5 Best Coursera Interior Design Courses To Try Now

Interior design has become a popular endeavor in recent years. For many people, interior design is a career.

Whether it’s planning interiors when building homes or redecorating for clients, there are many ways to make interior design into a lucrative business.

However, the interior design profession is more than just a potential business opportunity. Anyone can design and decorate their own interior if they want to!

If you’re looking to redecorate your home and want to design everything yourself, you may be unsure of where to start.

Regardless of whether interior design is a career or a hobby, there is plenty to learn about the subject. This is where interior design courses, such as those offered by Coursera, can be of help.

There are many different aspects to interior design so the best course for you will depend on what aspect of interior design you are most interested in.

The best Coursera interior design courses we’ve picked from Coursera cover all aspects of this discipline.

We have free online courses about architecture, color theory, contemporary art, furniture design, and how to create an interior project mood board.

Let’s get started!

1. Making Architecture

• Offered By: IE Business School
• Approximate Duration: 14 hours
• Level: Beginner

Our first interior design course might be better suited for those who are looking to make a career from this online interior design class than those who are approaching it as a hobby.

Architecture is at the root of all types of home building, improvement, and design, and by understanding how buildings are put together, you can better understand how to design their interiors.

This course will not only teach you about interior architecture but also external as well.

The course is split into four main topics.

• The Mind of an Architect – this module introduces what an architect does, how to work in a team, and how to apply creative interior design skills to architecture. 
• Design Analysis – you will learn interior design online and how architecture relates to the environment around it. This will help you understand how an object fits into the context around it.
• Creating Spaces – this looks at the technical aspect of architecture. For example, balance, space, the use of the environment, and composition
• Design Process – how to create your interior designs by creating your own design stories. Learn how to use photography and social media to show your finished designs.

There are several assignments to complete during this course. Once it’s completed, you will receive a certificate that you can use in your resume or LinkedIn profile.

This course is completely available for online learning and you can go through the course at your own pace.

It is a great introduction to architecture for a beginner, so if you’re looking to study architecture formally and want to learn more about the subject first, this course is a great choice.

The Language Of Design: Form And Meaning

• Offered By: California Institute of Arts
• Approximate Duration: 8 hours
• Level: Beginner

This course is all about graphic design.

It is aimed at people interested in graphic design in a more professional sense, so if you’re only interested in interior design as a hobby or for your own home, you would be better off choosing a different course.

If you’re looking to make interior design a career and want a firmer grounding in graphic design then this course is a great choice.

It’s more theoretical than practical but will give you an education in the rules and concepts behind all types of design.

The course is split into four main topics.

• Audience/Context/Culture – this module introduces much of the most common vocabulary used in graphic design. It relates graphic design to cultural concepts and introduces how to critique and analyze work without personal bias or opinions.
• Basics of Form – this module focuses on concepts such as contrast, composition, and hierarchy. It also continues to develop analytical and critiquing skills.
• Meaning and Concept – The interior design student will learn cultural literacy and how to research in relation to design. This will in turn help you develop and realize design concepts.
• Synthesis: Critique and Effective Design – this module brings together everything that has been learned in the previous three so that students can critically access a piece of graphic design.

As you can see from the modules and the descriptions, this course aims to give you the language and skills you need to see the graphic design from a theoretical perspective.

You will be asked to critique a piece of graphic design work and through this, you will get a better perspective of what designs work and which don’t.

This is useful for anyone looking to start an interior design business and create unique designs.

Graphic Design: Make Interior Project Mood Boards In GIMP

• Offered By: Coursera Project Network
• Approximate Duration: 1 hour
• Level: Intermediate

This may be a quick and simple course, but it can still teach you some valuable skills that will help with your interior design aspirations.

Mood boards are a great way to visualize your ideas to a third party and if you’re designing interiors for somebody else, this is invaluable.

GIMP is a very popular image editor that is used by many artists and designers and you will learn how to use it in an interior design capacity.

You will learn the following skills from this course:

• How to set up a file in GIMP
• How to set up a layout
• How to arrange your contents
• How to create a mask
• How to finalize your completed layout
• How to preview and export your layout

As this is a guided project, you will be able to work through a project while a video plays that instruct you on what to do. You will have an instructor talking you through every step of the process.

The project includes all of the files you need to complete the project and this is one of the easiest and best ways to learn how to create interior design mood boards in GIMP in a structured and supported way.

Modern And Contemporary Art And Design Specialization

• Offered By: The Museum of Modern Art
• Approximate Duration: 7 months at 3 hours per week
• Level: Beginner

This is a Coursera Specialization, so it is a little different from the other courses we’ve suggested so far.

Specializations cover several different courses that complement each other and work together to build up a learner’s understanding of a particular subject.

You can choose to only do a specific course and ignore the rest if you wish, but you will get a more complete understanding by working through the courses one by one.

Each course in the Specialization has a hands-on project. To receive your completion certificate at the end of the course, you need to complete and submit these projects.

This Specialization was created by MoMA and is a study of art. You will view numerous pieces of artwork and be able to hear from the artists and designers involved in making them.

This will give you a unique perspective on modern art and how it can be used in your interior designs.

Artworks can really elevate any professional interior designer and this course will help you choose the best ones, even if you’re a complete beginner in assessing modern art.

There are four courses in this Specialization. You can study as many, or as few, of them as you wish. For a complete understanding of modern art, it is best to study them all if you can.

• Modern Art & Ideas – this course looks at modern art through a variety of lenses. It considers different themes, how art takes cues from the environment, and how it can relate to wider societal issues.
• Seeing Through Photographs – learn how photography has been used throughout its history to record and tell stories. You will understand the different approaches and ideas behind photography and its importance
• What is Contemporary Art? – this course focuses on the art of the last few decades. It includes many interviews with current artists about their processes and inspirations.
• Fashion as Design – This course focuses on clothing and how it can be both functional and example of self-expression. You will learn how different clothing is made and the messages each item can contain.

If you’re looking to incorporate modern art into your interior designs, this Specialization is essential.

It will give you the background you need to pick interesting and vibrant pieces of modern artwork and will give you the confidence to speak with clients about your choices. 

If you’re only interested in interior design as a hobby and for your own home, this Specialization is less essential but it is still a very interesting topic!

You may want to skip the final course regarding fashion.

Product Design: Draw A Classic Armchair Using SketchUp

• Offered By: Coursera Project Network
• Approximate Duration: 2 hours
• Level: Intermediate

This is one of a series of similar projects that teach you how to draw and design your own furniture in SketchUp.

If you’re looking to create your own furniture or just want a better grounding in its form and shape, we highly recommend these projects.

The project we’ve chosen for this list centers on drawing a classic armchair. The project will teach you how to do the following:

• Research armchair dimensions
• How to draw and design front legs
• How to draw and design the handle, seat, and back legs
• How to draw and design the back, cochin, and pillow
• How to render the chair

This is a guided project, so your screen will be split between a workspace and a video.

In the workspace, you will be able to design your classic armchair in SketchUp while an instructional video plays on the side of your screen.

This will allow you to work on your design while also following the directions of your instructor. You will receive all the files and interior design software you need to complete the project when you enroll.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we listed several different and popular interior design courses that can be found on Coursera.

We covered a variety of theoretical and practical courses, some of which are best suited for interior design professionals and others that are best for the hobbyist.

Whether you’re looking to learn about architecture, graphic design, product design, or color theory, there is a course to help you with your interior design.

We hope you enjoy our recommendations and find something that will suit you and aid your interior design aspirations!