10 Best Book Cover Design Courses and Certifications Online

In recent years, the demand for visually appealing book covers has increased significantly. As a result, individuals and businesses alike are seeking to develop their skills in book cover design. Online courses are becoming an increasingly popular option for those seeking accessibility and flexibility in their learning. With so many options available, finding the best book cover design course can be challenging. To assist in this process, we have compiled a list of highly recommended online courses for individuals interested in improving their book cover design skills.

Here’s a look at the Best Book Cover Design Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

10 Best Book Cover Design Courses and Certifications Online

1. Book Cover Designing Photoshop for Beginners by Harsh Vardhan Art (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

This course, titled “Book Cover Designing Photoshop for Beginners,” is designed to teach individuals how to create professional book cover designs in Photoshop, as well as how to make money from their design skills. The course covers the basics of graphic design in Photoshop, such as navigating the interface, creating shapes, and using color schemes. Students will learn how to create 2D and 3D book cover designs, as well as how to create mock-ups to present their designs professionally. The course also includes information on how to make money as a freelancer using book cover design skills. Upon completion of the course, students will have gained key skills for graphic design work in Photoshop. Additionally, the course comes with access to premium resource PSD and JPEG files, expert support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The course is split into sections such as introduction and overview, basics of Photoshop and design, project-based learning, updates, and a bonus section.

2. Canva for Beginners – Create a Book Cover Graphic Design by Jeremy Deighan – 250,000+ Students, Concept Courses  (Udemy)

The course titled “Canva for Beginners – Create a Book Cover Graphic Design Course” is being instructed by Jeremy Deighan, who has over 250,000 students, and Concept Courses. The short description of this course is to learn Canva and graphic design to create stunning book covers and ebooks with Canva today.

The long description of this course offers solutions to individuals who are having trouble getting that perfect book cover design for their ebook or Kindle book. It is common for some individuals to pay for a book cover design, only to find out it is low grade quality or not what they were looking for. This course aims to save individuals time and money by teaching them how to create book cover designs themselves.

The course will cover the fundamentals of creating stunning book cover designs, including researching popular book cover designs, understanding the principles of using copyrighted images, and designing your own book cover. Canva, which is a free and easy-to-use software, will be used as the primary tool for designing book covers. Canva offers pre-made book cover templates, as well as free images and graphics.

The course will be divided into four sections, which include: Welcome to Canva for Beginners – Create a Book Cover Graphic Design, Let’s Look at the Basics of Book Covers, Create an Amazing Book Cover from Start to Finish with Canva, and Conclusion to this Canva: Book Cover Design Course.

3. Book Covers: Free PowerPoint Book Covers for Self-publishing by Brian Jackson (Udemy)

The “Book Covers: Free PowerPoint Book Covers for Self-publishing” course, instructed by Brian Jackson, teaches individuals how to create book covers for self-publishing using Microsoft PowerPoint 2013/2016. The course is designed for self-published authors or anyone interested in learning how to create book covers for little or no cost. The course covers topics such as setting the proper orientation and dimensions for a book cover, applying a background image, inserting and manipulating text, using colored boxes to make text stand out, and inserting pictures. The course includes a 30 day money back guarantee and is broken down into six sections: Introduction, How to Create Book Covers with Microsoft PowerPoint 2013, Advanced PowerPoint Image and Text Editing (2017 Extension), PowerPoint Book Cover Challenge, Conclusion, and Create a Book Cover with Me: Microsoft PowerPoint & Pixabay.

4. Create Professional Book Covers That Sell – For Free by Ian Stables (Udemy)

The “Create Professional Book Covers That Sell – For Free” course is taught by Ian Stables, an author of over fifty Kindle books. The course aims to teach students how to create book covers that stand out and generate more sales. Stables introduces students to key cover elements that attract buyers and shows them how to use a free online resource to create their book covers. The course covers design tools and explains how to create special design effects that make books more eye-catching. Students will also learn how to create covers with the “DIFFERENCE” element, a technique that sets them apart from other books. The course includes an introduction, sections on what makes a cover sell, design tools, special effects, and cover demonstrations. The first five lectures are available for free, and the course has over 2,200 students enrolled.

5. Social Media Images & eBook Cover Design Made Easy by Nathalie Chantal de Ahna (Udemy)

The Social Media Images & eBook Cover Design Made Easy course is instructed by Nathalie Chantal de Ahna. The course aims to teach individuals how to quickly create professional social media images and eBook covers with fun and free tools. The course description highlights the need for visually compelling designs that can drive traffic and sales. Unlike traditional options like Photoshop, the course emphasizes the use of non-techy and free tools for design. The course is intended for busy bloggers, coaches, and small DIY business owners who want to build a unique brand and business.

The course description notes the frustration that non-graphic designers encounter when their social media pages and offers do not look visually appealing. Additionally, it acknowledges the financial constraints that individuals face when they cannot afford expensive professional help. The course promises to provide professional results quickly and is designed to offer actionable advice without any unnecessary frills. The course is divided into four sections, including About Me and You, PicMonkey Snapshot, PDF & eBook Creation, and Canva Snapshot.

The course is taught by Nathalie, a serial online entrepreneur who has a mission to help individuals build a unique brand and business with actionable tutorials and fun & free tools. Nathalie acknowledges that she is a non-graphic designer who hates Photoshop but loves beautiful images. The course offers a bonus sneak peek into DIY PDF and eBook design. The course description invites individuals to enroll and build their business together.

6. The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Book Cover Design by Anita Nipane (Udemy)

The “Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Book Cover Design Course” is a comprehensive course taught by Anita Nipane that teaches students how to create professional-looking book covers using PowerPoint. The short description of the course states that students will learn to design free book covers, create mockups, and learn PowerPoint picture and text effects. The long description explains that PowerPoint is a versatile tool that allows for creativity in creating visuals of different sizes and formats, and that students will learn to use PowerPoint to create book covers that sell. The course also covers important design principles such as color, font, and graphical design to effectively communicate the genre of a book. Additionally, students will learn practical techniques for creating original book covers in PowerPoint 2016 or 2013.

The course’s additional benefit is its focus on teaching principles and techniques that can be applied to creating visuals for other purposes, such as social media and web. The course comes with a 100% risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

The course is broken down into several sections, including an introduction, basics of graphic design theory, principles of pairing fonts, using high-quality images, design tips for fiction and non-fiction book covers, PowerPoint picture and font effects and customization, creating 3D mockups, and technical issues solved. The course concludes with a final section that ties all these elements together. Students who enroll in this course will be able to create professional-looking book covers, and they will have the tools and knowledge to apply these principles to other visual materials.

7. eBook and Paperback Book Cover Design Using Canva and Gimp by Karen Prince (Udemy)

The “eBook and Paperback Book Cover Design Using Canva and Gimp” course, instructed by Karen Prince, aims to equip individuals who are interested in self-publishing with the skills to create professional-looking book covers. With the help of drag-and-drop image building apps such as Canva and the free image manipulation software Gimp, designing book covers has become easier than ever before. The course will cover the technical aspects of book cover design and provide participants with the necessary software and knowledge to create great covers for their books.

The course consists of several sections, including finding inspiration, images, and colors; avoiding copyright infringement; technical terms and specifications for book cover images; designing in Canva and Gimp; reducing catalogue covers to a suitable size for embedding within eBooks; creating 3D mockups of book covers for marketing purposes; and a conclusion.

The course will focus on teaching participants how to use Canva and Gimp to create book covers that are ready to upload to major retailers and distributors. Additionally, participants will learn how to create marketing materials such as social media banners and posts using the same software.

The course acknowledges that designing book covers can be technical, but it is a skill that can be learned. With the aid of the right software and knowledge, participants will be able to create professional-looking book covers for their self-published works.

8. Book Design With MS Word And Canva by Nathalie Chantal de Ahna (Udemy)

The course “Book Design With MS Word And Canva” teaches non-techy entrepreneurs how to create visually compelling covers, PDFs and eBooks using everyday tools such as Canva, PicMonkey and MS Word. The course is designed to help individuals leave a compelling visual impression and create a unique and sales-driving signature book design. The course comes with downloadable cheat sheets that provide detailed written instructions and serve as “Steal This!” design examples. The course is divided into sections covering topics such as creating covers, using MS Word as a design tool, and turning a document into a PDF. Bonus sections cover how to customize cartoon mascots in Adobe Illustrator and additional resources for individuals who want to further develop their design skills.

9. Adobe InDesign: Professional Book Design for Beginners by Tim Pond (Udemy)

The Adobe InDesign: Professional Book Design for Beginners course is designed to teach practical and essential Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop software skills to create professional graphics, designs, and typography with a focus on professional book and magazine covers and page layouts. The course is suitable for anyone interested in using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop essentials to start designing creative and professional graphics and designs for all types of publications. The course also teaches the skills needed to digitize personal or original artwork from start to finish.

Throughout the course, students will learn a complete step-by-step process to create stunning graphic design work and Professional Book and Magazine Cover Designs and Page Layouts. The course covers topics such as scanning and preparing images, organizing a book or magazine, typography, body text, and design fonts. Students will also learn about page masters, page furniture, pagination, and flow. Finally, the course covers how to create the 2D book cover design with front, back, and spine, as well as the 2D book cover mockup to present book cover designs professionally.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to design any kind of publication, book or magazine cover, and format the book or magazine layout using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. The course also includes knowledge checks, practical examples and assignments, full support through Udemy’s online learning community, and a full suite of resources.

The course is taught by Tim Pond, an experienced educator and author and illustrator of “The Field Guide to Drawing and Sketching Animals,” which has been published in six languages. Tim takes students through the online course at a gentle pace, perfect for beginners.

10. How to Design a STAND-OUT Book Cover for Amazon KDP in Canva by Romney Nelson (Udemy)

The “How to Design a STAND-OUT Book Cover for Amazon KDP in Canva” course is designed to teach individuals how to create professional-looking book covers for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) without having to spend large amounts of money on graphic designers or freelancers. Canva is used as the main tool for cover creation in this course, and it is accessible to anyone regardless of previous design experience or budget.

The course instructor, Romney Nelson, has designed and created over 350 books, including multiple best-sellers across the US, UK, and Canada. She will teach the critical design elements necessary to make a book cover stand out and increase the opportunity for more book sales. The course is tailored to individuals with little or no design experience and offers a fun and rewarding experience creating their own paperback, hardback, and eBook covers.

The course includes all essential steps from core design principles, book formatting for paperbacks, hardbacks, and eBooks, front and back cover design, file format for upload to self-publishing platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, and Lulu. In addition, the course teaches practical know-how and advanced techniques to create original book cover designs in Canva with little or no budget.

The principles and techniques learned in this course can also be applied to future marketing and design strategies, such as social media campaigns, to increase book sales and brand awareness. The course content consists of an introduction, critical elements of cover design, cover dimensions, book design, final proof, project “DESIGN,” and thank you. Individuals can enroll in this course to showcase their amazing book cover designs to the world.