Is your course library cluttered and disorganized? Does your online store lack a cohesive and professional presentation? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then it might be time for a design refresh, especially if your course library consists of competing styles or designs.

Why Consistent Images Matter for Course Providers

Course providers often pull images from various sources: live training and webinars, Google, iStock, or Unsplash. These sources offer endless options, but do so by sacrificing consistency. A mix of styles, colors, and quality can make your store and course library look messy. Text overlays, grainy stock photos, and conflicting illustrations further complicate matters. If course images don’t match, the brand feels scattered. Customers may hesitate to buy if the site seems unorganized or poorly executed.
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A clean, uniform look builds trust. People link consistency with professionalism. If a store looks polished, customers feel confident buying from you. Thoughtfully designed course images and covers help learners recognize your brand. Proper planning and a general brand guide will make creating a strong visual identity easier across multiple courses, even if different designers create them.

Three Solutions for Creating Consistent Images

Fixing this problem doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. Here are a few ways to make course images look more uniform.

🎨 Hire a Freelancer to create your course covers

A freelancer can create or edit images to match a set style. This option is great if you lack design skills and want high-quality work. And while the cost to hire a professional can be expensive, there's never been a better time to find hungry corporate designers.

Cost:

• Mid-range freelancers charge $30–$100 per image.
• Higher-end designers may charge $200+ per image.
• As in all things, bulk orders and subscription services can reduce your overall cost.

Pros:

Professional results.

Saves time.

Consistent branding.

Cons:

It can get expensive.

Takes time to find a good freelancer.

Revisions may add extra costs and scope creep.

🧑‍💻 Learn Photoshop to make your courses consistent

If you want more control, learning Photoshop can help. You don’t need to be a pro—just knowing how to tweak colors, add overlays, and resize images can make a big difference. Keep in mind there are levels to the game. Designers can spend years learning all the tools and techniques needed to be great. Dont be surprised if you feel a little overwhelmed at first. And while AI tools exist in many photo editors, such as Photoshop, it may be cheaper to go with a purpose built basic AI editor.
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Cost:

• Adobe Photoshop: $20–$30 per month.
• Online courses: $50–$200 (one-time cost).
• Your time investment.

Pros:

Full control over edits.

No need to rely on freelancers.

Cost-effective if you make a lot of images.

Cons:

It takes time to learn.

It can be tedious for large batches.

Requires design sense to do well.

🤖 Use AI Tools to create derivatives from a single image sample

AI tools can generate or edit images to match a set style. You can use them to tweak existing images or create new ones that fit your brand. Some estimates put the number of AI images generated daily at around 35 million! Bear in mind that while AI tools can churn images out quickly, they may not initially create quality course covers. 

Results can come out cartoonish and may not work for your specific use case
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Image credit: Bing Copilot

Image credit: Bing Copilot

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Illegible hieroglyphs may show up in some of your results. Keep in mind AI can stil help by giving you quick inspiration for color and placement. It’s easy to replace some of the unwanted elements to get the desired look you need.
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Image credit: Leonardo.ai

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‍Tools and Techniques:

• ChatGPT + MidJourney/DALL·E: Use prompts to create images in a defined style.
• Canva AI: Auto-enhance and edit images.
• Pixlr AI: A free online photo editor that includes AI features like background removal and image generation. 
• Fotor AI: An AI photo editor offering a range of tools for image enhancement and retouching.
• Remove Image Background: This is free and great for removing image backgrounds.
• Img.Upscaler: This image upscaler will clean up your images giving you a better look. A great first step in cleaning up images before you begin adding colors and treatments.

How to Use AI for Consistent Branding:

• Choose a reference image that fits your brand.
• Use AI to generate new images in the same style.
• Edit existing images to match your reference image.
• Apply the same color adjustments, borders, and overlays.

Cost:

• Freemium options all the way up to $60 per month.

Pros:

Fast and cost-effective.

Easy to generate many images.

No design skills needed.

Cons:

AI images may need manual tweaks.

Some tools have style limitations.

Not always 100% accurate to your vision.

What’s the Best Option?

Like all things, the best choice depends on your budget and time. Hiring a freelancer is your best bet if you can invest money but lack time. If you prefer control and have time to learn, mastering Photoshop is a great option but can take months, even years, to master. And while Photoshop has added AI tools to its platform, you might need to use the main set of tools to get the final look you desire. If you decide to learn Photoshop or use an image editor, consider taking a class to learn the basics. This upfront investment will pay dividends in the future.

‍Additional Acadio Features

At Acadio, we understand how difficult making consistent course covers can be, which is why we offer a few tools that make it easier:

• Image Colorizer: We offer a duotone image colorizer. This allows you to make your course covers consistent even when you are sourcing content with varying styles. Simply click to edit your image and choose your desired colors. Once done, you can apply this treatment to others in your library quickly and efficiently. Below are some examples of how using our duotone feature can unify disparate images.

• Stock Image Library: It is generally better to wait to make final design decisions until after you have all of your course titles and courses ready. As soon as you do, we make it simple to choose from the Unsplash image library. Be sure to pull from consistent images that reflect your brand and design aesthetic.

• Asset Library: Acadio provides a centralized repository for all of your images and content. This ensures easy access to content when you need it without having to scour your pc or the internet to find what you need.

• Course Title Control: Easily display course titles below your course covers. This allows you to draw from a greater variety of images, as contrast is no longer a concern. Typically, images with large swatches of black and white elements render text overlays illegible and pointless, to be frank. By moving your course title off of the cover, you can pull from a greater number of artistic images without giving them much thought. This is especially helpful with busy image backgrounds.

If you are short on time, patience, and budget, consider using one of the available AI tools on the market. Be prepared for a lot of trial and error, though, as each program has its strengths and weaknesses. Hours and days can pass while you are clicking buttons and playing with the assortment of tuning tools and filters. Some offer button and slider-based controls to aid in your design, while others require the use or prompts. Whatever you choose, consistency is key to a polished, professional look that your customers will appreciate. 

Just remember to choose a style that leverages your brand while connecting with the unique elements of the courses you are selling. Most of all, have fun. Marketing and design should be enjoyable. If they're not, hire a designer!