John O'Rourke, Ireland "I've been designing adverts and posters for quite a while and never really thought that much about composition. This course has opened my eyes to this and helped me understand why the logo looks better here or the picture would be better placed there."

What makes any image work, in graphic design or digital photography?

The answer is composition. Composition, literally the assembly or construction of elements, is the artful arrangement that guides the viewer's eye and unifies your work.

In this 3-lesson hands-on course, you'll develop your compositional skills by analyzing everything from Grand Masters to Madison Avenue ads to tubes of toothpaste.

Through a series of artistic workouts, you'll learn the principles of effective composition, building to a Final Project where you bring Mozart to the masses. Your designs may never be the same!

Piper Nilsson is a graphic designer and information architect ... get bio

LESSON 1 Shape and Form Through composition, a design can be playful, serious, humorous, or moving. In Lesson One, you'll explore the concept of two-dimensional shape, a foundation principle in graphic design. You'll look at the way leading artists and designers use positive and negative space, creating intriguing effects through open, closed, and divided space. Polish your critiquing skills on Cezanne before conducting your own space explorations in the exercise.

LESSON 2 The Elements of Design Too big, too small, or just right? Lesson Two explores elements of design, looking at how unified compositions are created through proximity, repetition, continuation, and color. Balance and rhythm are explored as creative compositional strategies. Learn how to use the "Golden Section," discovered in 5th Century Greece, in contemporary compositions, then tackle exercises on unity, balance, rhythm, and proportion.

LESSON 3 Energy and Movement How do designers attract the eye? By creating compositions with energy and movement. In Lesson Three, you'll learn how to create a strong focal point and move the viewer's eye along a chosen route in your work. You'll look at how overlapping planes energizes a layout through push and pull. Finally, you'll apply these principles in a poster design project that brings Mozart to the masses.