Visual Communication I — the grammar of seeing
An introduction to the structural mechanics of visual communication: composition, hierarchy, rhythm and contrast — taught studio-style.
- Level
- introductory
- Duration
- 12 weeks · 24 sessions
- Language
- en
- Modules
- 4
Transcript
We start with a refusal: an image is not a representation. It is a surface that organizes attention…
- 01
Frame, surface, support
- — What an image is — and what it isn't
- — Surface, support and reading direction
- — Tools for seeing
- 02
Composition
- — Compositional logic from first principles
- — Tension, weight and counter-weight
- — Tableau studies
- 03
Hierarchy and rhythm
- — Hierarchy as gravitational pull
- — Rhythm and repetition
- — Counter-rhythm exercises
- 04
Critique
- — Reading as a designer reads
- — Studio crit protocols
- — Final tableau
Visual Communication I treats the surface of a page or screen as a gravitational field. Every choice — placement, weight, scale, contrast — pulls attention or fails to. The course teaches the grammar by which those pulls are organized.
How the studio runs
Each module pairs a recorded lecture, a set of analytical exercises, and a tableau brief. You submit work for peer crit; instructor crits run twice per module.
Leave your email and we will tell you the moment this course opens. No marketing, no list trading.
Do I need a design background?
No. This is a foundations course. It assumes curiosity and time, not prior training.
Is the course self-paced?
Yes. Modules unlock weekly but you can revisit them at any time.