What is digital design?

Digital design is the process of creating content and graphics that end-users will view on a screen rather than on paper or another physical medium. As we move further into a digital world, chances are you read and view items on a phone, tablet, or computer screen far more often than you do on paper. When you use digital design, you're putting the rules and guidelines of design into digital formats. Digital design is a field that's growing rapidly.

Why is it important to learn digital design?

Digital design is different from traditional graphic design, so even if you have experience designing a logo or graphic for a printed page, you need different skills and knowledge tools. Digital design items aren't just meant to be read—they're meant for people to use. Digital media is often interactive, so you need to know how to create interactive graphics and website elements. If you work in design or want to work in design, it's important to be able to design for digital media. The fact that digital design is everywhere these days means that it's helpful have some familiarity with its concepts and terminology even if you're not designing digitally yourself.

What are some careers that use digital design?

You can find a host of careers in the digital design field, and they include web designers, digital graphic designers, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) specialists, and app designers. Digital design is crucial to many different sectors of the business world. You can find jobs as a digital designer working in a corporate environment, designing for a specific brand or project, or you can work for a company that specializes in digital design for various clients. You can also strike out on your own with your design business or consultancy.

How can online courses on Coursera help me learn digital design?

Whether you're looking to learn digital design as a springboard to a new career or to advance yourself in your current workplace, you can benefit from learning online. Our courses rely on instruction from some of the best minds and talents in the business, so you'll learn more than just the basics. You'll be able to take what you've learned and apply it where you work now or on your search for a new job.

What are the benefits of taking an online Digital Design course?

Online Digital Design courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Digital Design skills. Choose from a wide range of Digital Design courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

What Digital Design courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Digital Design, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Top Digital Design Courses - Learn Digital Design Online

Explore the Digital Design Course Catalog

Stanford University
Game Theory
Skills you'll gain: Game Theory, Strategic Decision-Making, Mathematical Modeling, Graph Theory, Bayesian Statistics, Behavioral Economics, Probability, Economics, Markov Model, Algorithms
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
4.8K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of Maryland, College Park
Creative Design, Prototyping, and Testing
Skills you'll gain: Product Development, New Product Development, Wireframing, Product Design, User Experience Design, Prototyping, Design Thinking, Conceptual Design, Product Testing, Project Management, Agile Methodology
4.2
Rating, 4.2 out of 5 stars
90 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Data Engineering Foundations
Skills you'll gain: SQL, Web Scraping, Database Design, MySQL, Data Transformation, Data Store, Extract, Transform, Load, IBM DB2, Relational Databases, Jupyter, Data Architecture, Data Pipelines, Big Data, Data Warehousing, Data Governance, Databases, Stored Procedure, Data Manipulation, Python Programming, Data Structures
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
56K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
University of Virginia
Design Thinking for the Greater Good: Innovation in the Social Sector
Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Stakeholder Engagement, Innovation, Prototyping, Brainstorming, Storytelling, Human Centered Design, Ideation, Service Design, User Experience, Experimentation, Qualitative Research, Data Visualization
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
415 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
California Institute of the Arts
Introduction to Game Design
Skills you'll gain: Game Design, Storytelling, Design, Design Elements And Principles, Creativity, Peer Review
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
2.9K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Pennsylvania
Gamification
Skills you'll gain: Game Design, Solution Design, Design Thinking, Human Centered Design, Drive Engagement, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Employee Engagement, Organizational Development, Behavioral Economics, Emerging Technologies, Risk Analysis, Customer Engagement, Psychology
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
2.4K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months
EIT Digital
Mastering Digital Twins
Skills you'll gain: Data Integration, Digital Transformation, Internet Of Things, Product Lifecycle Management, Digital Communications, Product Development, Real Time Data, Business Technologies, Operational Efficiency, Simulation and Simulation Software, Emerging Technologies
4.1
Rating, 4.1 out of 5 stars
449 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
University of Colorado Boulder
Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers
Skills you'll gain: Logo Design, Color Theory, Design Elements And Principles, Graphic Design, Design, Typography, Visual Design, Color Matching, User Experience Design, Digital Design, Graphic and Visual Design, Graphics Software, Adobe InDesign, Graphic and Visual Design Software, Design Software, Photo Editing, Content Creation, Design Research, Information Architecture, Adobe Photoshop
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.6K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
California Institute of the Arts
UX Design Fundamentals
Skills you'll gain: User Experience Design, User Interface (UI) Design, User Centered Design, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Wireframing, User Research, Human Computer Interaction, User Flows, Mockups, Information Architecture, Ideation
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
2.2K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Digital Marketing Institute
Social Media and Digital Marketing Fundamentals
Skills you'll gain: Digital Media Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Marketing Strategies, Digital Content, Social Media Strategy, Integrated Marketing Communications, Consumer Behaviour, Digital Transformation, Content Strategy, Scheduling, Target Audience, Customer Engagement
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
353 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Applied Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Plotly, Data Visualization, Predictive Modeling, Interactive Data Visualization, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Wrangling, Data Analysis, Jupyter, Matplotlib, Pandas (Python Package), Seaborn, Data Presentation, Data Import/Export, Web Scraping, Python Programming, Data Structures, Data Science, Data-Driven Decision-Making
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
59K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
The University of Sydney
Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business strategy and entrepreneurship
Skills you'll gain: Design Thinking, Innovation, Business Modeling, Product Design, Service Design, Product Development, Business Strategy, Strategic Communication, Market Research, Corporate Strategy, User Feedback, Product Testing, Customer Insights
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
1.3K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months