The Language of Design: Form and Meaning

Theory before software

This course deliberately steps away from tool tutorials. The focus is the vocabulary designers use to talk about a layout: the basic formal elements and the principles that organise them into a composition.

Who it is for

People who already make things in design software but cannot explain why one composition works and another does not will get the most from it. It is equally useful for reviewers who need precise words for what they see on a page.

Takeaways

• Formal elements like point, line, shape and texture, which make up the building blocks of any image.
• Composition as the set of principles that decides how those elements read together.
• Critique, with design reviews and aesthetics listed among the skills.

Expect analysis rather than production. The course trains your eye, and any making you do afterwards is up to you.