Graphic Design Essentials: Easy Steps for Creating Your Own Compelling Visuals

This track covers the fundamental concepts of graphic design and how to use them to create simple graphics.

• Learn the fundamentals of graphic design, from color theory to composition
• Create and use a brand style guide for your business
• Create simple graphics for free with step-by-step training

• Graphic Design Principles and Best Practices
• In this lesson, created by Digital Marketing Institute in partnership with HubSpot Academy, you'll learn about the fundamentals of graphic design: color theory, imagery, typography, and composition. You'll walk through each of these fundamental elements and their best practices, including tips on incorporating them into developing simple visuals for your business. You'll be able to apply the knowledge you learn in this lesson to graphic design projects, big and small. We include links and references to free resources to help you design graphics without a massive budget or a degree in graphic design.

• Design Foundations: Building Brand Guidelines and Consistency
• The beauty of having brand design guidelines is that they help you present a unified vision of your business. In this lesson, created by Digital Marketing Institute in partnership with HubSpot Academy, you'll learn how to create and use a brand style guide to create your designs within the larger context of your business. You'll also learn how to think about and create goals for your design based on where you'll publish it, whether it's on your blog, on social media, or elsewhere.

• Designing and Building Graphics
• In this lesson, created by Digital Marketing Institute in partnership with HubSpot Academy, you'll learn simple tips for designing graphics for social media, blogs, newsletters, your website, and more. You'll also learn how to repurpose existing images, such as stock images or graphic templates, to use in your design work. Walk step-by-step through the process of creating a simple design using your favorite graphic design tool, such as the free online tool Pixlr. You can follow along to set up an image of your own in your design tool, modify the text, colors, and calls-to-actions, add a logo, and export it so it's ready to use in your marketing.

• Graphic Design Essential Survey
• We'd love to hear your feedback on the Graphic Design Essentials course!