Best Graphic Design Certificates Portland, OR: Find Courses & Onsite Training

Top Portland Graphic Design Courses

Graphic Design Certificate Learn The Skills Guarantee™

Begin your journey as a professional graphic designer by learning the essential skills and tools used by industry experts. Gain hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.

Learn more & register Explore Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design courses
- $2,995
- 84 hours
- Free retake
- Live Online or NYC
- 1:1 Mentoring Included
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Noble Desktop Digital Design Certificate

Become a well-rounded Digital Designer: Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, and Visual (UI) Design. Conquer the essential Adobe applications (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Adobe XD); learn design concepts and theory; and develop several portfolio projects to showcase to employers or clients. This program includes 174 hours of hands-on training and 8 one-one-one mentoring sessions.

Available live online (virtual training) from anywhere
- $4,495
- 138 Hours
- Weekdays or Evenings
- Beginner
- Free Retake
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Noble Desktop UI Design Certificate

In this certificate program, participants will learn the skills needed to become a well rounded digital designer, capable of designing websites, logos, social media graphics, and more. Attendees start by learning industry-standard apps such as Sketch, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Students then learn and implement design fundamentals such as design theory, composition, typography, color, web design standards, and more. Attendees will learn the skills needed to start a career as a visual designer and walk away with projects they can use in a portfolio to show prospective employers or clients. The program includes a free retake and several step-by-step workbooks.

Available live online (virtual training) from anywhere
- $3,995
- 120 Hours
- Evenings
- Beginner
- Free Retake
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Noble Desktop Graphic Design Portfolio Bootcamp

In this 18-hour class, participants will learn about graphic design theory and practices as they work on a variety of design projects and get feedback to maximize design quality. Students will also learn about design theory, composition, typography, color, as well as other design elements. Students will work on multiple design projects including logos, social media graphics, album art, advertisements, and more. Attendees will walk away with projects they can use in a portfolio to show prospective employers or clients. The class includes a free retake and a slide deck with useful info, links, and tips & tricks.

Available live online (virtual training) from anywhere
- $1,295
- 30 Hours
- Weekdays, Evenings, or Weekends
- Intermediate
- Free Retake
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Shillington School Graphic Design Course

This course covers the fundamentals of design theory and popular software for graphic and UX design, including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma.

Available live online (virtual training) from anywhere
- $13,950
- 3 Months
- See provider
- Beginner
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University of Oregon Boot Camps UX/UI Boot Camp

This immersive program teaches the foundational skills of UX/UI in 24 weeks. Students will learn about information architecture, persona creation, and qualitative/quantitative research practices. They will learn how to create visual prototypes and wireframes using Adobe XD, InVision, and Google Slides. Web prototyping with JavaScript, Bootstrap, and other tools will be covered. Graduates will have access to career coaching and planning services.

In-person @ 975 High St, Eugene, OR
- See provider
- 24 Weeks
- See provider
- Beginner
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The Tech Academy UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Full-Time

UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Full-Time program teaches you how to be a full-stack developer with knowledge in design best practices. This course covers several coding languages like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Once you know how to code, it'll transition to UX/UI related lessons such as Photoshop, animation, wireframes, and prototyping. The full-time program will give you 15-weeks of access to its learning platform.

In-person @ 310 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR
- $13,307
- 15 Weeks
- Weekdays
- Intermediate
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The Tech Academy UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Part-Time

UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Part-Time program teaches you how to be a full-stack developer with knowledge in design best practices. This course covers several coding languages like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Once you know how to code, it'll transition to UX/UI related lessons such as Photoshop, animation, wireframes, and prototyping. The full-time program will give you 28-weeks of access to its learning platform.

In-person @ 310 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR
- $19,974
- 28 Weeks
- See provider
- Intermediate
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showing 8 of 8 courses

Dive into a rewarding journey to becoming a proficient Graphic Designer. Learn how to harness visual elements to communicate effectively, create memorable brand identities, and design engaging advertising campaigns.

Key Insights

Graphic design involves manipulating visual images to convey meaning, an essential skill across industries, especially in advertising and product branding.
Graphic Designers create visual content for a company or brand's iconography, advertising campaigns, product packaging, promotional materials, and company-specific images.
Non-professionals, such as entrepreneurs, small business owners, and activists can also benefit from graphic design skills to create distinctive brand identities and attention-grabbing materials.
Certificate programs in graphic design prepare learners to solve problems and tell stories through design, using tools like Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
Through such programs, learners not only gain practical skills but also receive mentorship, job interview prep, and access to networking events.
The course content typically includes basic graphic design concepts, design principles, and usage of core Adobe CC applications.

Learn more below

Graphic Design Topics

When searching for a graphic design course, you want a class that covers graphic design comprehensively, including the industry-standard design applications, graphic design theory, and portfolio development. You can also choose to focus on a specific application within graphic design, including popular apps like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, or related fields like visual design or UX design.

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular photo-editing app, but it's also a popular design app. Allowing you to edit, refine, sharpen, brighten, and retouch photos, Photoshop is popular among photographers as well as graphic designers. Going beyond photo editing, designers use Photoshop to design graphics for social media, websites, presentations, print layouts, animated GIFs, and much more.

Explore Photoshop Classes

InDesign

Adobe InDesign is the industry-standard app for professional print design. Designers use InDesign to create books, magazines, flyers, brochures, business cards, posters, PDFs, and more.

Explore InDesign Classes

Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is used by graphic designers and digital artists to draw vector graphics. It's used to create logos, icons, illustrations, product packaging, fashion designs, and much more. It's often used in combination with InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects, and more.

Explore Illustrator Classes

Visual Design

Graphic designers that focus on digital products (such as websites, apps, and more) are often called visual designers. Visual design is the strategic use of aesthetic elements to communicate a message to a given audience. Visual designers use their expertise in typography, composition, hierarchy, contrast, scale, color, etc. to evaluate visual impact and make attractive and usable designs. Visual designers understand best practices in functionality and aesthetic consistency and apply this knowledge to their designs.

Explore Visual Design Classes

UX Design

Making a product (website, app, etc.) attractive, functional, navigable, and effective requires special skills and knowledge. User experience (UX) design requires both technical and creative skills. Responsible for product research, creating personas, defining the information architecture, developing wireframes, prototyping, and user testing, UX designers work in an environment of continuous improvement. Each testing cycle informs the next round of iterations, ensuring a product's ongoing functionality and effectiveness. Graphic designers, typically called UI (user interface) or visual designers, often work with UX designers and focus on how the product looks. Graphic designers who understand both UX and UI can design both aspects (how it works and how it looks).

Explore UX Design Classes

Portland Graphic Design Courses by School

Here are some of the top Portland schools offering Graphic Design training, including The Tech Academy (2 courses) and University of Oregon Boot Camps (1 course). We’ve also included 2 schools that offer live online courses you can take from anywhere, including Portland.

Noble Desktop

NYC location: 185 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10016 US

Founded in 1990, Noble Desktop offers part-time and full-immersion courses on anything you can think of from design and coding to business. Located in New York City and providing courses both online and in-person, Noble Desktop prides itself on accommodating dynamic courses and bootcamps with hands-on learning, time-tested curriculums, and education from top industry experts.
Noble Desktop’s Top Live Online Graphic Design Courses
- Graphic Design Certificate
  - 84 Hours
  - $2,995
  In this certificate program, participants will learn the skills needed to become a graphic designer. Attendees start by learning industry-standard apps such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. Students then learn and put into practice design fundamentals such as design theory, composition, typography, color, and more. During the program, students will work on multiple design projects including logos, social media graphics, album art, advertisements, and more. Attendees will learn the skills needed to start a career as a graphic designer and walk away with projects they can use in a portfolio to show prospective employers or clients. The program includes a free retake and several step-by-step workbooks.
- Digital Design Certificate
  - 138 Hours
  - $4,495
  Become a well-rounded Digital Designer: Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, and Visual (UI) Design. Conquer the essential Adobe applications (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Adobe XD); learn design concepts and theory; and develop several portfolio projects to showcase to employers or clients. This program includes 174 hours of hands-on training and 8 one-one-one mentoring sessions.
- UI Design Certificate
  - 120 Hours
  - $3,995
  In this certificate program, participants will learn the skills needed to become a well rounded digital designer, capable of designing websites, logos, social media graphics, and more. Attendees start by learning industry-standard apps such as Sketch, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Students then learn and implement design fundamentals such as design theory, composition, typography, color, web design standards, and more. Attendees will learn the skills needed to start a career as a visual designer and walk away with projects they can use in a portfolio to show prospective employers or clients. The program includes a free retake and several step-by-step workbooks.
- Graphic Design Portfolio Bootcamp
  - 30 Hours
  - $1,295
  In this 18-hour class, participants will learn about graphic design theory and practices as they work on a variety of design projects and get feedback to maximize design quality. Students will also learn about design theory, composition, typography, color, as well as other design elements. Students will work on multiple design projects including logos, social media graphics, album art, advertisements, and more. Attendees will walk away with projects they can use in a portfolio to show prospective employers or clients. The class includes a free retake and a slide deck with useful info, links, and tips & tricks.
Shillington School
Locations:
- London
- NYC
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
- Manchester
- Live Online
+ 2 more
A graphic design institute with locations around the world, Shillington School provides project-based training geared toward portfolio creation.
Shillington School’s Top Live Online Graphic Design Courses
- Graphic Design Course
  - 3 Months
  - $13,950
  This course covers the fundamentals of design theory and popular software for graphic and UX design, including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma.
University of Oregon Boot Camps

Portland location: 975 High St, Eugene, OR, 97401 US

University of Oregon offers 24-week part-time courses in web development, data analytics, cybersecurity, and UX/UI courses in Portland, Oregon. The bootcamps are offered through the University of Oregon Continuing and Professional Education in partnership with Trilogy Education Services.
University of Oregon’s Top Portland Graphic Design Courses
- UX/UI Boot Camp
  - 24 Weeks
  - See provider
  This immersive program teaches the foundational skills of UX/UI in 24 weeks. Students will learn about information architecture, persona creation, and qualitative/quantitative research practices. They will learn how to create visual prototypes and wireframes using Adobe XD, InVision, and Google Slides. Web prototyping with JavaScript, Bootstrap, and other tools will be covered. Graduates will have access to career coaching and planning services.
The Tech Academy

Portland location: 310 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR, 97204 US

The Tech Academy provides full and part-time bootcamps that can be learned online from anywhere in the world. They offer six bootcamp tracks including software development, data science, designer, C# and .NET, Python, and web development. The Tech Academy has no specific start dates which enable students to enroll anytime and on their own schedules.
The Tech Academy’s Top Portland Graphic Design Courses
- UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Full-Time
  - 15 Weeks
  - $13,307
  UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Full-Time program teaches you how to be a full-stack developer with knowledge in design best practices. This course covers several coding languages like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Once you know how to code, it'll transition to UX/UI related lessons such as Photoshop, animation, wireframes, and prototyping. The full-time program will give you 15-weeks of access to its learning platform.
- UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Part-Time
  - 28 Weeks
  - $19,974
  UI/UX Designer Bootcamp Part-Time program teaches you how to be a full-stack developer with knowledge in design best practices. This course covers several coding languages like HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Once you know how to code, it'll transition to UX/UI related lessons such as Photoshop, animation, wireframes, and prototyping. The full-time program will give you 28-weeks of access to its learning platform.

showing 4 of 4 schools

Portland Graphic Design
Corporate & Onsite Training

Upskill or reskill your workforce with our industry-leading corporate and onsite Graphic Design training programs. Conduct the training onsite at your location or live online from anywhere. You can also purchase vouchers for our public enrollment Graphic Design courses.

corporate@nobledesktop.com (212) 226-4149

Graphic Design Training Locations in or Near Portland

Find an in-person class in Portland. We found 2 schools offering face-to-face training.

Learn Graphic Design for a New Career

Graphic Design is the foundation of any career that works with visual art and text. It’s a way to express ideas in a way that’s visually pleasing. Graphic design is versatile and it’s utilized by everyone from multinational retailers to small indie films. It’s the core of every advertisement, product’s aesthetic, and brand’s identity which means that there is always a demand for Graphic Designers. Learning graphic design concepts sets you up for a digital creative career in a variety of industries.

Graphic Design is one of the core skills needed to secure one of these positions. See the career pages for more information on required skills, tips for landing a job, typical day-to-day work, and where to find job postings.

Graphic Designer

Salary in Portland

$84,000 / year
37.45% more than the U.S. average

Graphic designers work with both digital and physical media to create art that communicates and inspires. Using graphics, text, colors, and animations, graphics designers develop media assets for branding, advertising, and messaging. Graphics designers can work for agencies or themselves. They create a wide variety of design elements, such as brochures, infographics, marketing material layouts, and design elements for print, video, or web use.
Learn about becoming a Graphic Designer
Designer

Salary in Portland

$76,000 / year
Same as the U.S. average

Designers work in a wide variety of industries and specialize in just as many mediums. Most designers create digital assets, but some designers work with hand-drawn sketches and illustrations. They start with an understanding of the best design principles and functional aesthetics. Common fields for designers include web, apps, print, fashion, animation, advertising, and UX design.
Learn about becoming a Designer
UI Designer

Salary in Portland

$90,000 / year
7.97% less than the U.S. average

User interface (UI) designers are responsible for how an application or web page looks and feels. Using colors, fonts, patterns, textures, icons, and buttons, user interface designers work with user experience designers to improve websites. Some user interface designers may also touch on user experience design (UX) issues and use prototyping and user testing to analyze the effectiveness of messaging and ease of use.
Learn about becoming a UI Designer
Visual Designer

Salary in Portland

$59,000 / year
28.88% less than the U.S. average

Visual designers focus on what users see on their screens—banners, menus, graphics, navigation, and more. They use their knowledge of best practices to design digital elements such as page designs, banner ads, icons, and overlays. Working for platforms such as websites, apps, movies, games, and wearables, visual designers strive to provide beautiful user interface. Visual designers often work with software such as Sketch, Adobe XD, Figma, Photoshop, and more.
Learn about becoming a Visual Designer
Digital Designer

Salary in Portland

$91,000 / year
9.6% less than the U.S. average

Digital Designers make graphics, animations, and other visual effects. Depending on their preference, a Digital Designer might choose to niche down to work exclusively on pre-print, web, or digital marketing. These niches that the Digital Designer is designing websites, applications, advertisements, or publications.
Learn about becoming a Digital Designer
Design Director

Salary in Portland

$145,000 / year
Same as the U.S. average

A Design Director leads a team of creative professionals who curate the look and feel of a product or project through the production of visual strategies. They work on projects like magazines, movies, advertisements, video games, or websites. Design Directors can work in industries such as interior design, retail, marketing, architecture, and entertainment.
Learn about becoming a Design Director

showing 6 of 6 career paths

Indeed.com salary data from December 2024

Learn more about how learning Graphic Design can help with your career options

Learn More About Portland Graphic Design Certificates

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is the practice of working with visual images to convey meaning or persuade audience members. We encounter graphic design everywhere we look. It’s used on billboards, the products we purchase at the grocery store, and mobile applications. A background in graphics design is a skill set that helps professionals and non-professionals with a range of creative tasks and ways to build on their existing artistic abilities. Training in graphic design teaches students how to combine visual elements like images, text, and photographs with the goal of communicating ideas and feelings that wouldn’t be possible to impart simply by using language. This is why graphic design skills are in demand across industries, especially those in which advertising or product branding plays an important role. Any organization interested in reaching an audience will need a Graphic Designer to help present information in an aesthetically pleasing, memorable way.

Graphic Designers are creative individuals who design imagery that isn’t only evocative but can impart key information to viewers and communicate complicated ideas to audience members or clients. These professionals are hired to perform tasks like creating a company or brand’s iconography, devising advertising campaigns, making product packaging or promotional materials, and generating images associated with a specific company. In addition to helping professional designers create images, graphic design skills are an asset to anyone who wants to persuade large audiences. Professionals like start-up entrepreneurs, small business owners, or those selling goods in marketplaces such as Etsy rely on graphic design to establish and maintain a brand identity capable of distinguishing them from the competition. Graphic design skills are also an asset for individuals who work as organizers, politicians, or activists and wish to create attention-grabbing infographics, flyers, or campaign materials. Anyone seeking to visually communicate information to an audience will find training in graphic design an essential tool.

Why Become Certified in Graphic Design?

If you live in the Portland area and are interested in learning the tools and skills needed to create graphic design, enrolling in a certificate program is a great first step. Those who have training in creating engaging design content for print or digital outlets are currently in demand in industries and organizations of all types. The innovative work Graphic Designers create can be shared with large audiences and seen by many people. Graphic design skills can prepare creative individuals to pursue a career in mobile graphic design, broadcast design, or web design. Graphic design certificates provide learners at all levels, including those who are new to this field, with a supportive small-class learning environment in which to study. Students learn alongside other creative-minded individuals as they complete real-world projects using tools like Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. They explore how design can be used to solve problems, as well as how design tools like typography and color can assist in telling a larger story of an organization or business. Instruction is provided in certificate programs on how to communicate messages using graphics, page layouts, photos, logos, and images in a manner that is able to connect with audience members and convey important brand information in a visually consistent, memorable way. The designs created during the certificate study can be shared across various channels and used to attract new customers, retain existing customers, or interact with clients.

In order to be a successful Graphic Designer, you must do more than present a photograph or chunk of text to an audience; instead, you must strive to forge an emotional bond with them using carefully designed creative layouts. Studying graphic design provides learners with the training and tools required to help an organization or company be more visible in the marketplace, which can result in increased profits and a larger customer base. In certificate programs, participants have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves for several weeks or months in graphic design theory and Adobe CC applications. Those enrolled often have the chance to collaborate with other creative individuals as they work on projects that can be included in their professional portfolios and eventually shared with potential clients or employers. Additionally, certificates often include additional incentives that extend beyond the classroom setting, such as one-on-one mentoring sessions, resume critiques, job interview prep, LinkedIn profile feedback, or access to networking events.

What You’ll Learn While Becoming Graphic Design Certified

While the content of graphic design certificate programs in Portland varies depending on the course length, its focus, and the educational provider, most programs teach students to work with a range of core applications, tools, and skills common to this field. Certificate coursework generally begins with an overview of basic graphic design concepts that can serve as a foundation on which to create graphic designs. Most certificates also teach students the core Adobe CC applications, such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, which can be used for photo retouching, document layout, and creating vector graphics. In the following sections, each of these core skills and tools will be briefly explored, as well as the role they play in the field of graphic design, so you can be prepared for what you will encounter when you enroll in a certificate program.

Graphic Design Fundamentals

One of the core staples of graphic design certificate study is learning fundamental design principles and elements that are applicable to all types of graphic design. This is why most programs in Portland provide learners with an overview of the concepts and terminology needed to create impactful visual content. Certificate coursework introduces students to concepts like color, shapes, form, negative space, lines, size, and typography. These concepts provide essential building blocks on which Graphic Designers can build other skills. Knowledge of design basics is essential when working with Adobe CC programs like Illustrator and InDesign because it helps students direct their design efforts toward creating final products that optimize white space, enhance audience focus, and ensure the most essential information is being presented in a manner that will resonate with the audience. Certificate programs also provide a platform in which students explore design principles like movement, balance, contrast, proportion, and rhythm. These intensive courses also typically cover design theory basics as well so students will have a holistic idea of where their graphic design skills fit into the larger field of design.