Online course
Design: Form and Composition
Why some designs make sense at a glance while others wear you out. Gestalt laws, composition principles and the psychology of shape, with interactive labs where you can see it and try it yourself.
View the course See the syllabus
- 5 hours, online and at your own pace
- Beginner level: made for non-designers
- 3 interactive labs
- An exam with explained answers at the end of every block
About the course
Composing is deciding what gets seen first
We all compose: a presentation, a proposal, a poster, an invoice. And most of us do it by eye. It shows: some documents practically read themselves, and in others the eye has nowhere to land.
This course puts names to what is going on: how we perceive, which principles bring order to a layout and what each shape says. It does not teach a piece of software. It teaches you to look, and that carries over from tool to tool.
Who it's for
Who is this course for?
Your profile
You prepare documents other people need to understand: consultants, salespeople, trainers, marketing and communications leads, founders who build their own image.
Where you are today
You lay out slides, proposals or posters by eye, and you can tell something is off without being able to say why.
If you work with designers
You want to give feedback that helps, instead of “it just doesn't work for me”.
Learning outcomes
By the end, you will be able to
Spot the Gestalt laws
Recognize the Gestalt laws in a design and use them on purpose.
Bring order to layouts
Apply proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast and white space to bring order to a composition.
Choose the right shape
Explain what a shape conveys and choose one that fits the message.
Critique with precision
Critique a piece with precise vocabulary and propose specific improvements.
Compose with clarity
Compose a slide, a poster or a document people understand at a glance.
Syllabus
The full syllabus
Four blocks: from how the eye perceives to composing a piece of your own.
How we see: the Gestalt laws
How the eye groups, completes and separates what it sees, and how to make that work for you.
Principles of composition
Proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast and white space: five principles that bring order to any page.
The psychology of shape
What a circle, a square, a triangle or a line tends to communicate, applied to logo design.
From analysis to practice: critique and compose
A five-step method for critiquing any piece, and a procedure for composing your own.
Learning by doing
Try it: this is a course exercise
This is the Gestalt Lab, the exercise from the first block, available in Spanish. Pick a law, move the slider or flip the switch and watch the grouping appear and disappear. Each law comes with an explanation of what your eye is doing.
Methodology
How the course works
Format and pace
Online and self-paced, in the Virtual Classroom. No dates, no timetable: four blocks and eight lessons made up of short, bite-sized units.
Learn by seeing
Three labs: you move dots until the eye groups them, switch the principles on one by one and change the shape of a logo.
Exams with explained answers
Every block ends with a six-question exam, and every answer comes with an explanation.
Who wrote it
The content was written by practicing consultants from Singular Beacon.
What you need
Nothing in advance: you do not need to know how to draw or how to use any tool. The course is in Spanish.
Why The Singular Academy?
Practicing professionals
Content written by practicing consultants from Singular Beacon.
A structured approach
A progressive methodology designed to consolidate concepts in the right order.
Learning by doing
Interactive exercises inside the lessons and an exam with explained answers in every block.
Backed by Singular Beacon
A consultancy specializing in digitalization and data strategy.
Key facts
Practical information
- Duration5 hours
- FormatOnline, at your own pace
- LanguageSpanish
- LevelBeginner
- Content4 blocks · 8 lessons · 3 interactive labs · 4 exams with explained answers
- WhereThe Singular Academy Virtual Classroom
Pricing and access
Request access to the course
The course is listed in the catalog and its welcome lesson is open to everyone. The rest unlocks once The Singular Academy grants you access: request it from the Virtual Classroom or through the contact form.
Course access
- Four blocks, at your own pace
- Three interactive labs
- An exam with explained answers in every block
- Access from the Virtual Classroom
The Singular ecosystem
From good layout to a stronger brand
Singular Beacon: consulting and digitalization
Brand and content work for your organization, from the team of consultants who wrote this course.
Stop eyeballing your layouts
Good design does not come down to taste or software, but to a handful of laws of perception. Start with the welcome lesson, open to everyone, and request your access.