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What Are The Free Tutorials For Learning Graphic Designing From Scratch?
Are you prepared to embark on a career in graphic design? The good news is that starting in 2021; you will not have to pay an arm and a leg in tuition or spend four years at design school to learn design or become a professional graphic designer.
Studying graphic design does not have to be expensive, and you can do it on your own time with the help of a few high-quality, free online courses. In this post, we will share the top free online graphic design courses to help you get started on your own. Ready? Let us get started!

1. Applying Graphic Design
Whether you are brand new to graphic design or want to brush up on your existing abilities, this highly helpful course taught by Alison will arm you with the tools necessary to begin applying fundamental graphic design concepts and design theory to your work.
By studying some of the most successful designs in recent history, you will not only understand principles like composition, balance, contrast, and hierarchy, but also how to apply them to both print and digital projects—whether you are creating editorial materials, web design, or social media graphics.
While the programme is free, you will need to purchase a membership to Alison in order to receive a certificate to include on your resume or design portfolio.
2. Canva Design School: Graphic Design Fundamentals
Get a solid foundation in graphic design with this short, jam-packed course from Canva. Canva’s Graphic Design Basics course is divided into twelve bite-sized courses, each of which covers a fundamental concept of graphic design and includes an exercise to put your new knowledge into practise.
You will gain vital design knowledge through establishing your desired message, creating moodboards, colour wheel and typography basics, and much more. This course is ideal if you do not have a lot of time to devote to learning a new skill or want to dip your toes in the water to have a better grasp of how graphic artists operate.
3. Fundamentals of Logo Design
Branding is a key component of graphic design that many designers choose to specialise in. If you want to go deep into the realm of brand identity design, the Logo Design Fundamentals course is a wonderful place to begin.
Learn what constitutes a good logo design, understand your client’s objectives, and create a brand identity system that can be utilised across many different applications in this fifteen-lecture course. This branding crash course will teach you all you need to know to create a great logo design from start to end.
4. Graphic Design History Overview
What better location to begin your graphic design education than where it all began? In Kadenze’s Introduction to Graphic Design History, you will discover how design has influenced virtually every aspect of our life, from our culture to our politics to our philosophies.
This graphic design history crash course was developed from a Maryland Institute College of Art program. Dive into design history to acquire a better grasp of the function Graphic Design plays in our society, as well as its developing styles and breakthrough approaches.
You will leave with a strong grasp of what constitutes effective graphic design and a whole new perspective on the profession.
5. Adobe Illustrator for Beginners
Learning the fundamentals of graphic design should be the cornerstone of your study. But what good are these ideals if you do not put them into action? To generate and create outstanding design work, you must also have a few hard skills under your belt, such as an understanding of certain design tools.
Adobe Illustrator is the software of choice for many designers. It teaches all you need to know about the application in this three-hour Adobe Illustrator crash course offered by Envato Tuts.
Learn the fundamentals of making unique shapes, lines, and brushes, as well as how to utilise and edit text and create logo marks and icons. You will also discover hidden techniques for generating stunning colour palettes, gradients, and patterns. Furthermore, the film will walk you through fundamentals such as storing and exporting your work for print and web. There are many activities throughout the course to help you put what you have learnt into practise straight immediately.
Bonus: Take your graphic design skills to the next level by adding Adobe Photoshop to your toolbox with this free Envato Tuts lesson.
6. Graphic Design Fundamentals: Core Visual Design Principles
In addition, Skillshare provides a fully free lesson that teaches the five fundamental concepts of Graphic Design in approximately 35 minutes. This course is for anybody interested in experimenting with graphics and words to convey a message. Learn concepts and principles that may be used to any visual layout, such as a book, magazine spread, web page, poster, and so on.
Because the class is taught by the directors of the Graphic Design MFA programme at Maryland Institute College of Art, there will be plenty of examples of graphic design work made by MICA students. Prepare for a useful crash course in key design concepts such as symmetry, size, framing, hierarchy, and grids, and then put your newfound knowledge to the test by designing a simple page layout in the design programme of your choice.
7. Live Graphic Design Courses
Creative Live is an excellent resource for learning Graphic Design from industry professionals from across the world. However, if you want to access these courses for free, you must prepare ahead of time (free courses are performed in real-time!). Simply scroll down to the Free and upcoming classes area and mark your calendar to enrol in a live course of interest.
Each course focuses on a different part of the design, such as portfolio development, how to think like a designer, and more specialised aspects of the business such as book cover design, drawing fundamentals, and much more.
If you wish to study in a one-to-one classroom where the tutor has all of their focus on you, check out the graphic design course at Blue Sky Graphics!