Skip to main content

HKUSTx: Digital Design

The online course is an introduction to digital design technology. It allows you to understand the basics of digital design and helps you develop skills from computer-aided design to animation covering topics such as rigging, keyframing, rendering, and more.

5 weeks
5–6 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

28,857 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 28
Ends Jun 25

About this course

Skip About this course

Digital Design is about designing in digital space so the created content can be displayed and seen on a digital device. With the availability of high computing power, designers can quickly create designs in digital space before actual deployment.

In this online course, you will learn the fundamental concepts of a wide variety of digital design technology and you will have the opportunity to create your own digital designs and animate them as well. The course focuses on creating 3D objects using a computer-aided design package, creating real-life physical simulations, and then combining the two techniques to create rendered animations. It will also introduce virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications.

This course allows you to get hands-on experience with different design tools so that the various outputs can be combined in a systematic way. So get started to experience this excitement of creating your own designs now whether it be for continuing education or as a hobby.

At a glance

  • Institution: HKUSTx
  • Subject: Design
  • Level: Introductory
  • Prerequisites:

    Secondary school (high school) algebra; basic programming concepts

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Augmented Reality, Digital Design, Rigging, Computer-Aided Design, Virtual Reality, Key Frame

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • perform physical simulations of real-life situations that are expressed mathematically
  • manipulate and animate static people so that they have realistic motions
  • make digitized people interact with 3D objects
  • apply your skills in a wide variety of applications such as manufacturing, robotics, movies, games, toys, and many others

Week 1: Computer-Aided Design
Fundamentals of computer-aided design. Developing 3D digital models of various shapes.

Week 2: Computer Animation Basics
Rigging a 3D model and creating simple computer animations using keyframing and particle systems.

Week 3: Color Theory
Matching colors for specific applications. Using Processing software to generate physical simulations of moving objects.

Week 4: Rendering
Setting up a virtual scene with different 3D geometries, material properties, and lighting conditions.

Week 5: Mixed Reality
Virtual reality, augmented reality, augmented virtuality, and mixed reality.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

Interested in this course for your business or team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX For Business.