E-Learning Review:
"Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design"
by Ellen Lupton

“Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design” by Ellen Lupton is a video learning course on the platform called SkillShare. SkillShare is a website where creators upload learning classes for different fields such as illustration, marketing, lifestyle, and other similar topics. This class is given via a pre-recorded video. In this video the creator gives a lesson and examples of how to identify and define five basic design principles. For the learner to easily follow this lesson they would need previous knowledge of smaller components of graphic design such as how to navigate design applications, actions for editing components in a project, vocabulary that is related to graphic design, and how to insert photos into an application. Based on this prior knowledge the learner will build on their existing skill regarding graphic design. Ellen Lupton and her peer explains the five design principles and then gives the learner a chance to follow along with them, putting all the principles together. This lesson’s format has elements of the cognitivism theory.
The website SkillShare seems to use form-based authoring. When a creator publishes content on their website there is a section to place each component of the lesson. There is a section to write the “about”, a section to put the title, and options to attach different media such as a video or PowerPoint. “Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design” is broken down into nine “lessons”, the introduction, symmetry vs asymmetry, scale, framing, hierarchy, grids, bringing it all together, conclusion, and learning more with the creator Ellen Lupton. The user may watch all lessons or choose which lesson they need the information from. The SkillShare platform is easy to navigate but it does require creating an account and paying for a monthly or yearly subscription that gives the user access to all classes posted by many different creators and gives the user access to post their own content.
This graphic design basics lesson is perfect for beginners who would like to learn helpful skills and for veterans who need to brush up on their work and remind themselves of the basics. After completing the lesson, the learners should have the knowledge needed to begin creating graphic designs for their person and professional projects. The learners should know how to implement the five basics of designing to elevate the quality of their projects. Because SkillShare does require payment to use their platform it may be difficult to access this class and enjoy the benefits to learning the basics to graphic design. For those who can access this lesson it can be a very beneficial and stressless experience. The ease of navigation of the lesson and the ability to enjoy it at any time adds to the positivity of the experience. This course on graphic design can have a lasting effect on the content created in the future for people who create blogs, are teachers, are artists, and more.
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