In the era of digital marketing and online communication, graphic design has become an essential skill. The creating industries in the United States alone are worth over $100 billion, and the demand for graphic designers is expected to grow by four percent in the next decade.
Whether you're looking to start a new career in graphic design, are ready for a career change, want to improve your skills for your current job, or just need a break, artists can find plenty of inspiration out there. The goal is that there is still room for artists to express themselves in their work; logos, branding, websites, social media, product design, advertising, and more.
But where do you start?
We've put together a list of our top online courses in graphic design, perfect for beginners, intermediates, and professionals, in this blog post. But before diving into design courses offered by the FMC Training Network, let's talk about why a career in graphic design might be right for you!
Table of Contents
- Careers in Graphic Design
- How To Start a Career in Graphic Design
- An Online Graphic Design Class for Every Level
- Online Graphic Design Classes for Beginners
- Online Graphic Design Classes for Intermediate Level
- Online Graphic Design Classes for Pros
- Adobe Certifications & Prep Courses
- Why Choose FMC Training Network
Careers in Graphic Design
Graphic design is a popular career choice that offers many prospects for professional development.
The Average Salary for a Graphic Designer
The average salary for a graphic designer in the United States is around $47,000. It ranges from entry-level positions with a median salary of $26,000 to senior-level positions with a median salary of $81,000. If you reach the top of your trade, you can earn an annual salary of $100,000 or more.
Other Reasons to Build a Career in Graphic Design
In addition to a good salary and career growth potential, there are many accolades available for professional graphic designers: awards, scholarships, and fellowships. For example, the AIGA Gold Medal is one of the graphic designer's most prestigious awards.
Do you need more reasons to consider a career in graphic design? Here are just a few:
- Graphic design is a creative field that allows you to express your ideas and communicate visually.
- You can work in various industries, from advertising to fashion to web design.
- You can freelance or work for a company.
- You can work from home or in an office.
- You can use your skills to make the world a more beautiful place and...
- You will never be replaced by AI because robots can not do good graphic design!
Graphic design is a form of art that necessitates human-led creativity and ideas to react to trends, fashions, and what has previously been done. There will never be a bot capable of imitating it. Sure, the technology to create may help us live our lives easier as designers, but they'll never take our place!
How To Start a Career in Graphic Design
As a graphic designer, you'll be in charge of creating visual concepts that communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. Moreover, you can develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports. In addition, you will create logos, graphics, and layouts for websites. To achieve success in this field, you must be able to think creatively and have a strong understanding of color, typography, and composition.
Create a Portfolio
One of the best ways to get started in online graphic design is to create a portfolio. This will give you a chance to showcase your work and show potential clients what you are capable of.
If you don't have any previous work to include in your portfolio, consider creating some mockups or designs for practice, or you can offer your services at a discount or even free to your friends. Once you have a solid portfolio, you can look for clients.
Find Clients
There are a few different ways to find clients. You can search for job postings online, join a freelancing job board such as Upwork, or reach out to businesses directly. If you know someone who owns a business, they may be interested in hiring you to design their website or create marketing materials.
You can also use social media to find clients. Many businesses are active on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, and they may be looking for graphic designers to help with their online presence.
Deliver High-Quality Work
Once you have found a few clients, it's important to deliver high-quality work. This will help you build a strong reputation in the field. Always be professional and meet deadlines. If you do good work, your clients will be happy, and they may even refer you to others.
Now that we discussed a career in graphic design and the steps to launch it let's look at the best online graphic design course choices!
An Online Graphic Design Class for Every Level
The first step in finding the right online graphic design class for you is to decide what level you are at:
- Are you a complete beginner?
- Do you have some experience but want to improve your skills?
- Or are you already an experienced designer looking to brush up on your knowledge?
Once you have a good idea of your level, it will be easier to find a course that suits your needs.
Online Graphic Design Classes for Beginners
We recommend these three beginner courses at the FMC Training Network if you're starting from scratch. They cover all of the basics, from design principles to working with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and InDesign software. You'll learn everything you need to know to get started in graphic design.
Adobe Illustrator Fundamentals
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Adobe Illustrator is an essential design tool for anyone who needs to express ideas visually in print, on the web, and any other medium. Learn key techniques, as well as tips and tricks, for working in Illustrator with hands-on instruction.
Adobe Illustrator Fundamentals is the perfect place to start for anyone new to Illustrator. In this 3-day live course, you'll learn to use Illustrator's basic tools and features.
Illustrator is used to create vector designs and illustrations. Since Illustrator artwork is vector-based, you can scale down your designs for mobile screens and up to billboard size — and always look crisp and beautiful! Having experience with Illustrator is essential when starting your career in graphic design.
If you already have some experience with the software, we recommend our more advanced training course, Adobe Illustrator Advanced.
Photoshop Fundamentals: An Introduction to Photoshop
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Photoshop offers a wide range of features and tools that allow you to create high-quality images for various purposes. Whether you're interested in graphic design, digital art, or photo retouching, Photoshop is a great program to get started with.
This course will give beginners the foundation needed to use Photoshop CC. You'll learn about the interface, the different tools, and how to use them effectively. This course also covers some of the advanced features and tricks that you can use to take your Photoshop skills to the next level. By the end of this course, you'll have a thorough understanding of how to use Photoshop to create stunning images.
InDesign Fundamentals: An Introduction to InDesign
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Adobe InDesign is the industry-leading layout and page design software for print and digital media. Whether you create a poster, ebook, or magazine, you will most likely work out of InDesign.
Adobe InDesign software speaks the language of professional designers, delivering unparalleled creative freedom, productivity, and precision for designing superb pages. It works seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, providing a single integrated design environment that doesn't interrupt your creative process.
This 3-day course provides a thorough overview of the interface, the tools, the features, and the production tips for page layout and design using InDesign. The course is an ideal combination of instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice.
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The InDesign Master Class is the perfect way to get started with InDesign to learn all its features and continue to the advanced level. It's for very ambitious beginners!
The InDesign Master class is a two-course training program that features a combination of the InDesign Fundamentals and the Intermediate InDesign course. The Master Class is the perfect way to train at your own pace.
This comprehensive training program includes six different courses, all scheduled separately, and begins with an introduction to InDesign—the program's foundation! We recommend taking these lessons two weeks apart to get the most out of them; however, there isn't any harm in starting sooner if that works better for someone.
Online Graphic Design Classes for Intermediate Level
Our intermediate courses are perfect for those with some experience but want to take their skills to the next level. You'll learn advanced techniques and software tips to help you take your design work to a whole new level.
Adobe Photoshop Advanced: Print and Photography
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This 2-day course provides a thorough overview for experienced users who wish to further their effectiveness in Photoshop. The course trains photographers and designers on how to catalog their work and enhance their photographs. This course is an ideal combination of instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice.
Adobe Illustrator Advanced
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In this 2-day course, which is a combination of Adobe Certified Instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice, you will learn the advanced techniques of working with Illustrator to incorporate visual effects into your workflow.
Adobe InDesign Advanced
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If you're looking to take your Adobe InDesign skills to the next level, this intermediate-level course is excellent. You'll learn how to take advantage of all the software offers, delivering unparalleled creative freedom, productivity, and precision. You'll also work seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, providing a single integrated design environment that doesn't interrupt your creative process. By the end of this course, you'll be a confident intermediate Adobe InDesign user, ready to take on any design project that comes your way.
Online Graphic Design Classes for Pros
If you are a seasoned designer, we offer advanced training courses for you too! These courses cover more complex topics like branding, typography, and user experience design. You'll also learn how to take your design work to the next level and create truly amazing designs.
No matter your current level of experience, we have a perfect course for you. So why wait? You won't regret it! Get started today and learn everything you need to know about graphic design.
Photoshop Master Class
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Are you looking to take your Photoshop skills to the next level? If so, then the Photoshop Master Class is perfect for you!
The Photoshop Master Class is a discounted training program that features a combination of two expert-led Photoshop courses – Photoshop Fundamentals and Advanced Photoshop. You can refresh the basics of this powerful software AND learn more advanced techniques that will help you take your photos and designs to the next level.
The Master Class is flexible, allowing you to schedule each course according to your schedule. To get the most out of this course, we recommend taking it two weeks apart. This will give time for practice and mastery before moving on with other courses in your journey towards becoming an expert in Photoshop!
Illustrator Master Class
Use Code: BLOG10 At Checkout To Save 10% off our Online Adobe Illustrator Courses
The Master Class is a training program that features a combination of two Illustrator courses for a discounted price. The Illustrator Master Class does not have a schedule of its own. Each class is scheduled separately, beginning with the Illustrator Fundamentals course. We recommend taking the courses included in the Master Class two weeks apart.
Adobe Certifications & Prep Courses
Are you looking to get Adobe Certified?
FMC Training is the leading provider of Adobe certification exams. Through expert-led training, you'll gain the skills and knowledge to use Adobe products to their full potential. In the same way, you have the chance to take an exam to become certified. As an industry-recognized standard of excellence, being Adobe certified communicates to potential employers how knowledgeable you are on a specific Adobe product.
Demonstrate mastery of your trade by becoming a certified professional!
Why Choose FMC Training Network
- We offer live, online training in five languages and cover all Adobe software.
- You'll be able to find a course that suits your skill level, whether you're a beginner or an experienced designer.
- You'll learn essential skills that will help you in your career.
- Online courses are flexible and convenient to learn at your own pace.
- With live online training, you'll be able to get up to speed quickly and easily.
- Our courses are highly interactive and user-friendly, so you'll be able to get the most out of your learning experience.
Join Our Graphic Design Classes Now!
Online graphic design classes are essential for anyone who wants to enter or improve their skills in the field. They offer a comprehensive overview of the topic, advanced features and training, and the convenience of being able to take them at your own pace. At FMC Training, we offer some of the best online graphic design courses available, so check them out!
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