• For Individuals
  • For Businesses
  • For Universities
  • For Governments
Coursera
  • Online Degrees
  • Careers
  • Log In
  • Join for Free
    Coursera
    • Browse
    • Visual Design

    Visual Design Courses Online

    Study visual design for creating compelling visuals. Learn about color theory, typography, and layout design for print and digital media.

    Filter by

    Subject
    Required
     *

    Language
    Required
     *

    The language used throughout the course, in both instruction and assessments.

    Learning Product
    Required
     *

    Build job-relevant skills in under 2 hours with hands-on tutorials.
    Learn from top instructors with graded assignments, videos, and discussion forums.
    Learn a new tool or skill in an interactive, hands-on environment.
    Get in-depth knowledge of a subject by completing a series of courses and projects.
    Earn career credentials from industry leaders that demonstrate your expertise.
    Earn career credentials while taking courses that count towards your Master’s degree.
    Earn your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree online for a fraction of the cost of in-person learning.
    Complete graduate-level learning without committing to a full degree program.
    Earn a university-issued career credential in a flexible, interactive format.
    Graduate level learning within reach.

    Level
    Required
     *

    Duration
    Required
     *

    Skills
    Required
     *

    Subtitles
    Required
     *

    Educator
    Required
     *

    Explore the Visual Design Course Catalog

    • C

      California Institute of the Arts

      Graphic Design

      Skills you'll gain: Typography, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Graphic and Visual Design, Logo Design, Digital Design, Color Theory, Adobe InDesign, Brand Strategy, Style Guides, Branding, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Creative Design, Design, Visual Design, Adobe Photoshop, Design Strategies, Design Reviews, Design Research, Storytelling

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      21K reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: [object Object]
      AI skills
      M

      Microsoft

      Microsoft UX Design

      Skills you'll gain: Storyboarding, User Research, Information Architecture, User Experience Design, Design Thinking, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Persona (User Experience), Wireframing, Design Research, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Interaction Design, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Human Centered Design, Usability, User Interface (UI) Design, User Centered Design, Figma (Design Software), Design, Mockups

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      316 reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Status: [object Object]
      New AI skills
      A

      Adobe

      Adobe Graphic Designer

      Skills you'll gain: Adobe Illustrator, Color Theory, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Typography, Generative AI, Document Management, Design, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic and Visual Design, Graphic Design, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Innovation, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Workflow Management, Packaging and Labeling, File Management, Adobe Creative Cloud, Data Integrity, Creativity

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      383 reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • C

      California Institute of the Arts

      Web Design: Strategy and Information Architecture

      Skills you'll gain: User Research, UI/UX Strategy, Information Architecture, User Experience, Web Design, Wireframing, User Centered Design, Design Strategies, Usability Testing, Mockups, Software Development Methodologies, Agile Methodology, Persona Development

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.2K reviews

      Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Status: Free
      Free
      C

      California Institute of the Arts

      The Language of Design: Form and Meaning

      Skills you'll gain: Design Reviews, Design, Graphic Design, Design Elements And Principles, Visual Design, Aesthetics, Typography, Creative Design, Design Thinking

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      876 reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • S

      Scrimba

      UI Design for Web Developers

      Skills you'll gain: Responsive Web Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), HTML and CSS, Web Design, Figma (Design Software), Front-End Web Development, Web Design and Development, UI Components, Design Elements And Principles, Mockups, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Typography, Usability, Prototyping, User Experience Design, Javascript, Web Applications, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Color Theory

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      13 reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Placeholder
      U

      University of California San Diego

      Interaction Design

      Skills you'll gain: Design Research, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, Statistical Analysis, Ideation, User Research, Graphic and Visual Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Experimentation, Prototyping, A/B Testing, Usability Testing, Human Centered Design, User Centered Design, Mockups, Design, Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Telecommuting, Technology Strategies

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      4K reviews

      Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Placeholder
      C

      California Institute of the Arts

      Visual Elements of User Interface Design

      Skills you'll gain: User Interface (UI) Design, Graphic and Visual Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX) Design, Design, Web Design, Design Elements And Principles, Human Computer Interaction, Responsive Web Design, Typography, UI Components, Interaction Design, User Experience Design

      4.7
      Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
      ·
      6.2K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Placeholder
      C

      California Institute of the Arts

      Fundamentals of Graphic Design

      Skills you'll gain: Typography, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Graphic and Visual Design, Design, Visual Design, Digital Design, Color Theory, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Creativity

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      18K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

    • Placeholder
      U

      University of Colorado Boulder

      The Art of Visual Storytelling

      Skills you'll gain: Post-Production, Storyboarding, Storytelling, Media Production, Adobe Creative Cloud, Editing, Content Creation, Writing and Editing, Proposal Writing, Data Import/Export, Writing, Graphic and Visual Design, Multimedia, Scripting, Creativity, Timelines, Aesthetics, File Management, Quality Assurance

      4.5
      Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
      ·
      94 reviews

      Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

    • Placeholder
      Status: [object Object]
      New AI skills
      G

      Google

      Google UX Design

      Skills you'll gain: Storyboarding, Wireframing, UI/UX Research, Responsive Web Design, User Experience Design, Design Thinking, User Research, Information Architecture, Figma (Design Software), Usability Testing, User Story, Web Design, Design Reviews, Usability, Presentations, Design Research, Persona (User Experience), Ideation, User Centered Design, Mockups

      Build toward a degree

      4.8
      Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
      ·
      89K reviews

      Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

    • Placeholder
      U

      University of California San Diego

      Design Principles: an Introduction

      Skills you'll gain: Graphic and Visual Design, Usability Testing, User Interface (UI) Design, Design, Interaction Design, User Experience Design, Prototyping, Design Elements And Principles, Human Centered Design, Web Design and Development, Typography, Design Research, A/B Testing

      4.6
      Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
      ·
      1.3K reviews

      Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

    Visual Design learners also search

    UX Design
    Visual Basic
    Information Design
    Beginner UX Design
    UX Design Projects
    Computer Design
    UI
    Design Thinking
    1234…378

    In summary, here are 10 of our most popular visual design courses

    • Graphic Design: California Institute of the Arts
    • Microsoft UX Design: Microsoft
    • Adobe Graphic Designer: Adobe
    • Web Design: Strategy and Information Architecture: California Institute of the Arts
    • The Language of Design: Form and Meaning: California Institute of the Arts
    • UI Design for Web Developers: Scrimba
    • Interaction Design: University of California San Diego
    • Visual Elements of User Interface Design: California Institute of the Arts
    • Fundamentals of Graphic Design: California Institute of the Arts
    • The Art of Visual Storytelling: University of Colorado Boulder

    Skills you can learn in Business Essentials

    Analytics (37)
    Presentation (33)
    Modeling (29)
    Business Analytics (27)
    Language (26)
    Microsoft Excel (26)
    Writing (26)
    Speech (18)
    Plan (17)
    Business Communication (16)
    Decision-making (16)
    Leadership (15)

    Frequently Asked Questions about Visual Design

    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.‎

    This FAQ content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

    Other topics to explore

    Placeholder
    Arts and Humanities
    338 courses
    Placeholder
    Business
    1095 courses
    Placeholder
    Computer Science
    668 courses
    Placeholder
    Data Science
    425 courses
    Placeholder
    Information Technology
    145 courses
    Placeholder
    Health
    471 courses
    Placeholder
    Math and Logic
    70 courses
    Placeholder
    Personal Development
    137 courses
    Placeholder
    Physical Science and Engineering
    413 courses
    Placeholder
    Social Sciences
    401 courses
    Placeholder
    Language Learning
    150 courses

    Coursera Footer

    Technical Skills

    • ChatGPT
    • Coding
    • Computer Science
    • Cybersecurity
    • DevOps
    • Ethical Hacking
    • Generative AI
    • Java Programming
    • Python
    • Web Development

    Analytical Skills

    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Big Data
    • Business Analysis
    • Data Analytics
    • Data Science
    • Financial Modeling
    • Machine Learning
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Power BI
    • SQL

    Business Skills

    • Accounting
    • Digital Marketing
    • E-commerce
    • Finance
    • Google
    • Graphic Design
    • IBM
    • Marketing
    • Project Management
    • Social Media Marketing

    Career Resources

    • Essential IT Certifications
    • High-Income Skills to Learn
    • How to Get a PMP Certification
    • How to Learn Artificial Intelligence
    • Popular Cybersecurity Certifications
    • Popular Data Analytics Certifications
    • What Does a Data Analyst Do?
    • Career Education Articles
    • Career Development Resources
    • Career Aptitude Test

    Coursera

    • About
    • What We Offer
    • Leadership
    • Careers
    • Catalog
    • Coursera Plus
    • Professional Certificates
    • MasterTrack® Certificates
    • Degrees
    • For Enterprise
    • For Government
    • For Campus
    • Become a Partner
    • Social Impact
    • Free Courses
    • ECTS Credit Recommendations

    Community

    • Learners
    • Partners
    • Beta Testers
    • Blog
    • The Coursera Podcast
    • Tech Blog
    • Teaching Center

    More

    • Press
    • Investors
    • Terms
    • Privacy
    • Help
    • Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Articles
    • Directory
    • Affiliates
    • Modern Slavery Statement
    • Do Not Sell/Share
    Learn Anywhere
    Placeholder
    Placeholder
    Placeholder
    © 2025 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.
    • Placeholder
    • Placeholder
    • Placeholder
    • Placeholder
    • Placeholder
    • Placeholder