎨 Select fonts that belong to the same era or style to maintain visual harmony and avoid contrasting styles like monospace and calligraphic fonts.*
02:27:21 *🖥️ When pairing fonts, choose one expressive font paired with a more neutral one, such as using Laura for headlines and Rubik for body text.*
02:29:09 *🌟 Contrast fonts effectively by using different weights and styles to create visual hierarchy and interest in design layouts.*
02:31:28 *⚠️ Avoid stretching fonts as it distorts their proportions and compromises their readability and aesthetic quality.*
02:34:40 *🚫 Use fonts appropriate to the context; fonts like Ultra may work well for specific themes like vegan restaurants but not for others like luxury watches.*
02:35:32 *🔍 Ensure sufficient contrast between font weight and background color to maintain readability, using tools like contrast checkers.*
02:36:41 *📏 Maintain consistent and appropriate font sizes and relationships across different applications to avoid visual clutter and disorder.*
02:37:49 *🅰️ Adjust tracking appropriately; avoid widely tracked type for body copy to ensure readability, tightening for headlines and logos if necessary.*
02:39:25 *🎮 Practice and refine kerning (spacing between individual characters) using tools like the Method of Action's Kerning Game to enhance typography precision.*
02:40:06 *📏 Use appropriate line lengths in text layouts to optimize readability, avoiding excessively long or short lines that strain the reader's focus.*
02:41:40 *🆒 Adjust leading (line spacing) to ensure readability and visual coherence in text; start around 120-130% of the font size for body copy.*
02:42:47 *📝 Maintain consistent casing (uppercase, lowercase) for readability and professionalism; avoid inconsistent capitalization which can detract from visual appeal.*
02:43:54 *📢 Limit the use of multiple emphases (bold, italic, underline, etc.) in typography to maintain clarity and avoid visual overload.*
02:44:34 *📊 Restrict the number of different fonts used in a design to two or three to maintain visual coherence and avoid clutter and inconsistency.*
02:45:45 *🎨 Pairing fonts in design requires careful consideration of their styles and compatibility to avoid visual dissonance.*
02:46:26 *🖥️ Successful designers need more than just software skills; understanding fundamental design principles is crucial for effective design work.*
02:47:24 *⏱️ Working efficiently is essential for designers; mastering shortcuts and techniques helps in delivering projects promptly.*
02:48:32 *🛠️ Designers should embrace problem-solving as a core aspect of their work to create meaningful solutions.*
02:49:13 *💡 Designers should focus on creating and selling big ideas that effectively communicate and resonate with clients and audiences.*

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