Visual Design Foundations with AI
Visual Design Foundations with AI
Design is not a talent you are born with, it is a set of principles you can learn. This course builds your eye and gives you the core skills of layout, hierarchy, color, and type, then shows you how to use AI image and design tools without handing over creative control. You will leave able to look at any design and know why it works, and able to make work that looks deliberate.
What you will be able to do
- Apply the core principles of layout, hierarchy, color, and type
- Develop an eye for what works and why
- Use AI image and design tools without losing creative control
- Build a consistent visual system you can reuse
All lessons
Module 1
Seeing Like a Designer
Diagnose why a design works or fails using core principles.
- 8 minDraft
The five principles behind every good design
The mental checklist behind professional work.
- 7 minDraft
Visual hierarchy: guiding the eye on purpose
Make the most important thing look most important.
- 8 minDraft
Alignment, proximity, and the grid
The invisible structure that makes layouts feel right.
- 6 minDraft
White space is not wasted space
Use emptiness to create focus and calm.
- 20 minDraft
Critique three designs using the principles
Train your eye by naming what works.
Module 2
Color That Works
Build an accessible, on-feeling palette and defend it.
- 8 minDraft
Color theory without the headache
Just enough theory to make confident choices.
- 8 minDraft
Building a palette (and generating one with AI)
From a single color to a complete, usable set.
- 7 minDraft
Contrast, accessibility, and readability
Make sure everyone can actually read your work.
- 6 minDraft
Color psychology and brand feeling
How color sets emotion before a word is read.
- 25 minDraft
Build a five-color palette with rationale
Create and justify a palette for a project.
Module 3
Typography Essentials
Set type that is legible, paired well, and sets the right tone.
- 7 minDraft
How type sets tone
Why fonts feel the way they do.
- 8 minDraft
Pairing fonts that belong together
Reliable combinations and how to find your own.
- 7 minDraft
Sizing, spacing, and rhythm
The details that separate amateur from polished.
- 6 minDraft
Common type mistakes and quick fixes
Catch the errors that undermine good work.
- 20 minDraft
Design a type system for a project
Set heading, body, and accent type.
Module 4
Composition and Layout
Compose a balanced layout that guides the viewer.
- 7 minDraft
Layout patterns that always work
Dependable structures for any project.
- 8 minDraft
Designing for hierarchy and flow
Lead the eye through the page.
- 7 minDraft
Images, icons, and visual balance
Combine elements without clutter.
- 8 minDraft
Using AI to generate and refine layouts
Speed up with AI while keeping intent.
- 30 minDraft
Compose a one-page layout
Bring the principles together.
Module 5
From Principles to Polish
Produce a small branded visual set with a consistent system.
- 7 minDraft
Consistency and the power of a system
Why systems beat one-off decisions.
- 8 minDraft
AI image tools: prompting for usable assets
Get images you can actually use.
- 7 minDraft
Editing and refining AI output
Fix the tells and make it yours.
- 7 minDraft
Building your visual style
Develop a look that is recognizably you.
- 40 minDraft
Final project: a small branded visual set
Apply everything in one cohesive deliverable.