Boost Your Design Skills: The Best Online Classes & Tools for Graphic Designers and Creatives

Navigating the dynamic world of design can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re just starting out or looking to specialize. While a college degree certainly provides a strong foundation and traditional education, the digital age offers an incredible array of online resources that can truly accelerate your learning journey. Online classes, in particular, are fantastic for honing in on niche skills or specific software techniques that might not receive extensive attention in a broader curriculum. Today, I’m excited to share some of my absolute favorite online design and business classes and tools that have profoundly impacted my professional growth over the past few years, teaching me invaluable lessons I never encountered in traditional schooling.

A quick note on transparency: every class and tool mentioned here is something I personally purchased or signed up for. No one is paying me to recommend these particular resources. However, some of the links provided are affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Most of these fantastic classes come from Skillshare, which I genuinely consider a goldmine for learning from highly talented and experienced artists and designers. Whether you aspire to be a professional graphic designer or simply have a keen interest in art and digital creativity, many of these classes offer a fun and engaging way to spend a weekend, perhaps even while lounging on the couch binge-watching your favorite show.

Logo Package Express Exporter: An Essential Tool for Brand Designers

Update 2022: While not a “class” in the traditional sense, this Illustrator extension has been absolutely life-changing for my workflow. If you’re a brand designer, you understand the painstaking process of exporting a complete suite of logo files – different color variations, file types, and orientations – for every single client. This tool streamlines that entire process, turning hours of tedious work into mere minutes. It ensures consistency, drastically reduces errors, and frees up your valuable time to focus on creative tasks rather than repetitive exporting. Every brand designer who values efficiency and professionalism needs this in their toolkit; it’s an investment that pays for itself almost instantly.

Get Logo Package Express Exporter

Mastering Surface & Pattern Design Online

Two of my absolute favorite pattern designers, Elizabeth Olwen and Shelley Seguinot, who I discovered through online channels, have truly inspired my journey into surface and pattern design. Both are incredibly talented artists who have carved out a unique niche by creating their own distinctive lines of surface and pattern designs. I’ve only more recently delved into the world of pattern design, but learning the foundational principles has significantly expanded my skillset beyond basic vector art. This art form certainly demands time, patience, and practice to master, but Elizabeth and Shelley are both phenomenal teachers. They generously open up their sketchbooks and creative processes, guiding students through every step from initial concept and sketch to creating a seamless, final digital repeat. Their classes not only teach technical skills but also provide a deep dive into the artistic mindset required to produce captivating patterns that can be applied to various products, textiles, and digital backgrounds, opening up exciting new creative avenues.

Class Links:

• Shelley Seguinot Pattern Design (excellent for beginners looking to grasp core concepts)
• Elizabeth Olwen Pattern Design (a more detailed and in-depth exploration of the craft)

The Art of Hand Lettering: From Sketch to Digital Vector

The moment I stumbled upon Sean Wes’s work, likely through a Pinterest rabbit hole, I was captivated. I immediately wanted to understand his process – specifically, how he transformed his intricate hand-drawn sketches into polished, scalable digital art. This particular class became a pivotal learning experience, imparting invaluable tips and tricks for converting traditional art into versatile vector files, skills I frequently utilized in my former print shop. As designers, it’s easy to fall into routines and stick with methods that “just work.” However, even if I only pick up one new trick or discover a new tool within Adobe Illustrator, I find classes like these incredibly beneficial. They expose me to alternative, often more effective, workflows and techniques that challenge my existing habits and push me to evolve my craft. Sean Wes’s approach to hand lettering not only enhanced my technical abilities but also broadened my perspective on the creative potential when merging analog artistry with digital precision.

Class Link: (updated 2021; Sean Wes is no longer on Skillshare but offers his comprehensive courses directly on his website, SeanWes.com)

Contract Writing for Designers: Protecting Your Creative Business

This resource isn’t a design tool in the traditional sense, but it is unequivocally the most impactful investment I’ve made for my business. When I say that Margot Harrington’s contract writing course was a complete game-changer a few years ago, I mean it with 110% conviction. If you take no other class from this list, make it this one. Before this course, I struggled with the confidence to clearly outline project scope and protect my work. Margot didn’t just provide templates; she instilled in me the confidence to stand firm in my value and gave me invaluable insight and personalized feedback relevant to my specific design services. She helped me implement robust systems to ensure both my clients and I were perfectly aligned on expectations before a single design element was created. This eliminated potential misunderstandings, scope creep, and payment issues, allowing for smoother projects and stronger client relationships. Margot is a true rockstar business owner who has navigated the challenges of the creative industry herself. I cannot recommend this class highly enough for all creatives looking to establish, solidify, or freelance their business. It’s foundational for professionalism and peace of mind.

Class Link: Contract Writing on Skillshare

Elevating Your Skills with Adobe Illustrator & Vector Graphics

Throughout my college years and into my professional design career, Adobe Illustrator has remained my primary software of choice (with the exception of my time working in magazines, which leaned heavily on InDesign). For years, my comfort zone in Illustrator revolved around creating vector illustrations, logos, and website designs. While this allowed me to develop a strong proficiency, I admittedly settled into a “safe bubble” with my capabilities. More recently, as I’ve embraced more intricate illustration work, the internet has become an indispensable resource for learning advanced techniques. Discovering new, efficient ways to transform pencil sketches into polished vector artwork has been truly enlightening. It’s quite fascinating how you can perform a task one way for years, only to find a dramatically better and more “magical” method within minutes of watching a new tutorial or taking a class. Julian Burford, the instructor of the recommended class, is an exceptional illustrator, and observing his methodical process for taking a raw sketch to a final, refined vector piece was both educational and inspiring. Continuous learning in Illustrator unlocks endless creative possibilities and significantly boosts workflow efficiency.

Class Link: Master the Basics of Adobe Illustrator

Harnessing the Power of Photoshop & Photo Editing for Designers

While Adobe Illustrator handles approximately 90% of my design work, a solid foundational knowledge of Photoshop is, in my experience, an absolutely essential tool for any graphic designer. Whether you’re tasked with editing product photos for an e-commerce campaign, meticulously cleaning up hand-drawn sketches before vectorizing them, or performing critical color correction for print and digital assets, understanding the core functionalities of Photoshop significantly broadens the scope of projects you can confidently undertake. I often find that I only utilize about 10% of Photoshop’s vast capabilities, yet every time I commit to taking a new class or watching a targeted tutorial, I discover new shortcuts, hidden tools, and more efficient workflows that I never knew existed. It’s always intriguing to observe how other designers approach and complete the same tasks in ways that differ from my own. As I gradually accumulate more Photoshop tricks, I find myself seamlessly switching between Illustrator and Photoshop to perform specific tasks, ultimately achieving cleaner, more sophisticated, and incredibly efficient results. This synergy between the two programs is key to a holistic digital design workflow.

Class Link: The Essential Guide to Photoshop

So there you have it – a curated list of online classes and essential tools that have genuinely shaped my design journey and business. Throughout the coming week, I’ll be sharing more insightful design posts in what I’m creatively calling “Design Week” here on the blog. I’m eager to hear from other designers and creatives reading this: What has been the single most beneficial online resource you’ve discovered over the years for enhancing your skills or business? Please share your valuable insights and any “magic” you’ve come across in the comments below!