Best Online Graphic Design Courses of 2024

Author: Veruska Anconitano, freelancing since 2001Author information
Veruska
About the author
Veruska Anconitano
Veruska is an experienced Multilingual SEO and Localization Manager and Consultant who has been freelancing for over two decades, making her well-versed in the field. Along with being a renowned journalist, she is also recognized for her contributions and has received numerous accolades. In addition to being an enthusiast of outdoor activities and food travel, Veruska co-owns several websites that cater to a global audience.
Website Linkedin

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we may receive a small commission at no cost for you, if you purchase through these links.

With the explosion of the “gig economy” and the boom in online business there has never been a better time to be in the field of graphic design. It’s creative, inspiring, and full of opportunities.

While the job market world over has seen a huge change of working patterns, retrenchments, and general upheaval, this is one sector that offers the promise of growth. One of the easiest ways to upskill yourself is to consider the range of graphic design courses online that are on offer.

Naturally, you’d want to find the best online courses available, ones that teach you a wide range of new skills, improve your present skills, and are well recognized. Once you have successfully completed your course, you may want to give yourself the chance to earn your living freelancing in the graphic design world, or to have the choice of entering the formal creative market. 

As working from home has become a common way of conducting business, freelancing jobs have exploded. Why not cash in on this lucrative field right now?

Take time to look at all the graphic design fields of study we have reviewed. We have look at different levels of entry, as perhaps you are already in the graphic design business and wish to study further, or you want to start out as a beginner.

Either way we have the options for you from two of the best providers of graphic design courses online.

What Is Graphic Design?

Broadening your knowledge base or starting out for the first time, we’d highly recommend online courses that have proven to work.

You may already have in mind a career in the creative world you’d like to follow. It could be as a packaging designer or brand identity developer. Alternately, you may be interested in the field of visual image development or as a freelance visual journalist or even a broadcast designer.

Companies are always looking for creative people for their art departments, so a career as an art director or art production manager could be one for you. You could even end up as a creative director for a big advertising agency.

These reviews aim to fast track your search and help you decide which online graphic design courses to choose. We have reviewed courses available on both Udemy and Coursera to help you further, and hope to answer all the questions that are lurking in the back of your mind about which one is best for you.

Read also: 49 Ideas to Make Money as a Freelancer

What is the best online graphic design course?

It’s hard to decide what’s the best online graphic design course because the choice is ample. But we’ve selected a few courses that we recommend and that will

  • Develop and improve your graphic design skills 
  • Enhance your freelancing abilities in the creative industries
  • Make your skills more relevant

1. Graphic Design Bootcamp: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

Beginners Online Course in Graphic Design. This is the best-selling beginners’ course on Udemy and it will teach you the fundamental principles of graphic design like logo design, web design, poster design, and more. This course will help you master the Adobe Creative Suite programs. This course offers a certificate of completion.

2. Fundamentals of Graphic Design offered by Calarts

This online course will develop your skills as a designer and also teach you to communicate your designs which is a vital skill to have if you are freelancing. This course assumes you have a beginner’s level knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite programs such as Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. A Shareable Certificate is available on completion of this course. Over 80% of reviews gave this course 5 stars.

3. Advanced Styling with Responsive Design offered by University of Michigan

This online course in graphic design is to teach you to design and build websites that are able to perform on any platform, be it a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Back in the day, everyone viewed webpages on the same size screen, but all that has changed with the use of the different platforms we use. This skill is a sure-fire way to upskill you and ensure a successful freelancing career. Basic knowledge of CSS and HTML is expected. Earn a Shareable Certificate on completion.

4. Advanced CSS and Sass: Flexbox, Grid, Animations and More

This course claims to be the most advanced and modern CSS online course teaching Flexbox, CSS Grid, responsive design, and more. This course was developed by Jonas, one of Udemy’s Top Instructors whose premium courses have earned a best-selling status for outstanding performance and student satisfaction. You will learn all the advanced and modern CSS techniques and properties, master the cutting-edge layout technologies of Flexbox and CSS Grid, and be ready to build responsive layouts for all kinds of devices. This course is not for beginners and it is recommended you should be at an intermediate level in HTML and CSS. You get lifetime access to the course HD quality videos without paying a monthly subscription. This is a highly recommended course by users, many of whom are freelancing. This course offers a certificate of completion.

5. Graphic Design Elements for non-Designers Specialization

Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that enable you to improve a particular skill.
University of Colorado Boulder, Free Enrolment, Financial aid available. In this hands-on specialization, discover basic graphic design elements, color theory, the importance of brainstorming, and how to view design in a professional setting. You will learn to design a business card or one-sided flyer, an advertisement, a brochure, as well as an outline for a website. This specialization is for you if you need to learn to speak the design language and improve your creativity. Master these communication skills to boost your confidence and freelancing capabilities by being encouraged to network with other creatives. Earn a shareable certificate with this course.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization:

6. Freelance Graphic Designers Masterclass

Learn commercial graphic design in an easy and simple way to begin your online freelancing career. This course is for anyone who wants to use commercial graphic design to work online as freelancer. Make decent money by using these skills explained on this course to create designs for your clients. You will learn to design a product package, flyers, business cards, T-shirts, advertising banners and a professional resume. The requirements for this course are that you need to know the basics of Adobe Photoshop and have the Photoshop software. This course offers a certificate of completion.

7. Graphic Design Masterclass Intermediate: The NEXT Level

Update your Graphic Design Skills: Logo design, image lazy photo manipulation, package design, Infographics, Portfolio Building, Grids. This course covers a large range of design projects and will help improve your design and freelancing skills. You will learn how to create logo designs, create images, produce image lazy photo manipulations, learn more intermediate skills in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop amongst many other skills. You will create and build a strong graphic design portfolio both in pdf and online. This graphic design course is created by Lindsay Marsh and she updates it regularly to keep it relevant. It has many great reviews. This course offers a certificate of completion.

8. The Branding Masterclass – The Entire Brand Design Process

A massive course on branding, covering the complete brand design process. Clear instruction of the branding process from the beginning to the end. You will be equipped with knowledge on visual branding language, design tools, elements, and leave knowing how to systematically package everything into a professional client presentation. What we liked best is the depth of detail, beginning with the client brief, research, target audience and customer persona. Establishing the brand positioning, before you get into the detail of the brand design, colors, typography, and logo. Finish off with a complete proposal complete with copy and mockups. Great reviews from students.

9. JavaScript Animation for Websites, Storytelling, Data Visualization, and Games

This course offers hands-on projects building animations used in telling stories, in conveying data for presentations and in simple kids’ motivational games. Course offered by Coursera Project Network. Everything is done using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (ES6). These are the foundational skills that can be applied to any other visualization or game framework. Excellent reviews from students. Seems that this is an ideal way to learn animation.

Online Graphic Design Courses: Frequently Asked Questions

 1. What tools do I need for a Graphic Design Course?

To complete the assignments in most of the courses we’ve recommended, you will need access to a computer. It’s the tool where most graphic design ends up in one way or another. You will need to install Adobe Creative Suite programs or a different graphic design program (such as Gimp, for example), needed for the completion of your assignments. The courses will specify if any other materials are needed or which software you will use.

3. Are there free graphic design courses that I can attend?

Yes, there are graphic design courses offered by Udemy that are free. This may be a way for you to see if you are suited to graphic design. Be aware as they may not issue a certificate of completion, or have instructor Q&A, or the instructor direct message feature. Look for free graphic design courses online. At Coursera you can only view the course for free. However if you really can’t afford the course the institution you can apply for financial aid.

4. What careers are there for Graphic Designers?

The creative aspect of business is very often in the hands of graphic designers. The positions like Brand Manager, Interactive Designer, Graphic Designer, Web Developer and Social Media Specialist, Digital Architect all require these skills. And there are more. You may work in an art department designing packaging, or simply freelancing from home. It great that this is a career that you can really express your creativity. Like designing packaging, or for mobile media, creating branding for clients, websites, while designers are needed in journalism, broadcast media and internet applications. The great thing about graphic design is you can get up and running quickly once you have done a course and know how to use programs like those in the Adobe Creative Suite.

5. Can I learn graphic designing online?

You can learn graphic designing online by combining theory with practice and committing to your learning path. Graphic designing is, by definition, something that requires a computer and this means that learning online not only is possible but it’s also highly recommended.

6. Do graphic designers get paid well?

The payment for a graphic designer depends on experience and skills. The more skilled you are, the higher your pay will be. The more experience you have, the higher the pay. To keep it short, make sure you know the basics but make also sure you get specialised to have better chances and get paid better.

Read also: How to Get Paid Fast as a Freelancer

7. Is Graphic Design in demand?

Graphic design, exactly like web development, is in high demand both in small and big companies. More and more companies decide to outsource their design efforts, and that’s where freelancers can shine. Competition is also fierce, but if you get specialised in a particular niche within the graphic design industry your specialization will help you in your career progression.

8. Can I be a graphic designer if I can’t draw?

You can be a graphic designer if you can’t draw. First of all, you can learn how to draw based on the services you sell. But, most importantly, you need to know the technology and make good use of it. With a graphic tablet or a pencil (like an Apple pencil, just to name one) you will be able to sketch and “draw” even without knowing how to draw in a traditional way.

Graphic designing

9. How do I start a career in graphic design?

The best advice we can give you, is to start practicing as soon as you can. Build your skills and your portfolio, start experimenting and make sure people know what you’re capable of. Sometimes, landing one client leads to landing more clients in a constant loop. And do not forget to keep learning and improving, to make sure your skills match the market and the needs.

Read Also: How to Write a Freelance Contract and template to Download

10. Do graphic designers work as freelancers?

A lot of graphic designers work as freelancers, from home or from wherever they want. If you are working from home, graphic design is a great freelancing career as you only need a computer and the appropriate software to get you started. As you build your portfolio you will find yourself exploring the world of branding, web development, media, and a host of other exciting career opportunities.

Are Online Graphic Design Courses for Freelancers Useful?

As for any other career path, learning online is a great way to improve. Learning graphic design online is extremely useful because this is a field where everything is done online so while learning you also have the chance to practice. The good thing about learning graphic design online is that you can pause your lessons and practice the minute you’re learning something; this is a huge perk over a traditional in-person class, where you usually have to listen to the whole lesson and then apply what you’ve learned. Make sure you combine theory with practice to really learn the basics and your efforts will be amply rewarded.

There has never been a better time to upskill yourself. In a time when there is great competition in the job market, choose a niche that is full of opportunities. This is the creative environment of graphic design. It requires creative individuals who are skilled and love expressing their creative talents.

Good luck, graphic design is the way to go!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

If you love this...
Social

Latest articles

Do you want to receive a notification when we publish a new article?