Learn Design Principles Free

Design & Creative Software

Start with Understanding Color (23 min, Blender Guru), then Understanding Composition (30 min, Blender Guru). All 377 lessons here are free, from the teachers' own official uploads. You'll need drawing tablet, sketchbook, colour-calibrated monitor (about $270 of kit). The book to keep beside you: The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams.

What you'll need

• Drawing tablet: Faster, more natural design work.
• Sketchbook: Ideas start on paper.
• Colour-calibrated monitor: What clients see is what you made.

Lessons

• Understanding Color (23 min, Blender Guru, Intermediate)
• Understanding Composition (30 min, Blender Guru, Intermediate)
• Art Teachers HATE this trick | COLOR THEORY (15 min, Draw Like a Sir, Intermediate)
• The Graphic Design Course To MASTER Layout Design! (It's Not Difficult) (21 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 🔸 The ONLY Colour Theory Video You Ever Need To Watch! (32 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 6 Golden Rules Of Layout Design You MUST OBEY (11 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• How To Make A Custom Font Using Fontself (61 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• 7 Design Portfolios that I MIGHT Rate a 10! (14 min, DesignCourse, Intermediate)
• 1 HOUR Of The BEST Graphic Design Hacks & Techniques! (62 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Master 5 Design Principles With This Course! (MUST WATCH) (30 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The FULL 2026 Guide To Layout & Composition For Designers! (31 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 🔸 Complete Graphic Design Course Explaining Psychology (MUST KNOW) (25 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• How A Graphic Designer MUST Think in 2026 To Survive! (12 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 🔸 The ONLY Graphic Design Portfolio Video You Need To Watch! (19 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Beginner Blender 4.0 Tutorial - Part 9: Layout (26 min, Blender Guru, Beginner)
• Graphic Design Tutorial: Typography Design & Art Direction pt. 1 (27 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• 13 Tips To Stop Being An Amateur Graphic Designer FOREVER (29 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 20 Design Tips You NEED in 2025 to Stop Being Amateur (22 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 5 GOLDEN Rules Of MINIMAL Graphic Design *Pro-Tips* (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design in 2026 — The Tools Every Pro Is Switching To (12 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The FULL Course On Graphic Design Psychology (2026) (57 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The ONLY Layout Design Video You Need In 2025 (Advanced Edition) (11 min, Satori Graphics, Advanced)
• Typography Critique Week 1 - One Weight, One Pt. Size - Designing with Limitations (104 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Your Layouts are BORING! Layout Design Tutorial (41 min, DesignCourse, Intermediate)
• AMATEUR VS PRO: Advanced Design Examples (Before & After) (9 min, Satori Graphics, Advanced)
• Design Portfolio Reviews – What do Employers Seek? – Part 2 (50 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Designers Dissect The Graphic Design of DUNE (25 min, Ben Marriott, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design FULL Course | Becoming An Advanced Designer (19 min, Satori Graphics, Advanced)
• How To Actually Think Like A Graphic Designer! (11 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The ONLY Video Self Taught Graphic Designers Need (13 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Typeface Design & Font Making Process w/Mark Davis (88 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Control A Viewers Eye For BETTER Graphic Designs (Professional Tips) (10 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• FULL Graphic Design Course – Using Principles On Actual Designs! (18 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• How To Use Type — Typography Posters Review & Critique Part 1 (23 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Make an Entire Layout Responsive in Figma - In 10 Minutes (11 min, DesignCourse, Intermediate)
• Making FAMOUS Graphic Designs Better!! (Before & After Design) (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 🔸 Trends 2023: What Graphic Designers Should Know! (8 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Celebrating The Life Of The Greatest Graphic Designer-Paul Rand (15 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Experimental Typography Design Critique Wk 07 (131 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design FULL Course – MASTER Visual Communication (12 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design Principles Master-Class! (Ep 1 White Space) (10 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design Trends 2026 — And How to Actually Use Them! (13 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• LEARN Essential Graphic Design Theory (With Examples) (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Learn EVERY Graphic Design Grid In 8 Minutes! (8 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The ONLY Graphic Design Process You Need In 2025! (BOOKMARK THIS) (11 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The ONLY Video On Visual Hierarchy ANY Graphic Designer Needs (17 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Why Your Designs Still Look Amateur (And How Pros Think Differently) (10 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 3 New Skills That WILL Evolve Your Graphic Designs! (12 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Full Course: 3 PROVEN Principles Of Layout Design (28 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Graphic Design Tutorial: Typography Design & Art Direction pt. 2 (20 min, The Futur, Intermediate)
• Make A KILLER PORTFOLIO In 2023! (Don't Fall Behind) (8 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Making FAMOUS Graphic Designs Better!? (Before & After Graphic Design Ep7) (10 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The #1 Graphic Design Guide Of 2026 (20 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• The ONLY Marketing Video A Graphic Designer Needs To See! (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Want your layouts to look GREAT?! Try Adding DEPTH (18 min, DesignCourse, Intermediate)
• 10 Fonts You MUST USE As A Designer (8 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 24 FREE Fonts That Feel Expensive (Must Download) (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• 3 Of The BEST Design Portfolios Of 2020 [Techniques Revealed] (9 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)
• Adobe XD 2022 Crash Course - Design a Real Layout! (61 min, DesignCourse, Beginner)
• Complete Graphic Design Course: The BEST Workflows & Processes (MUST KNOW) (31 min, Satori Graphics, Intermediate)

Books on Design Principles

1. The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams - View on Amazon
2. Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton - View on Amazon
3. Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton - View on Amazon
4. Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-Brockmann - View on Amazon
5. Graphic Design School by David Dabner - View on Amazon
6. Graphic design by Milton Glaser - View on Amazon
7. A history of graphic design by Philip B. Meggs - View on Amazon
8. The history of graphic design by Jens Müller - View on Amazon
9. Engineering design graphics by James H. Earle - View on Amazon
10. Production for graphic designers by Alan Pipes - View on Amazon
11. Making and breaking the grid by Timothy Samara - View on Amazon
12. The Elements of Graphic Design by Alex W. White - View on Amazon
13. Graphic design basics by Amy E. Arntson - View on Amazon
14. Graphic design history by Steven Heller - View on Amazon