Whatever your industry and whatever your role, chances are you’ve been asked to create a presentation at some point or other. It’s a skill we all need to have up our sleeve.
These days, presenting on a standard PowerPoint template with slides packed full of bullet points just isn’t going to cut it. If you want to convey a message effectively and keep an audience engaged, you need good presentation design.
So how can you learn the skills you need to put a great presentation together?
Well first things first, you can take a look at our articles on presentation design, which offer a ton of actionable tips.
But if you’d rather learn visually or really want to commit to the topic, pick from one of the courses below.
We’ve hand-picked seven of our favorite presentation design courses to share. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or want to take your skills to the next level, there’s a course here for you.
- Principles of Presentation Design with Domestika
- Presentation Design: Create a Professional Template with Domestika
- Slide Design Online Course with Duarte
- Design a Compelling Presentation with LinkedIn Learning
- Presentation Skills: Designing Presentation Slides with Coursera
- PowerPoint: Designing Better Slides with LinkedIn Learning
- Impactful Presentation with Ideo
Our favorite presentation design courses
Principles of Presentation Design with Domestika
This affordable presentation design course is delivered by Katya Kovalenko, a presentation design specialist. And it’s been created with beginners in mind.
Throughout the course, you’ll learn how to design beautiful and effective presentations from scratch. You’ll cover presentation structure, purpose and the key do’s and don’ts. You’ll also dive into design, looking for inspiration and developing your own mood boards.
The course ends with a final project. You choose a topic, create a narrative structure and develop your slide design – bringing everything together to create your own professional presentation.
- Practical info: This course is delivered online, over a total of 18 lessons. You can complete the course in your own time and at your own pace. All you’ll need is a computer with presentation software installed.
- Price: Under $50
Presentation Design: Create a Professional Template with Domestika
This is another course from seasoned presentation designer, Katya Kovalenko. It’s a great option for anyone wanting a more in-depth explanation of presentation design and templates.
Katya’s signature presentation style is super modern and minimalistic, so you can count on getting the most up-to-date design input. You’ll start by looking at mood boards and learning how to follow a brand manual. You’ll then learn about color, typography and layout.
The final project is an opportunity to put all of that learning into practice. You’ll create a professional, custom presentation template – either following brand guidelines or using your own choice of style.
- Practical info: This course is made up of 18 lessons delivered online, so you can study at your own pace and a time that suits you. All you need to get started is a computer with a presentation program like PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote.
- Price: Under $50
Slide Design Online Course with Duarte
This presentation design course has been created by the design experts at Duarte. Its aim? To help beginners feel less stressed and frustrated when using PowerPoint!
Pick this course and you’ll learn how to set up the basic PowerPoint interface and get to know the range of tools PowerPoint has to offer. You’ll learn the SPACE method – finding out how to simplify, plan, arrange, achieve consistency and place the right emphasis in your presentations.
By the end of the course you’ll be able to create professional slides and communicate your ideas more effectively. And if you ever want to refresh your knowledge, you have a searchable reference guide to look back on.
- Practical info: This is a 90 minute course delivered via 23 interactive videos. There are a range of videos, quizzes and exercises for you to complete to test your knowledge and your skills. You can access the course anytime, across a range of devices, for a whole year.
- Price: $129, with discounts for teams and multiple learners.
Design a Compelling Presentation with LinkedIn Learning
Delivered by John McWade, a graphic designer and teacher with a few design books under his belt, this course has been created for people who are new to design. Or for those who’ve been tasked with putting together a presentation and don’t know where to start.
John encourages his students to move away from standard PowerPoint templates that “say nothing about you, or for you”.
He shares his ideas for color palettes, typography and making every image count. He also gives tips on using presentation design to create an emotional connection with an audience.
- Practical info: John McWade delivers this course in just under an hour in a series of easily digestible videos.
- Price: To access this course you need to be a LinkedIn Learning member. Prices vary depending on the size of your organization but you can try the platform free for a month.
And a few more…
We love the courses above. But the presentation design courses below also offer great content and lots of incredible design tips.
Presentation Skills: Designing Presentation Slides with Coursera
Already know the PowerPoint or Keynote basics? Then this might be just the presentation design course you’re looking for.
In this course, you’ll learn about the key principles of slide design. You’ll delve into color theory and the importance of typeface. You’ll also learn about data visualization and presenting data in a way that really engages your audience.
- Practical info: This course takes around 307 hours to complete. There are flexible deadlines and you can learn at your own pace. The course is delivered through a mix of videos, text and quizzes, and you’ll get a course certificate upon completion.
- Price: The majority of Coursera courses (including this one) are available on a subscription basis – $399 per year or $59 per month.
PowerPoint: Designing Better Slides with LinkedIn Learning
This LinkedIn Learning course is intended for business professionals and educators with little to no design experience. It helps you to take the guesswork out of slide design, by giving you a tried and tested approach to follow.
Learn why you should try to avoid bullet points. Find out why white space is so important. And learn how to employ hierarchy, repetition and contrast to great effect in your next presentation.
- Practical info: The course is delivered through a series of short videos and end-of-chapter quizzes. Exercise files challenge you to test your presentation knowledge.
- Price: To access this course you need to be a LinkedIn Learning member. Prices vary depending on the size of your organization but you can try the platform free for a month.
Impactful Presentation with Ideo
This course isn’t specifically about visual design. It’s about using all of your presentation skills to truly connect with your audience.
The central message? Information alone doesn’t move people. If you’re trying to drive people to action, you have to appeal to their hearts as well as their heads.
In this course, you’ll learn how to do just that.
You’ll plan the audience journey. You’ll discover how to create a compelling narrative and establish yourself as a trusted guide. Learning about how the human mind works, you’ll also create memorable presentations that stick with your intended audience.
- Practical info: This is a five week online course that requires a four hour per week commitment. There are a number of start dates to choose from. Complete this course, along with other modules, and you’ll get an Ideo certificate.
- Price: $599
So there you have it – seven courses that will take your skills in presentation design and creation to the next level. Whether you’re just getting to grips with PowerPoint or want to create maximum impact with your next presentation, we hope these resources help you achieve those goals.