Graphic design is an art. It can help to beautify a webpage. High-quality graphics are great for embellishing the overall look of a website too. Good vector graphics software can make it easier to create stunning graphics and allow users more control when editing images. If you want to user the best vector illustrations on the web, you need an expert vector graphic design program.
In this review, youshould find the best graphics software for Windows.
IrfanView
Because you’re handling multiple graphical assets with different formats such as .svg, .png, .jpg, and more, you need a reliable graphic viewer that’s fast and supports multiple formats. The software that fits that criteria would be IrfanView, which is free and extremely lightweight at only 5MB in size.
In addition to that, IrfanView can open more than 150 different file formats (with the aid of plugins), which is important as the assets your are working with might have been obtained from different sources such as a digital camera or asset libraries. Unfortunately, IrfanView is only available on the Windows operating system which is a bummer for those who use Mac or a Linux machine.
Canva
Canva is a popular graphic design tool because it has many free templates to download and import into your preferred graphic editing software. In addition to that, Canva also has many templates that’s designed for a specific social media platform, such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and more.
Alternatively, Canva also comes with a graphic editor that’s quite straightforward and easy to use. Not only that, but it also comes with a bunch of animated templates that you can use to create short videos for your social media as well.
GIMP
Lastly, we have GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a free raster image editing software that’s as powerful as Adobe Photoshop. It lets you edit using layers which lets you stack different elements on top of each other to create a specific look.
It lets you import and export more than 13 different file formats. Also, just like Inkscape, GIMP has a relatively large community that has developed more than 100 plugins to add additional functionality to the program.
While GIMP is mainly a raster graphics program that makes it great for creating images with complex shading such as art posters, it’s also capable of creating and manipulating vector images. However, its vector-manipulation features are not as robust as a dedicated vector graphic editor such as Inkscape.
WeTransfer
When working with a client or another graphic designer, you might need to send the finished graphic and the assets over the internet. With that in mind, you could use WeTransfer, a cloud-based file-sharing website that lets you send files up to 2GB in size to another person for free.
Once uploaded to WeTransfer’s website, the files will remain on the cloud for up to 7 days before getting deleted to make room for other file transfers. If you subscribe for WeTransfer Pro at the price of ~RM50 a month, you’ll be able to transfer files up to 200GB, and you’ll be able to determine the duration before your files get deleted.
Vectornator
Video Courtesy of Vectornator on Youtube
Vectornator is an all-in-one graphic design tool for Apple devices. Created out of the need for a software tool that simplified the graphic design process, Vectornator presents a solution based on eliminating as many limitations to your creativity as possible.
Vectornator was built to bring speed, simplicity, and effortlessness to the design process so that your creativity can flow uninhibited. With a highly intuitive and easy-to-use interface, Vectornator is the perfect app for anyone to learn design and makes for a deeply satisfying user experience. Vectornator is used and trusted by leading brands, including Apple and Disney.
Best Features:
- Innovative auto-trace technology that instantly transforms designs into vectors.
- Easily move documents between tools without worrying about compatibility
- Cross-platform functionality that syncs projects across devices- MacBook, iPad, and iPhone
- Access to over 1 million royalty-free images from Unsplash
- Access to over 80 000 icons
- Advanced collaboration tools within the app
Pro: You can transform any design into vectors with the click of a button
Con: it’s only available on Apple devices
Pricing: Free!
Experience level: Perfect for professionals and beginners just starting out.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, macOS, and a range of styluses
Adobe Illustrator
Video Courtesy of Dansky on YouTube
As a leading, industry-standard vector graphics tool, Adobe illustrator is always evolving to remain at the cutting edge of graphic design software. Illustrator is a vector graphics tool used by millions of professional designers and forms part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. Illustrator is packed with tons of powerful features that give you the freedom to be ultra-creative, with precision.
In addition to being able to design absolutely anything on Adobe illustrator from logos to book illustrations, billboards to freehand drawing, and more, you also have the freedom to design from anywhere with features like cloud sync which allow you to save and access documents from your desktop or iPad, making mobile design that much easier.
Best Features:
- Cloud document saving and advanced export controls
- Advanced recoloring that allows you to shuffle color palettes with ease
- Snap to glyph feature is super convenient
- Extremely precise pen tool
- High performance and stability
- Access to all adobe stock assets
Pro: (Aside from the tons of amazing features)- You can scale artwork limitlessly without compromising quality.
Con: The ultimate con of Adobe products- it’s expensive + different keyboard commands to other Adobe programs.
Pricing:
- $24.14/mo. for the single app
- $34.49 for Creative Cloud all app access
- 7-day free trial
Experience level: Professional, with a steep learning curve for beginners.
Compatibility: macOS, Windows, iPad
Affinity Designer
Video Courtesy of Affinity on YouTube
Affinity Creative suite, or “Affinity Trinity” is a worthy alternative to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. This is high-quality industry-standard software. The best thing about Affinity is that it comes at a fraction of the price of Adobe, plus they offer awesome sales, having cut to 50% off since 2020 to accommodate the world recession.
Affinity Designer is a vector graphics software that comes with all the features you need to create fantastic designs. Many graphic designers are open to software that’s more affordable than Adobe’s creative suite and are finding that Affinity Designer is in fact a great alternative. While there aren’t quite as many features compared to Illustrator, Affinity designer is streamlined in its approach by providing exactly what’s needed in order to optimize pricing without limiting creativity.
Best Features:
- The Zooming: easily zoom beyond 1,000,000%; pan and zoom at 60fps and obtain perfect accuracy
- Rich history features including undo/redo over 8000 history steps
- Highly customizable, supporting a simple workflow
- Compatible with Apple hardware
- Switch between vector and pixel mode
Pro: It is really well priced for the standard of quality + once-off purchase with free updates
Con: There are no smartphone apps for this.
Pricing:
- $24.99 one-time payment, currently 50% off from $49.99
- 90-day free trial
Experience level: Professional, however, it is possible for beginnings to self-teach with the right learning materials.
Compatibility: macOS, Windows, and iPad
Gravit Designer
Video Courtesy of Gravit Designer on YouTube
This vector design app offers powerful tools for designing with precision. Create anything from logos to expressive illustrations, animations, and more.
A streamlined interface and smooth learning curve make Gravit Designer an easy and enjoyable tool to use for beginners, professionals, and anyone in between.
The free version of Gravit Designer offers all the tools you need to design awesome graphics, but there is also the paid Gravit Designer Pro that offers advanced features, unlimited cloud storage and work offline capability.
Best Features:
- Tooltips help you find out instantly what each tool and command does while teaching shortcuts
- Option to choose from a wide variety of popular preset canvas sizes
- built-in Google fonts library with access to tons of free fonts
- light and dark user interface options
- Touch interface compatible with a range of styluses.
Pro: It’s ultra-accessible, having compatibility across devices and systems with the option to work on the web as well + compatible with over 100 file formats
Con: Many limitations with the free version
Pricing:
- Free option
- Pro option: $39
- 30-day free trial for pro
Experience level: Perfect for beginners through to professional.
Compatibility: Web-based tool accessed via the browser; no mobile app available.
CorelDraw Graphics Suite
Video Courtesy of CorelDraw on YouTube
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is a complete suite of graphic design applications. From vector design to photo editing, editorial design, and more, CorelDRAW offers a wide range of tools to satisfy all graphic design needs whether that’s creating apparel or business cards and everything in between.
CorelDraw has awesome collaboration tools that make working on a design with friends and colleagues, in real-time, super easy and enjoyable. This multipurpose creative software maximizes productivity by bringing you tools that deliver results in less time.
Best Features:
- “Next-generation” collaboration that includes live comments, a central hub for storing and sharing files, and live comments for real-time collaborating
- Touch-optimized user interface compatible with a variety of styluses
- LiveSketch powered by AI technology which converts sketching into vector curves
- Learning materials and sample projects that support ease of use
- Pointilizer effect- Create vector mosaics from vector and bitmap objects
- Symmetry drawing mode- CorelDRAW lets you create symmetrical objects and designs in real-time with a feature dedicated to Symmetry, automating what can otherwise be a very time-consuming workflow.
Pro: It’s a convenient, yet high-quality all-in-one app.
Con: It’s not an industry standard
Pricing:
- 15 Day Free trial
- $198 annual plan
- $669 for the full perpetual version
Experience Level: Beginner through to professional, with some learning that needs to take place but less of a curve than some other products
Compatibility: Windows, macOS & Linux
Conclusion
Vector is a good way to get the job done quickly and easy. Nowadays most of the graphics software supports vector graphics in one way or another. I do find it inconvenient that nowadays you have to go out of your way to actually get a vector graphic but with Illustrator, Inkscape and Affinity and other free open-source software out there, there are plenty of choices available.