Design to Communicate by Leire y Eduardo
Actual Duration:2h 42m
Release date:2024
Publisher:Domestika
Skill level:Beginner
Language:English
Exercise files:Yes
Software:Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Course URL:https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/268-design-to-communicate
This one is about making design that actually says something. Leire and Eduardo show you how to turn words and ideas into images that hit just as hard, using visual rhetoric instead of decoration. You will finish with a book cover, poster, or brand identity built on a solid concept, not just good taste.
π― What you’ll learn
- Translate verbal language into graphic concepts with the same communicative power
- Generate meaningful design ideas from words, meanings, and context
- Use morphological, structural, syntactic, and semantic rhetoric resources
- Analyze book covers, posters, and brand identities by form, meaning, and intent
- Apply visual rhetoric to your own poster, cover, or identity project
β Requirements
- Skills: Basic familiarity with design concepts is helpful. Knowledge of Photoshop and Illustrator recommended but not essential.
- Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or similar design programs
- Hardware: Computer capable of running design software
π Description
This is not a software tutorial. It is about thinking before you design. Leire and Eduardo start from language β how words carry meaning β and show you how to build the same kind of meaning with images. You work with graphic language, verbal substrate, and meaningful concepts to get to ideas worth visualizing.
Then you get the toolkit. They break down visual rhetoric into clear, usable groups: morphological, structural, syntactic resources, and semantic resources. No vague theory. You see what each resource does, when to use it, and how it changes what people read in your work.
A big part of the course is looking at real stuff with fresh eyes. You analyze book cover designs, posters, and brand identities for form, meaning, and intention. That critical habit is what lets you stop copying styles and start making deliberate choices in your own final project.
π§βπ Who this course is for
- Designers who want stronger concepts behind their visuals
- Illustrators, photographers, and artists looking to communicate ideas more clearly
- Anyone working with posters, covers, or identities who wants less guesswork
π§βπ« About the Author
Leire FernΓ‘ndez and Eduardo Herrera both hold PhDs in fine arts and work as university professors and researchers specialized in graphic design. They run design projects together alongside teaching, and their work has picked up national and international awards. They teach from practice and research, not trends β focused on why images mean what they mean.
π Final Result
- A finished book cover, poster, or graphic identity for a brand of your choice, developed using visual rhetoric resources and backed by a clear communicative concept.

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