Are you a traditional artist looking to take your art to the digital world? Or maybe you're already familiar with the pen tool, but want to take your skills to the next level? In this course, taught by Graphic Designer Kyle Aaron Parson, we will take you from beginner to expert with Adobe Illustrator's powerhouse tool, the Pen Tool!

Join Kyle as he teaches you the fundamental building blocks of vector illustration through mastering the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. You will learn how to create smooth shapes and lines, as well as speed up your workflow by exploring a variety of methods on how to use this robust tool. By the end of the course, you'll be able to create logos, icons, graphics, illustrations, and so much more. The Pen tool Plus Course is perfect for those just starting out with Adobe Illustrator, as each lesson will build upon the skills taught in the previous lessons and is demonstrated in an easy-to-follow pace. As the new concepts are introduced, you will develop understanding through repetition and practice, so your knowledge and understanding of the Pen Tool will gradually develop. For more Intermediate Users of the program, you can skip over the basics and jump into the Pen tool Methods so you can master a variety of ways to use this powerful tool to get the most out of your illustrations. Who Should Take This Course: This course is perfect for traditional artists looking to take their art to the digital world or anyone who wants to take their pen tool skills to the next level. Whether you're a beginner or experienced with the pen tool, this course will teach you the skills necessary to create smooth, clean vector illustrations. Course Requirements: * Adobe Illustrator installed on your computer * Basic knowledge of Adobe Illustrator The pen tool is Adobe Illustrator's most versatile tool, and by mastering it, you'll be able to create amazing vector illustrations. Enroll in this course today and take your art to the next level! Instructor bio: Kyle Aaron Parson is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has been creating illustrations for most of his life, from coloring books to large-scale event banners, and brings years of hands-on creative experience to his teaching. Kyle published his first online class in 2021, the same year he became a proud dad to his son Timothy — an inspiring milestone that continues to shape his outlook and creativity. His courses distill the most valuable tips and techniques he has learned over years of practice, with a focus on helping learners grow their own creative skills without unnecessary complexity. Passionate about illustration and design, Kyle strives to share practical knowledge in a way that’s accessible, inspiring, and directly useful for students at any stage of their journey.

Your instructor Martin Perhiniak states: Control how your viewers experience your designs!

How can you ensure that people will read the title of an article first, then the pull-quote with some juicy fragment of the story, and only then move on to the body copy? As a graphic designer, you cannot give your viewers instructions on how to use your work, right? So there has to be another way to make people know what to do and where to find the information they are looking for. The magical solution is visual hierarchy. What we will cover in the course * Focal Point, * Entry Point * Dominance * Emphasis * Scale * Position * Proportion * Exaggeration * Propositional Density * and everything else that can help you to make your designs structured and easy to use. We will also analyze hundreds of amazing designs from all areas of graphic design to help you easily visualize and understand all the terms and rules that are covered in the course. Going through these examples - both good and bad - you will start to see these principles in effect, and develop a sense for the right visual hierarchy that will serve you greatly throughout your creative career. Who is this course for? * Anyone planning to get into the creative industry * Creative professionals aiming to improve their compositions * Marketing managers working with agencies & printing services * Practical advice with invaluable industry insight. This is not an abstract, in-theory course at all, but a very practical one. As a professional freelance designer myself, I will give you all my 20+ years of experience in managing 100s of high-paying projects from simple to complex, from small shops to global brands like Disney and Lego. In fact, I was working in a special consultant role for Adobe for more than a year, teaching design workflow and process practices to their most esteemed clients. And I can promise you with confidence, this part of the Graphic Design Theory Series, will literally elevate you to the next level as a designer, giving you a huge advantage whether you're just starting out, or already working as a designer for years. Come, join me, Martin Perhiniak, on this exciting journey, let’s explore the amazing world of Graphic Design together! Instructor bio: Martin Perhiniak is a Certified Adobe Design Master and instructor with extensive experience working for top companies including Disney, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, Sony Pictures, Mattel, and DC Comics. Based in London, he teaches design and provides live online training and consultancy services to students and professionals worldwide. Martin’s teaching emphasizes hands-on learning and personal growth, guided by his motto: “Do not compare yourself to your role models. Work hard and wait for the moment when others will compare themselves to you.”

Ever wondered what the building blocks of a branding project is? If your mind went straight to logos, then think again! This class taught by Khadija El Sharawy, takes a deep dive into one of the most essential parts of the design process: the brand moodboard! This class is not just designed to guide you to creating a compelling and cohesive moodboard for your brand but also contains all the necessary steps before it.

Join your instructor Khadija as she takes you through a fictional client branding process using a fictional brief packed with real-world tips to prepare and shape you into a confident and strategic brand designer. What will I learn in this class? * An understanding of why moodboards are important and strategic for any branding process * A detailed and thorough questionnaire example of what questions to ask a client before beginning a project * How to build an air-tight brief and strategy extracted from the questionnaire answers * A walk-through and insights on how to find and hunt for visual references using specific guidelines and categories * How to compile, filter and fine-tune your visual references on Adobe Illustrator * Using my specific format, you'll learn how to build your moodboard and visually manipulate your references * How to put it in a presentation format and tips on presenting to a client What tools do I need for this class? 1. Adobe Illustrator (this is where we'll construct the moodboard) 2. Adobe Photoshop (optional; it's mainly to manipulate your photo references if need be) 3. Keynote (I use this to present my work, but it's optional; you can stay and export straight off of Adobe Illustrator.) Who is this class for? This class is open to all levels of designers. Whether you're a beginner designer or a working professional, this class will not just help you learn and polish your moodboard curation skills but it will also teach you how to strategically build a brief and a strategy for a brand which will completely transform your design process. Why should you take this class? Being a skillful designer is only half the work. Great designers are also great strategists. This class will serve as an essential foundation to your design skills by being able to understand a brand, how to dissect keywords from a client, compile a brief and build a strategic visual moodboard. This class will leave you feeling more confident as a designer. Instructor bio: Khadija “Dija” El Sharawy is a British-Egyptian freelance graphic designer based in Cairo. After three years at a leading branding agency, she launched her solo career in 2020, specializing in brand identities, packaging design, and animation. Her work blends creativity with storytelling, bringing brands to life in meaningful and dynamic ways. Notable clients include Coca-Cola, where she designed limited edition cans. Passionate about both branding and motion design, Dija loves sharing her skills and creative journey to inspire and support other designers as they grow their craft.

Create simple and clear logo designs that also seriously stand out with Will Paterson!

Great logos are iconic and evocative of a brand—but designing them well without copying everyone else can be one of the biggest challenges in graphic design. In this class, graphic designer and YouTuber Will Paterson will walk you through the unique process for creating memorable logos for a variety of brands, and give you the tools to do the same. Starting from an imaginary client brief, you’ll work alongside Will as he goes step-by-step through the process of getting to a final design, including: - Researching the client and their competition, and coming up with a mood board of creative visuals to represent them. - Brainstorming potential concepts using Will’s approach of rapidly sketching and refining ideas until you “fail to success” and find the one that works. - Turning your best idea into a final vector in Illustrator, and choosing fonts and colors to round out your final design. Along the way, he’ll share pro tips about what makes a good logo great, strategies to properly assess your own work, and plenty of tools to level up your workflow. Whether you have a logo project you’re working on for a client or are just looking to grow your graphic design skills, this class will leave you with a system you can confidently follow to create great logos time and time again. This class is great for beginners who want to learn to design logos step-by-step, or more immediate designers who are hoping to refine their process and skills. You’ll need Adobe Illustrator or a similar vector program to complete the final project. A tablet with a digital drawing app like Procreate might help you out, but you can also complete the early brainstorming phases using pencil and paper. Instructor bio: Will Paterson is a professional logo designer and hand lettering artist who helps businesses of all kinds build memorable brands through custom logos and identity systems. Beyond his client work, Will is widely known for sharing his expertise with a global creative community on YouTube and Instagram, where he offers practical design insights and inspiration to millions of viewers. As the author of Calligraphy In 15, Will combines a passion for traditional lettering with modern design approaches, making his teaching both accessible and engaging. His courses are designed to give learners the tools, techniques, and confidence to develop their own creative style while mastering the foundations of professional logo design and lettering.

Have you ever walked by a supermarket aisle and fell in love with the packaging design of a product? A beautiful tin of tea, a mesmerizing chocolate package or perhaps a fun, bold and attractive soda? Have you ever wondered what's the design process behind it?

This class, taught by Khadija El Sharawy, will leave you with a newfound love for packaging design; it takes a deep dive and covers it all from packaging concept to competitive analysis to execution to brand activation. Khadija is excited to be taking you on this ride to show you her process on how to redesign this famous chocolate bar from concept to execution. What will I learn in this class? * Understanding the three principles of packaging design to get a good understanding on what separates good packaging from great packaging (supported by examples and award-winning designs) * Develop an eye for critical thinking by learning how to analyze an existing product, dissect its visual assets and objectively evaluate what's working and what can improved. * Sharpen your strategic skills by understanding competitor brands' patterns, their position in the market and how these insights will help you develop your design for your product * Curate a moodboard and how to pull out visual references that will help your concept Transform your concepts and bring them to life by thumbnail sketching and refined sketching; each with a different function that will get you closer to your design outcome * Execute your concept and sketch on Adobe Illustrator where I'll be taking you through building, crafting and designing your package –front and back. * Learn how to mockup your package design on Adobe Photoshop by using shadows, light, textures and so much more to enhance and polish the overall presentation of your package design * How to think like a strategist and develop activation ideas for the brand beyond the package itself Who is this class for? * Beginners who are curious about the overall process of packaging design as it covers so many tips and strategic insights in the beginning, however for the execution part, it is designed for intermediate designers * Seasoned designers who want to level up their execution and strategic skills in packaging design What skills do I need in order to take this class? * Good to excellent knowledge in Adobe Illustrator * Good knowledge in Adobe Photoshop Instructor bio: Khadija “Dija” El Sharawy is a British-Egyptian freelance graphic designer based in Cairo. After three years at a leading branding agency, she launched her solo career in 2020, specializing in brand identities, packaging design, and animation. Her work blends creativity with storytelling, bringing brands to life in meaningful and dynamic ways. Notable clients include Coca-Cola, where she designed limited edition cans. Passionate about both branding and motion design, Dija loves sharing her skills and creative journey to inspire and support other designers as they grow their craft.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Logo Animation Principles for Beginners will close for enrollment on Nov. 8, 2026. If you are interested in earning a Specialization Certificate, please upgrade or apply for Financial Aid in each course of the specialization by Nov. 8, 2026, if you have not already done so. After Nov.8, 2026, students will no longer have access to courses they have not paid for. If you are a Coursera for Business learner, you can continue to use your sponsored credit. In order to earn a Specialization Certificate, you will need to complete all graded assignments, including peer reviews, by October 7, 2027. After that point, no new assignment submissions will be accepted for Certificate credit. In this course, taught by Adam Chraibi, you will be learning about the logo animation principles in Adobe After Effects CC, we will be focusing more on the techniques rather than the theory. Since people react better to videos than images, logo animation can help the designer and the brand connect deeper with their customers. So, in this course you will learn about: - Coming up with the plot and logo restrictions - The basic principles of logo animation - Making a simple but neat logo reveal and disappear - Creating a more advanced logotype animation using the principles of animation This course is for beginners in logo animation, but being familiar with Adobe After Effects is recommended in order for you to focus on the animation techniques rather than the software. You will need: - Adobe After Effects CC, the latest version - Duik Bassel Free script - Rift free script Once you download the scripts, you basically just need to unzip and place the ''.jsx'' file in the correct folder. By the end of this course, you should be able to apply these techniques to any logotypes and symbols. Instructor bio: Adam Chraibi is a designer, animator, and video editor based in Casablanca, Morocco, with over 7 years of professional experience. His motto is simple: “If you can design it, you can animate it.” Adam’s creative journey began at art school, where he studied drawing, light, and shadow before earning a bachelor’s degree in private law. Ultimately, his passion for digital art and animation led him to leave law behind and pursue a career he truly loves. He has worked as a social media manager and designer for an airline company before becoming a full-time freelancer. In his courses, Adam focuses on teaching practical, real-world skills in a clear and efficient way. His lessons are designed to be short, straightforward, and packed with value—helping learners quickly gain the tools they need to grow their creative side hustle or professional practice.

Do you want to share your talents or sell your skills but don’t know how to get started?

In this course taught by Sina Port, you will learn about techniques that use your personal values, passions, and skills to design a Personal Brand as unique as you are! Whether you want to land more clients for your business, get a job or be promoted, attract more eyes to your work, or simply be recognized - this course will show you how to get paid to be who you are. A Personal Brand helps you sell yourself to others before they even meet you. Because visibility equals credibility. Have you ever wondered how to get more life, career & business opportunities? How to get recognized in your field not just for what you do but for who you are? Then this class is for you! Create a Personal Brand in 7 days! This 7-day Personal Branding challenge is a great way to get in the habit of creating your brand and social media presence every day without being shy about or overthinking what you’re sharing. The benefit of creating brand content every day for 7 days is that by the 7th day, you will have multiple social media platforms and online content up and running for people to discover you. If you’re starting from scratch, this is the perfect place for you to start. But even if you already are visible online, these resources can help you refocus and optimize your content with clear brand strategies. In this class, you will learn … * How to find out what you’re good at and communicate it to the world, without feeling like a cringe salesperson. * Where to find (the right!) audience. * How to grow your social media presence to attract more life, career & business opportunities. * Strategies & tricks that help you to never run out of content ideas * How to build a brand that helps you monetize your talents "But I... * ...don’t have a big social media following?" You can build an online presence without one just fine! * ...don’t have a website?" You will learn tips and tricks for branding without fancy tools! * ...am not talented and I have no idea why people would be interested in me?" You'll learn how to find and share what you’re good at without losing yourself on the way. Join Sina Port, and take the first step in growing your Personal Brand and online presence. Instructor bio: Sina Port is a brand strategist, creative entrepreneur, podcaster, and adidas Brand Manager who started her first mini-business when she was 16 years old, and moved abroad while she studied, living in Spain, Malaysia, and the UK. Sina now lives in Germany and spends her time podcasting, and consulting brands like adidas, BMW, and TikTok on how to brand with purpose. Sina's Personal Branding journey started in 2018 when she was struggling to find a career that fit who she wanted to be. So she launched the Shared Diversity podcast, where she talked about how to use the power of diversity to help brands change the world. Her channels grew over the next few years, and she started making videos about broader topics like personal branding, business, and how to design a fulfilling creative career for yourself.