Today more and more students take online courses because they offer flexibility and convenience the traditional classroom does not. The development of online courses first began in haste, but educators have since regrouped from the initial absence of strategic planning. However, the visual design of online courses continues to be ignored in online courses seeing that most online course developers do not have a background in design. This study establishes the importance of using principles of good design in online courses while at the same time creates a design guide for online course developers. The research conducted in visual design is applied to designing a new prototype for an online course. Surveys were used to gain knowledge about the visual design of online courses, and to make a comparison between the original course and the prototype in the following design areas: typography, color, image, and visual organization/layout. The results indicate that the principals of good design do improve the learning environment for students. Creating a well-designed course is important because it will eliminate confusion and frustration, and instead provide a more efficient, effective, visually engaging site that will hold learner's attention more successfully.