Visual design courses can help you learn color theory, typography, layout principles, and visual hierarchy. You can build skills in creating compelling graphics, designing user interfaces, and developing branding strategies. Many courses introduce tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Figma, that support executing design projects and collaborating with teams. Additionally, you may explore methods for conducting user research and applying design thinking to solve visual communication challenges.

California Institute of the Arts
Skills you'll gain: Typography, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Design, Visual Design, Digital Design, Logo Design, Design Software, Creative Design, Photo Editing, Color Theory, Photography, Adobe InDesign, Image Quality, Style Guides, Graphic and Visual Design, Branding, Art History, Storytelling
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Responsible AI, Logo Design, Digital Design, Generative AI, Graphic Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Productivity Software, Visual Design, File Management, Process Design, Design Reviews, Prompt Engineering, Image Analysis, Presentations, Client Services, Content Creation, Branding, Storytelling
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Color Theory, Typography, Visual Design, Digital Design, Design, Graphic Design, Adobe Creative Cloud, Design Elements And Principles, Content Creation, Branding
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

California Institute of the Arts
Skills you'll gain: Design Reviews, Design, Graphic Design, Design Elements And Principles, Visual Design, Peer Review, Typography, Creative Design
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

California Institute of the Arts
Skills you'll gain: Typography, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Design, Visual Design, Photography, Design Software, Digital Design, Creative Design, Color Theory, Image Quality, Photo Editing, Creativity
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Skills you'll gain: Typography, Logo Design, Responsible AI, Digital Design, Creative Design, Visual Design, Graphic Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Color Theory, Content Creation, Generative AI Agents
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Skills you'll gain: Canva (Software), Web Design and Development, Web Applications, Web Content, Digital Publishing, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Visual Design, Social Media, Graphic Design, User Accounts, Business
Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours

Skills you'll gain: Brand Strategy, Presentations, Branding, Creative Design, Marketing Design, Target Audience, Visual Design, Typography, Adobe Creative Cloud, Storytelling, Adobe Illustrator, Diversity and Inclusion, Adobe Acrobat, Color Theory, Creative Thinking, Creative Problem-Solving, Digital Assets, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Digital Marketing
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

California Institute of the Arts
Skills you'll gain: Adobe Premiere, Peer Review, Video Editing, Videography, Video Production, Post-Production, Photo/Video Production and Technology, Editing, Creativity, Media Production, Visual Design, Graphic and Visual Design, Design Elements And Principles, Aesthetics, Storytelling, Creative Design, Performing Arts, Content Creation, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Personal Development
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Photo/Video Production and Technology, Video Editing, Typography, Responsible AI, Media Production, Logo Design, Digital Design, Generative AI, Social Media, Content Creation, Social Media Management, Creative Design, Adobe Photoshop, Visual Design, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Infographics, Color Theory, Storytelling, Branding
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: User Interface (UI), Responsive Web Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Digital Design, Web Design, Graphic and Visual Design, User Experience, Motion Graphics, Adobe XD, Graphic Design, Animations, Prototyping, Typography, Visual Design, Design, Design Elements And Principles, Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Style Guides, Storytelling, Creative Design
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Ideation, Target Audience, Creative Problem-Solving, Conceptual Design, Creative Thinking, Brainstorming, Creativity, Communication, Design Thinking, Innovation, Visual Design, Storyboarding, Project Design, Entrepreneurship, Value Propositions, Generative AI, Prototyping, Problem Solving, Adobe Creative Cloud, Market Opportunities
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Visual design is the combination of visual elements like lines, colors, type fonts, and white space and how they all impact the appearance, usability, and overall presence of a website or other visual creation.
Successful visual design relies on a strong, unique, artful visual concept. Think of all the great music LP covers over the years that have succeeded because of a strong, dominant visual design. Great visual design, or graphic design, concepts should enhance or even become the overall message, not detract from it. Without great visual design, many banner ads, TV commercials, show posters, and other visual materials would be less striking. The magic of visual design is that it hooks people’s attention and encourages them to examine other aspects of the piece more closely.‎
It's important to learn about visual design and graphic design because of the skills you can gain from these programs, such as visual elements for websites, videos, advertisements, business reports, and other media. As the world grows more digital every day, the visual design we see is most often represented in online visual materials.
Learning how to use visual design software can help you realize the work that goes into creating an art piece, an animated video, or a short film with strong visuals. It's a learned skill that can pay dividends down the road should you decide to turn visual design into a career.‎
Some careers that use visual design include graphic designer, creative director, and art director at marketing agencies. Another career is a visual stylist for retail merchandising companies. Someone with a visual design background could be the director of user experience for a web-based technology company as well.
These are the people who have gotten educated in art, design, visual aesthetics, software UI/UX, and more and have worked in the field to bring these skills to projects for companies and organizations.‎
Taking online courses is a great step forward for you to better understand the foundation and basics of visual design. If you're currently working in a technology area, you may already have a head start on understanding graphic design and visual design software programs.
But if you're ready to broaden your scope of visual design, and dig deeper into the software tools and the artistic sensibilities in visual design work, online courses can help further your knowledge base. Try courses that challenge your accepted notions of visual identity and graphic design. You may find the innovation you see in these new worlds of visual design and graphic design is very appealing to you as you move through your career.‎
Online Visual Design courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Visual Design skills. Choose from a wide range of Visual Design courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.‎
When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Visual Design, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here.‎