9 Best Graphics Design Courses to Learn Online in 2023

Author: Carson Reed
Published: May 15, 2023

Do you want to be a part of the creative world? Do you want to create visually appealing and stunning designs that can grab attention? If the answer is yes, then the best graphic design courses are for you.

Graphic design is a profession where creativity and imagination come together to create visuals that communicate ideas. And if you’re looking for some good graphic design courses or are wondering how to become a graphic designer, look no further. Here are 10 of the best!

Each of these online courses has been shortlisted based on the following:

Who can take this course? Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Level
Details of the course
Course duration
Price
Course Rating
What the students have to say about the course
Number of students enrolled in this course
Instructor Profile

List of Top 9 Graphic Design Courses You Must Look Into

These online courses have been listed randomly without any particular order. However, we have shortlisted numbers 1 and 2 for you as the best. These are amazing graphic design courses that you can easily benefit from.

After completing one of these courses, you might want to look into the best 2d animation and adobe Photoshop courses.

Graphic Design Masterclass – Udemy
Complete Graphic Design Theory for Beginners Course – Udemy
Graphic Design Masterclass Intermediate – Udemy
Digital Design Masterclass for Graphic Designers – Udemy
Graphic Design Specialization – Coursera
Fundamentals of Graphic Design – Coursera
Graphic Design – Coursera – Beginner Level
Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers Specialization – Coursera
Design: Concepts – LinkedIn Learning
101 Vector Design Course – Vectornator Academy

1. Best Graphic Design Masterclass – Udemy

When searching for graphic design online courses, this one on Udemy comes up. This comprehensive course has been designed for beginners who want to learn graphic design basics. The course certainly has a lot to offer. Some of the key learning areas include:

Ability to create logos and branding packages for potential clients.
Discover the latest 2023 updates to the Adobe software and understand the new artificial intelligence filters and tools.
How to create YouTube thumbnails and social media graphics.

The course is currently available for $12.99, which is relatively cheap, but considering the learning insights it offers, it is undoubtedly great. For this price, you will access 28.5 hours of on-demand videos, 1 article, 46 downloadable resources, and 221 lectures. We reviewed the course material, which is packed with helpful information to help you become a proficient designer.

You can complete this fantastic course within 28 hours and 18 minutes. This course is also a bestseller, showing its popularity on Udemy.

Lindsay Marsh is the instructor for the course. She is a brand experience specialist and has worked for clients both in print and digital. She also has other courses on the platform, such as The Branding Masterclass and the Entire Brand Design Process.

Students have liked this course. It has a high rating of 4.7/5.0. We even went over the reviews and saw that students were raving about it with comments such as: “Lindsay Marsh is a great teacher and takes the time to thoroughly explain each design topic in the course. I have loved taking the graphic design master class and have learned some valuable skills”. Like several of the 152,653 students recommend the course, we do too.

Based on the course price and reviews, we would give the course a rating of 9.0/9.0.

2. Complete Graphic Design Theory for Beginners Course – Udemy

The next course we have lined up is perfect for beginners and will teach you the essentials of graphic design. The course has several learning outcomes. The most notable of which include:

Understanding color theory and how it applies to the world around us.
Understanding of logo design and branding.
Knowledge of layout, user interface, and experience design.

The course has a lot more to offer!

It is available for $14.99, which is super affordable. You can access many resources for this price, including 10 hours of on-demand video, 83 lectures, and 14 downloadable resources. Overall, you can complete the course within 10 hours and 9 minutes.

The course has a pretty excellent rating of 4.7/5.0, showing its popularity. More than 53,148 students have already enrolled in it.

Lindsay Marsh is the instructor for the course, along with Jeremy Deighan. She is a brand experience specialist and has worked for clients both in print and digital. Jeremy is a business owner and a self-taught digital artist who likes to teach.

We went through the student feedback and noticed comments like “Great comprehensive course which fills you in with all the important theories of graphic design. It also gives many amazing examples of graphic design work and the process behind it.”

Overall, this bestseller course will help you a lot.

Considering this one is a best seller, we would like to give the course a 9.0/9.0.

3. Graphic Design Masterclass Intermediate – Udemy

online graphic design courses with certificates

This course is excellent for the intermediate Level, meaning you need some prior graphics designing experience. However, this course is perfect if you want to polish your already-developed skills. Some of the significant learnings this course offers:

Ability to create images for a complete digital marketing campaign
Ability to produce complex photo manipulations
Create a magazine front cover, and article spread using InDesign

If you opt for this course, completing it will take 16 hours and 44 minutes. The course comprises 17 hours of on-demand videos, 29 downloadable resources, and 133 lectures.

It is currently priced at $12.99, which is relatively cheap but worth the learning insights it offers.

The course has been rated 4.7/5.0, which shows its popularity. Moreover, several of the 32,171 students have reviewed the course very positively. One comment caught our eye: “An amazing, intermediate comprehensive course. Lindsay is a graphic design wizard who will support your journey to becoming a professional graphic designer. You will also get continued support from her if you have a specific problem or are just seeking career advice.”

This course offers a lot of well-rounded learning filled with practical examples. You will likely learn a lot from it.

Our rating for this course is 8.5/9.0.

4. Digital Design Masterclass for Graphic Designers – Udemy

This course is perfect for every Level as it is designed for beginners and experts. This course covers a lot of Digital design projects, from icon design to web design and more. Some of the learning areas of this course include:

Knowledge of a wide variety of digital design projects.
Adept at creating animated gifs and animated display ads.
Proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator tools.

Currently, the course is available for $12.99, which is remarkable considering the depth of the certification. You will get full lifetime access to 9.5 hours of on-demand videos and 67 lectures for this price.

Overall, the course will not take more than 9 hours and 30 minutes to complete. This is the ideal time to learn as much as possible about graphic design.

As for every course, student reviews are critical. This certification is highly rated with 4.7 /5.0; generally, positive sentiment is seen in the comments. However, this particular review caught our eye:

“Amazing course! Very practical course with a focus on all aspects of Digital Design. It covers a lot of areas in the digital world to get you more practice, and build in-depth knowledge and experience throughout the course.”

The total number of students already enrolled in this course is 6,924, which shows how popular this Udemy course is.

Overall, we give it a rating of 8.5/9.0.

5. Graphic Design Specialization – Coursera

The next course is by Coursera, offered by CALARTS. This is a specialization that is ideal for the beginner- Level. Since this is a specialization, you will learn a lot, including:

Knowledge of interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design.
Gain the fundamental skills needed to be a graphic designer
Complete a capstone project to add to your professional portfolio

This specialization helps you implement your newfound knowledge and skills through its fantastic project. What we love about this course is that it offers a hands-on learning experience.

This graphic design specialization is available with free enrollment and even financial aid, making it affordable. This can help you save some money while getting an unparalleled learning experience. The total price of this course is $49 per month. That being said, it does come with a 7-day free trial.

This specialization will take you 6 months to complete, ensuring that you get to build your concepts from the ground up. The specialization has a rating of 4.7/5.0, making it well-liked by students.

Michael Worthington is the lead instructor for the course, along with 4 other esteemed teachers. He is a founding partner at Counterspace, a graphic design studio. He is also a faculty member at the California Institute of The Arts. He also has other courses on the platform, such as Visual Elements of User Interface Design.

Even though we could not find any reviews on the website, the 271,327 students already enrolled in the course speak volumes about the course’s popularity.

We would give it a rating of 8.5/9.0.

6. Fundamentals of Graphic Design – Coursera

This course is perfect for you if you want to learn the fundamentals of Graphic design as a beginner. Among the various learning outcomes, these are the most notable ones:

Ability to implement the fundamentals of color: visual, rhythm, and pattern in design.
Use scale, weight, direction, texture, and space in a composition.
Create your series of images using different image-making techniques.

The total course duration is 15 hours, with free enrollment and financial aid. Therefore, the total price of this course is $49 per month. That being said, it does come with a 7-day free trial.

We reviewed the course ratings and saw that it is rated at 4.8/5.0 stars. Not just this, but the student reviews and numbers add a feather to the cap. Several 596,185 learners have left positive reviews for this course: “Very good introductory course. I enjoyed the assignments, they are not overwhelming, easy to start, and the optional ones offer a great opportunity to dig deeper into graphic design fundamentals.”

Based on the fact that this course is comprehensive and designed for beginners, we would give it a rating of 9.0/9.0.

7. Graphic Design Class – Coursera

Next up is another fantastic online graphic design program with some of the most unique learning insights. It is ideal for beginners who have yet to gain prior knowledge of graphic design.

This hands-on course will teach you how to make professional-looking PowerPoints, reports, resumes, and presentations. What’s cool about this course is that it’ll provide feedback on your work. In addition, the graded assignments that you will submit will be reviewed by your peers to ensure an interactive learning experience.

Overall, the course will take 29 hours to complete, which is ample time to grasp graphic design basics.

This Coursera course offers free enrollment and financial aid so that your journey to becoming a graphic designer can be slightly lighter in your pocket. But again, the total price of this course is $49 per month, and it comes with a 7-day free trial.

David Underwood is the teacher for this course. He has over 35 years of experience in design and illustration. He also has other courses on the platform, such as Be Your Best Creative Self.

Not just this, the course is very highly rated. The 4.8/5.0 clearly shows how much the previous students loved the course. We also reviewed the comments and found positive reviews like: “Highly engaging and stimulating course. I enjoyed putting the practices taught in the lessons in the assignments.”

The course is popular and has gained a lot of traction, with a total of 114, 360 students already enrolled in it.

This course is a must-try, and we would like to give it a rating of 9.0/9.0.

8. Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers – Coursera

Next up is another Coursera specialization. This well-designed and detailed specialization cover vast knowledge areas of graphic design. Some of the things you will learn in this course are:

Ability to design foundational creative projects.
Analyze basic design concepts to apply in a professional setting.
Discover techniques for working and communicating with graphic designers.

The course will span over 4 months and will help you master graphic design from scratch. Moreover, it offers free enrollment and financial aid, which you can easily avail yourself of. The total price of this course is $49 per month, which is expensive; however, it comes with a 7-day free trial, so you try it out risk-free.

Lori Poole is the instructor for this course. Despite having a background in PR and communications, she pursued another Bachelor’s degree in Art to help her accomplish her graphic design dreams. She has courses on Coursera, including Graphic Elements of Design: Color Theory and Image Formats.

The course is also very highly rated, with 4.7/5.0 stars. Unfortunately, the website does not offer student reviews. Instead, we saw 30,663 students already enrolled in the course as proof of its popularity.

Overall, our rating for this course is 8.5/9.0.

9. Introduction to Graphic Design – LinkedIn

The next course we have lined up for you is a beginner-level one from LinkedIn. This graphic design certification offers a lot:

Introduces the creative process, including high-level concepts like layout, typography, and color.
Get hands-on by using Photoshop to adjust, repair, compose and crop images are projects.

The total course duration is 52 minutes, enough to learn the basics. We like fast-paced courses as they’re perfect for people looking for crash courses to face job interviews.

Moreover, it is available for $25 or a LinkedIn subscription with a 1-month free trial and has a rating of 4.7/5.0 stars. What more can you ask for? 5378 students are enrolled in it currently, showing how popular it is.

Tony Harmer is the instructor for the course. He has worked at Adobe for more than 8 years and has held key positions in different creative organizations. He’s a passionate illustrator and graphic designer.

Students have left good comments regarding the course, such as, “Great for beginners. Got me captivated at the first go.”

Overall, we would give this course a rating of 8.5/9.0.

As you’re talking about LinkedIn Learning, we suggest you also check out the best free LinkedIn courses

10. 101 Vector Design Course – Vectornator Academy

This last course we have selected for you is by Vectornator Academy. It is basically a beginner-level course introduced by them to help users understand and use their software. Vectornator is a graphic design software that has a multitude of features.

You can take this course using this software as the primary application for your graphics design journey. In this course, you will learn the following:

Develop an understanding of your creative workspace and how to utilize it for the best graphic design experience.
Understand Boolean operations and how you can utilize them for designs.
Learn to create freeform shapes and understand advanced color work.
Develop a command over the pen tool and how to use it for different projects.

The course duration is 2 hours and 10 minutes which comprises 6 lessons that are spread across 2 units. If you are a Vectornator user, then this course is free for you to take. You can also take this course free of cost on their Vectornator Academy website. Unfortunately, no student or user reviews are available for this course on the website. However, the app is rated 4.5/5.0 on the App Store.

Aysel Cebrailoglu is the instructor for this specific course. She is a product designer by profession and has studied integrated design to work as a graphic designer. She has had a passion for art and drawing since her childhood.

We rate this course a 7.8/9.0 because of its limited audience use and reach.

Factors of Choosing these Best Graphic Design Courses

After thoughtful consideration, comprehensive research, life experience, and the most important challenges of the eLearning industry, the components below were deliberately constructed.

Tutor Rating
Course Objectives Are Cleared or Not
Depth of Course
Recourses and Material
Who can take this course? Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Level
Details of the course
Student Reviews
Course Duration
Price

Check out Other Design Courses

Best Graphics Design Courses – FAQs

Can I study graphic design on my own?

It is more complicated to get the hang of graphics design. To become proficient, you must develop various skills you can learn through multiple online courses and certifications.

Is a graphic design course in demand?

There is no doubt that graphic design courses are in high demand. The industry is booming, and there is a constant need for skilled designers. Whether you want to work in-house or freelance, there are plenty of opportunities.

Is graphic design a promising career?

Graphic design is a promising career for creative people with an eye for detail. There are many graphic design jobs, from designing logos and business cards to creating websites and advertisements. Graphic designers usually have a portfolio of their work to show potential employers.

Conclusion

When contemplating a profession as a graphics designer, graphic design courses are a requirement. These best graphics design courses will teach you the fundamentals of graphic design and creativity. You will also learn how to prevent typical errors while making graphics, or as we like to call it, digital art.

Suppose you are interested in learning graphics design online. In that case, we recommend courses 1 and 2 since they give you many approaches to building and enhancing your plan and assist you in creating a high-quality stylistic layout that you can turn into an element.

When you enrol in one of these finest graphics design courses online, you will encounter some problems. As a result, we propose you visit our blog on online learning challenges.

So, what are you waiting for? Go through this list of best graphic design programs, and try them out! What’s stopping you?