15 Best Graphic Design Courses on Coursera
We compared 15 Graphic Design courses currently listed on Coursera, priced from $49.00 to $79.00. 5 come from a named university or institution, including California Institute of the Arts, University of Colorado Boulder and Google. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.
- Courses compared
- 15
- Price range
- $49.00 – $79.00
- Providers
- Coursera
- Last updated
- 30 Aug 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, matched to "graphic design" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $49.00 to $79.00, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Ideas from the History of Graphic Design
Offered by California Institute of the Arts
This intensive survey examines four pivotal eras in the History of Western Graphic Design, tracing the evolution of visual communication from the Industrial Revolution through the mid-20th century. While the global histo...
$79.00listed price -
2
Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
In this hands-on specialization, you will explore basic graphic design elements, color theory, images, publication design and techniques for creating effective layouts. You will also learn about typography, the creative...
$49.00listed price -
3
Graphic Design
Offered by California Institute of the Arts
Graphic design is all around us, in a myriad of forms, both on screen and in print, yet it is always made up of images and words to create a communication goal. This four-course sequence exposes students to the fundament...
$49.00listed price -
4
Fundamentals of Graphic Design
Offered by Xbox
Unleash your creativity and design captivating visuals for the gaming world with the Xbox Graphic Designer Professional Certificate. Learn essential graphic design principles and Adobe Photoshop skills to create stunning...
$49.00listed price -
5
Ultimate Graphic Design Course: Create 40 Practical Projects
Offered by Packt
Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as yo...
$49.00listed price -
6
Graphic Design Theory - Space
Offered by Skillshare
Your instructor Martin Perhiniak, states: As a graphic designer, most of the designs you work on will end up being flat. Not in the sense that they won’t look good, but in the literal sense: they will be printed on sheet...
$49.00listed price -
7
From Likes to Leads: Interact with Customers Online
Offered by Google
From Likes to Leads: Interact with Customers Online is the third of eight courses in the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate. This course will help you develop social media marketing strategies. Social medi...
$49.00listed price -
8
Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication
Offered by University of California, Santa Cruz
In this course each student will create a scientific animation that tells a story with data to better communicate scientific results – along the way they will learn programming, science writing, and technical animation s...
$49.00listed price -
9
Effective Communication Capstone Project
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
In the Effective Communication Capstone learners apply the lessons of Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation to create a portfolio of work that represents their mastery of writing, design, and spea...
$79.00listed price -
10
Data Visualization
Offered by Johns Hopkins University
The specialization "Data Visualization" is intended for post-graduate students seeking to develop advanced data visualization skills. Through three comprehensive courses, you will explore foundational and specialized vis...
$49.00listed price -
11
Introduction to Typography
Offered by California Institute of the Arts
Typography is the art of manipulating the visual form of language to enrich and control its meaning. It’s an essential area of skill and knowledge for graphic designers. Typography predates modern graphic design by aroun...
$79.00listed price -
12
Elements and Principles of Visual Communication
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
This introductory course sets the baseline for understanding visual communication by introducing the concepts, vocabulary, and jobs skills relating to visual communication. We will start by covering the history of design...
$49.00listed price -
13
The Art of Visual Storytelling
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
The ability to shoot and edit video is rapidly becoming a sought after skill. Many businesses seek people who can bring more than just a single skill to the table, and video creation can be a key one. In this hands-on sp...
$79.00listed price -
14
Business Writing
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
Writing well is one of the most important skills you can develop to be successful in the business world. Over seventy companies and thirty thousand students--from professional writers to new employees to non-native Engli...
$79.00listed price -
15
Designing Breakthrough Advertisements and Commercials
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
Most advertisements are immediately ignored. Not because the message is wrong, but because no one notices them. In this specialization, you will study the history and creative craft behind advertisements that break throu...
$49.00listed price
Best Graphic Design Courses on Coursera compared
| # | Course | Provider | Offered by | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ideas from the History of Graphic Design | Coursera | California Institute of the Arts | $79.00 | View → |
| 2 | Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $49.00 | View → |
| 3 | Graphic Design | Coursera | California Institute of the Arts | $49.00 | View → |
| 4 | Fundamentals of Graphic Design | Coursera | Xbox | $49.00 | View → |
| 5 | Ultimate Graphic Design Course: Create 40 Practical Projects | Coursera | Packt | $49.00 | View → |
| 6 | Graphic Design Theory - Space | Coursera | Skillshare | $49.00 | View → |
| 7 | From Likes to Leads: Interact with Customers Online | Coursera | $49.00 | View → | |
| 8 | Data-Driven Animation for Science Communication | Coursera | University of California, Santa Cruz | $49.00 | View → |
| 9 | Effective Communication Capstone Project | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $79.00 | View → |
| 10 | Data Visualization | Coursera | Johns Hopkins University | $49.00 | View → |
| 11 | Introduction to Typography | Coursera | California Institute of the Arts | $79.00 | View → |
| 12 | Elements and Principles of Visual Communication | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $49.00 | View → |
| 13 | The Art of Visual Storytelling | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $79.00 | View → |
| 14 | Business Writing | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $79.00 | View → |
| 15 | Designing Breakthrough Advertisements and Commercials | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $49.00 | View → |
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 15 priced courses on this page run from $49.00 to $79.00, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $30.00. The options are closely priced, so cost is unlikely to be your deciding factor. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from Coursera. Everything on this page is sold on the one platform, so the buying experience is the same whichever you pick. 5 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including California Institute of the Arts, University of Colorado Boulder and Google — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 30 August 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.