The Ultimate Guide to Visual Perception and Design
In This Course, You'll
Get excited as you uncover the science behind outstanding visual design! Visual perception explains how we instinctively process and interpret the world. Why do specific colors immediately grab attention? Why do some layouts instantly feel easier? Studies show that 62–90% of a product's first impression is based on its color alone. When you master visual perception, you possess the power to effortlessly influence, inspire, and capture attention. Understand how human vision works and explore the psychology of color, so you can create visuals that people are drawn to. Your visual design skills are timeless and essential because they're rooted in human intuition, emotional sensitivity, and nuanced cultural insight—qualities AI can't fully replicate.
Make yourself invaluable when you design with intention and precision. We live in a visually driven world—marketing teams, educators, software developers, and healthcare professionals all rely on visual communication. Visual perception and design give you the skills to communicate clearly and engage deeply. Clear, engaging visual communication leads directly to loyalty, business growth, and higher salary potential. You already use visual perception intuitively each time you highlight key points in presentations or organize information clearly. This course naturally builds on these existing skills, so you'll master visual design more easily than you think, even if you're completely new to design. From designing for accessibility to strategically using visual cues, you'll get practical skills to create impactful designs that get results.
Gain confidence and credibility as you apply Gestalt principles and color theory to eliminate confusion and deliver seamless user experiences. This course gives you the practical knowledge and tools, including checklists and actionable color usage tips, to confidently analyze, optimize, and align designs with how people naturally perceive their surroundings. You'll move beyond designs that look good and create visuals that feel right and effortlessly guide attention. This course will transform your confidence, strengthen your professional portfolio, and give you the tools to positively influence how people experience your products, brands, or ideas.
Gain an Industry-Recognized UX Course Certificate
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Why Learn Visual Perception and Design?
Visual Perception and Design falls under the umbrella term of User Experience (UX) design. UX design is your fast-track to a meaningful, secure, and rewarding career.
Worried You'll Lose Your Job to AI? UX Design Skills Make You AI-Proof
UX design builds on your core human strengths, such as emotional intelligence, deep human understanding, critical thinking, intuition, and imagination.
AI can't replicate your uniquely human ability to design for real emotions and needs such as joy, comfort, curiosity, safety, and a sense of belonging. These deeply human insights are your superpowers. With UX design skills, you'll turn them into products and experiences people truly love. You become irreplaceable, confident and in demand.
And yes, we'll also show you how to use AI to accelerate your results.
Feeling Stuck in the 9–5? Design Your Freedom
Tired of feeling undervalued, anxious, or trapped in your career? UX design skills open doors to freedom, flexibility, remote work, and a career you're excited about—without starting from scratch.
Stop wondering if you could be more. Start realizing your full potential today.
UX Design is Booming: Accelerate Your Career to Higher Salaries and Impact Across All Jobs and Industries
Salaries for people with design skills are soaring, often surpassing $200K in cities like San Francisco, and job growth is strong (13% globally). Why? Because companies thrive when their users are happy. Companies that invest in great design outperform the S&P 500 Index by a whopping 228%.
Design a Life You Love
Great design is all about helping people meet their needs and achieve their goals through intuitive, meaningful, and delightful experiences. Skills in design will empower you to create experiences and products that make people's lives easier and more fulfilling. And when people love what you create, your business thrives, and your salary potential grows. You get the ultimate double win:
You'll feel deeply fulfilled by designing experiences and products people love.
You'll be financially rewarded for your real-world impact.
Course Overview: What You'll Master
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There's no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 13 hours 44 mins spread over 5 weeks.
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: An Introduction to Courses from IxDF (37 mins)
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0.2: Get Help, Career Advice, and Job Opportunities (1 min)
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0.3: How to Get Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.4: Grow Your Global Network and Build Your Brand (11 mins)
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0.5: Global Skills, Local Jobs: Build Your Network in Your Area (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Skills Through Courses from IxDF (21 mins)
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0.7: Mandatory vs Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.8: Learn Smarter: The Perfect Mix of Video and Text (6 mins)
Lesson 1: An Introduction to Human Vision
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1.1: Welcome to The Ultimate Guide to Visual Perception and Design (7 mins)
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1.2: Conversations: Name a Product That Supports Visual Perception (7 mins)
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1.3: Understanding Human Vision (42 mins)
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1.4: The Fovea and Design (8 mins)
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1.5: Anatomy and Function of the Eye (9 mins)
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1.6: Conversations: Design Visual Displays (6 mins)
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1.7: Vision and Design (6 mins)
Lesson 2: Visual Perception and Colour Vision
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2.1: Colour Vision: Visual Perception (40 mins)
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2.2: Using Colour: Visual Perception (21 mins)
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2.3: Theories of Human Colour Perception (11 mins)
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2.4: Colour Blindness: Visual Perception (18 mins)
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2.5: Photoreceptors fovea (34 mins)
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2.6: 25 Examples of Colourful Websites that Impress (2 mins)
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2.7: Colour Vision 1: Colour Basics (31 mins)
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2.8: Vision and Design Considerations (5 mins)
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2.9: Light Conditions: Visual Perception (6 mins)
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2.10: Colour Combinations: Visual Perception (6 mins)
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2.11: Conversations: Your Experience (6 mins)
Lesson 3: The Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organisation
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3.1: A Valuable List of Gestalt Principles (11 mins)
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3.2: 'Law of Pragnanz' (43 mins)
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3.3: Applying the Laws (11 mins)
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3.4: 'Law of Similarity' (11 mins)
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3.5: 'Law of Proximity' (8 mins)
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3.6: Law of Familiarity/Meaningfulness (15 mins)
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3.7: 'Law of Common Fate' (11 mins)
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3.8: 'New' Grouping Laws (7 mins)
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3.9: Research: 'New' Grouping Laws (10 mins)
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3.10: The Law Of Element Connectedness (7 mins)
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3.11: 'Law of Synchrony' (7 mins)
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3.12: 'Law of Common Region' and The Origin of The Gestalt Laws (18 mins)
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3.13: Figure/Ground Organisation (14 mins)
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3.14: 'Figure/Ground' (8 mins)
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3.15: An example of Figure/Ground (6 mins)
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3.16: Design Considerations (8 mins)
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3.17: '1minus1': Playing with perception (6 mins)
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3.18: The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organisation (7 mins)
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3.19: 'Mr Porter': Playing with perception (5 mins)
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3.20: Colour Decisions: Playing with perception (6 mins)
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3.21: Checklist for Designers: The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organisation (6 mins)
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3.22: Identifying Gestalt Laws (6 mins)
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3.23: Conversations: Gestalt Principles in Practice (7 mins)
Lesson 4: Important Considerations: Imagery, Context and Attention
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4.1: Using Images: Vision and Design (14 mins)
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4.2: Context and other influences (56 mins)
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4.3: Vision and Attention (24 mins)
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4.4: Visual Perception (10 mins)
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4.5: Vanishing Head Illusion (6 mins)
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4.6: Conversations: Nature of Human Vision (6 mins)
Lesson 5: Object Perception and Design
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5.1: Object Perception (45 mins)
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5.2: Conversations: Community-Based Learning and Networking (6 mins)
Lesson 6: Visual Perception, Design Examples and Elaboration
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6.1: Icon Design: Visual Perception (21 mins)
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6.2: Vision and Design Consideration (42 mins)
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6.3: Seven Principles of Effective Icon Design (5 mins)
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6.4: Icon Design Mistakes (6 mins)
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6.5: Icon Design Tips (5 mins)
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6.6: Conversations: Community-Based Learning and Networking (6 mins)
Lesson 7: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
How Others Have Benefited
Phillip Dodson, United States
“I wanted to thank you! IDF is just the best thing ever. Just ever! Making this information accessible and available at the high level of quality. Just awesome!”
Vera Dragilyova, United States
“It is an honor to be part of your organization, and I am looking forward to growing and contributing to the field, thanks to the information, courses, and advice that your organization provides.”
Fernando Martinez Carreon, Mexico
“Well, I've started with one of the courses and felt it was fair to write once again just to say you that you are a great team of human, cognitive and pedagogy centered professionals. I'm really glad that I've become a member and have all of these tons of information for self-paced learning, the content I read it's great so far!”
How It Works
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Lessons are self-paced so you'll never be late for class or miss a deadline.
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