10+ Best Graphic Design Tutorials For Beginners — Learn Graphic Design Online

Learn the basics of graphic design and its working with the best graphic design tutorials for beginners in 2021

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12 min readSep 1, 2018

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1. Graphic Design Bootcamp

Learn the essentials of Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign while designing real-world projects. In this course, you will learn:

  • A clear understanding of how to work with both print and web projects in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
  • The skills and confidence to create things like flyers, business cards, web graphics, and more.
  • How to build a skill set that can set you up to be employable in the creative industry as a graphic designer.

This course is for anyone who is interested in becoming a graphic designer, and especially geared towards total beginners. It’ll show you how to make some of the most popular projects in the industry, like:

  • Custom logos
  • Business cards
  • Brochures
  • Web graphics

It will be using Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; the industry-standard applications for graphic design.

All project files are included as a free download at the beginning of each section, and you are welcome to use the files however you want, or simply to follow along with the projects as you move through the lessons.

2. Graphic Design Specialization

Make Compelling Design. Learn and apply the principles of graphic design towards a comprehensive branding project.

In this course, you will learn:

  • gain the fundamental skills needed to be a graphic designer.
  • communicate through image-making and typography.
  • complete a capstone project to add to your professional portfolio.
  • everything you need to know to work in interface design, motion graphics, and editorial design.

This course will teach you the fundamental principles of graphic design: imagemaking, typography, composition, working with color and shape and foundational skills that are common in all areas of graphic design practice.

You will study, name, and measure the characteristics of letterforms. You will consider the pragmatic concerns involved in selecting and combining type.

You will peek into the rich historical, cultural, and aesthetic histories of familiar typefaces. You will discuss time-tested conventions and best practices in setting type, as governed by principles of hierarchy and spatial organization. And you will explore the expressive, meaning-making potential of type.

You will experiment with a range of materials and techniques to make images for graphic design. You will expand your visual vocabulary both in terms of making and talking about work, in order to discuss your work and work of others.

You will learn how to make, manipulate and arrange images to create compositions, eventually culminating in the design and production of an-image-based book.

3. Introduction to Graphic Design

Learn about the concepts and software that every designer needs to know.

In this course you will learn about:

  • The creative process behind graphic design
  • How to create layout, composition and grid concepts
  • Use of typography and color
  • How to transform images and assets using Photoshop
  • Drawing logos using adobe Illustrator
  • Design graphics and documents using adobe InDesign

on completion of this course, you will have a better knowledge that requires to become graphic designers.

4. Graphic Design Tools For Professionals

Learn the essential tools of Adobe Photoshop CC to jump right in and design beautiful graphics and photos in Photoshop.

In this course, you will learn:

  • Photoshop CC as a beginner.
  • customizing your workspace and panels.
  • creating a new photoshop project preview.
  • placing photos into your project.
  • selecting, zooming, and moving around your project.
  • Premiere Pro CC as a beginner.
  • After Effects CC.
  • Adobe InDesign CC.

5. Fundamentals of Graphic Design

This course will teach you the fundamental principles of graphic design: imagemaking, typography, composition, working with color and shape.

In this course, you will learn how to:

  • explore and investigate visual representation through a range of image-making techniques.
  • understand basic principles of working with shape, color and pattern.
  • understand the language and skills of typography.

This course will show you a range of analog and digital imagemaking techniques and discuss how they work.

In the first peer review assignment you will create your own series of images, experimenting with formal techniques.

After that, you will rework those images to enhance their ability to communicate an idea through connotation in an optional assignment.

You will learn about typographic terminology and the basic rules for creating typography.

The course will show you a range of tips and techniques for working with type, in both a functional and expressive manner, and you will find out about the process involved in making and controlling typography.

You will learn about visual contrast, color, rhythm and pattern in design. The course will show you the process involved in making an abstract design from shapes, and how to use that element to create a repeating pattern design.

You will understand how visual contrast and color work. You will create your own simple and complex design motifs, and you will use them as the central elements in designing a repeating pattern in the second assignment.

You will look at how designers work with visual contrasts, cropping, hierarchy and direction in single images and complex compositions.

You will find out how to control and use scale, weight, direction, texture, and space in a composition, and how to compose work that ranges from the complex to the minimal.

You will create your own abstract compositions that demonstrate your knowledge and control of visual contrast.

6. Become a Professional Graphic Designer

Learn what you need to know to break into the world of graphic design. In this course, you will:

  • Master the most widely used software in graphic designing
  • Learn the principles of graphics design and visual communication
  • Gain an insight into the current graphic design industry
  • Understand how to forge a career path as a graphic designer

You’ll learn everything from working with layers and selections in Photoshop, to formatting text and menus in Dreamweaver, to using pathfinders and special effects in Illustrator.

On completion of this course, you will have the strong foundation needed to get started in the world of graphic design, along with the skills needed to start working professionally straight away. Tools used in this course are:

  • Adobe Photoshop: Used for editing and manipulating photographs and images. Improve lighting and colour, add special effects, remove blemishes, create your own images from scratch, and more.
  • Adobe Illustrator: The standard software for graphics design, and where you do the majority of your work. Create any kind of vector art or illustration your mind is capable of thinking up!
  • Adobe Acrobat: Transform your work into a format than anyone can view a PDF. This program also enables you to create, manipulate, print and manage your finished project files.
  • Adobe Dreamweaver: Design and develop beautiful websites with ease, complete with both a design view and code editor so you can see changes you make on all sides in real time.

7. Learn Professional 2D Game Graphic Design in Photoshop

Learn how you can create your own professional game graphics quickly in Photoshop! With this course:

  • Build professional stylized backgrounds from scratch in Photoshop
  • Make Money from your new skills
  • Create your own game graphics

The 2D Game Background Creation Course will show you how to create quick high quality stylized backgrounds for games and animations that will stand up as professional work. The techniques taught in this course can be translated into prop and character creation. This course will enhance or give you skills in the world of digital art creation.

The course is your track to building amazing attractive backgrounds. Whether for your own games or for other peoples projects. This course will take you from having little knowledge in Photoshop to creating professional backgrounds in as little as one week.

You’ll gain instant access to all five sections of the course including the bonus section where you will be shown where and how to find jobs creating digital art work that you can do from anywhere in the world. You’ll also gain access to 50 assets that have been created for your personal and commercial use. These assets can be used over and over again in your own games. The course is setup to quickly take you through step by step, the process of creating a digital background in Photoshop.

8. Graphic Design — An Overview of the Field

A survey course that explore nine graphic design specialties. In this course, you will:

  • Learn that good design is often concept driven
  • Understand why some design mediums need to communicate more quickly than others
  • Learn the thinking behind great graphic design and get a birds eye view of the entire field

This is a survey course, so it does not go into specifics about how the work is created, rather it’ll explore why the work is good, the thinking that went into it, and any other anecdotes it may have about each field.

It covers nine graphic design specialties. They are:

  • Logos
  • Packaging
  • Posters
  • Book covers
  • Motion graphics
  • Websites
  • Annual reports
  • Environmental graphics
  • Editorial design

9. Canva Graphics Design for Entrepreneurs — Design 11 Projects

Learn Canva from scratch. Create 11 graphic design projects with Canva specifically for entrepreneurs. With this course:

  • Create 11 different and practical projects that can be used to help your business or brand.
  • Build specific graphic design elements for social media and the internet by utilizing templates and tools specific to the platform needed.
  • Save time and money by easily creating your own artwork, quickly and efficiently.

This online course will teach you how to use Canva to create practical real world projects for your business or brand.

You can spend hours or even days trying to find the right tutorial online. Outsourcing the work can be an even bigger challenge just to find the right candidate to do what you need done. Whether you just want to enhance your Canva skills for business, or have a specific project you need done right this instant, this course is for you.

It will guide you every step of the way and make sure you succeed in your ventures. Get a Certificate of Completion when you finish the course!

10. Graphic Design Masterclass: The Next Level

Level Up Your Graphic Design Skills with Real World Projects: Logo Design, Photo Manipulation, Digital Design. In this course:

  • You will be able to create polished and practical Logo designs and brand assets
  • Be able to create images for a full digital marketing campaign, including Facebook and Instagram
  • Produce complex photo manipulations for the use of ad design and understand solid layout and design principles
  • Create realistic shadows and be able to do intermediate level photo retouching
  • Sketch logo design and concepts with ease and understand the golden ratio and how to incorporate that in your design process
  • Understand the basics of being a freelancer and pricing freelance design projects
  • Understand the many ways of making money by selling creative content and resources

This is a practical design course which is meant to teach while showing and producing real world client projects.

The first section of the course focuses on Adobe Photoshop and photo editing and manipulation. You will review photo retouching and learn the content aware tool, which speeds up your workflow and works almost like magic. It will brush up on your brush tool and learn how to create realistic shadows.

You will learn how to work with the golden ratio and even try your hand at a logo based on the golden ratio. You will do a full logo design and branding project from scratch including the concept developing phase and how to pick the proper font, style and colors.

11. Graphic Design Masterclass: Learn Graphic Design in Projects

Graphic design principles, typography, & color mastery using Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop. In this course, you will:

  • Learn and apply graphic design principles to produce effective designs in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
  • Learn and apply color theory and practices to produce effective designs in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
  • Learn and apply effective typography to produce effective designs in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
  • Design an online ad, design an infographic with effective color, create a gig poster with type as a design component, create an illustrative postcard.

In this course, you will learn and then apply design principles to create various graphic designs, including an online advertisement, an effective infographic, a gig poster with type as a design element, and an illustrative postcard design. You will learn how color schemes can be created and applied in graphic designs. You will also learn how effective typography can improve your designs as well. The course structure is as follows:

  • In the first few sections, you will learn about the overarching benefits of this course and then learn about various design principles such as proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, balance, negative space, and rhythm. You will apply these design principles right away so you more effectively learn them. This will also allow you to learn design techniques.
  • In the color section, you will learn about effective color and then how to create color schemes in Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. You will create a color wheel using Illustrator.
  • In the typography section, you will learn type terminology in order to know how to apply effective type. You will also learn best practices in editing and applying type.

All support files are included for the follow-along exercises and projects on design principles, color, typography, and projects. Bonus files are also included, such as photo and Photoshop brushes.

12. Graphic Design Masterclass — Learn GREAT Design

The Ultimate Graphic Design Course Which Covers Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Design Theory, Branding and Logo Design. In this course, you will:

  • Have a deep understanding of typography, color theory, photos , layout and blocking and other design skills
  • Understand and learn the essential tools and capabilities of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
  • Create logos and branding packages for potential clients
  • Learn photo editing and manipulation

It will extensively review Typography, color theory, layout and composition, how to use photos in design, photo manipulations and editing and magazine layout design, branding and logo design. You will also learn the basics of Adobe Photoshop, illustrator and InDesign and do projects with real world applications.

In Adobe Photoshop, you will review photo editing and manipulation techniques like how to cut objects out, the liquify tool and you will create a compelling social media graphic with your newly learned photoshop skills.

In Adobe Illustrator, you will master the pen tool by hand tracing simple and complex shapes. You will explore the power of the shape builder tool and In the end of this section, you will design a full logo.

You will create a magazine layout in InDesign and learn the master pages tool to drastically speed up your design workflow when working with multiple paged layouts.

13. The Complete Canva Course

Graphic Design for beginners — Learn how to create amazing designs with Canva. With this course:

  • Create fantastic, professional graphic designs, all for free inside Canva
  • Learn core design skills that are transferable to all of your design projects
  • Design 9 different fun and engaging projects, each in a very hand-on, practical way
  • Master all the elements within Canva to produce stunning results every time

In this course you will learn how to create amazing, beautiful, professional graphic designs inside Canva, one of the world’s leading free graphic design applications.

The course is split into three parts:

  • Part 1 covers all of the core skills you need to use Canva efficiently and effectively. It will teach you how to use all of the tools and elements available to you, and cover topics such as:

Text and Typography Using shapes and lines Adding icons and Illustrations Working with pictures and filters Adjusting colour, alignment and transparency Exporting your work

  • In part 2, you will apply your new skills to real-world examples, and work on 9 different projects. You will be able to produce:

An album cover, A Youtube video thumbnail, Youtube channel art, A Twitter header, A Facebook cover, A Facebook post, An ebook cover, An A4 document with data charts, Presentation slides.

  • Finally, in part 3, it will cover some basic graphic design theory, and show you some tips and tricks within Canva to help your work stand out. It will cover areas such as:
  • Typography and font pairing
  • Lines and spacing
  • Shortcuts and quick tricks
  • Text masking
  • Basic colour theory

By the end of this course you will have created some amazing designs for yourself, and you will have mastered the skills necessary to achieve professional results.

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Disclosure: We are affiliated with some of the resources mentioned in this article. We may get a small commission if you buy a course through links on this page. Thank you.

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