Graphic design software has become a necessity for graphic designers and their designs. It is all thanks to technology and its advancements. Things like graphic design software make the creation of designs very easy. And this is not limited to just web designers; even freelance graphic designers find it really useful too.
I know several developers who are interested in designing graphic formats. I also see that there are many people who want to start their own businesses in the field of graphic design.
Graphic Design Benefits Your Business
1. Employee pride and productivity
2. Saves time
3. Saves money
4. High-quality visuals increase viewer interaction
5. Graphic communication: it’s more than a trend
6. Attract and keep customers interested
If you are taking these courses, it’s important to make sure what software you can use to help your workflow. There are lots of free graphic design software available for beginners. You don’t have to spend thousands on software because there is a less expensive option for beginners. Let’s get started!
Adobe Illustrator is one of the best tools for – you guessed it – illustration. I recommend incorporating Illustrator into your software portfolio as your go-to vector program.
This tool is perfect for icons, symbols, logos, patterns, infographics, and more.
Favorite features
Vector-based – Perfectly scalable designs created by one powerful tool. So your artwork stays crisp no matter how big you need it to be.
Creative freedom – With Adobe Illustrator you can access all your work on the cloud. From presets to brushes, the way you like it on any device, anywhere.
Adobe Sensei – AI is everywhere these days, and I’m excited about what it holds for the future. With Adobe Illustrator, you can get a taste of its creativity. Create vectors by auto-tracing your hand sketches. Add colors to your design by extracting them from a photo you love. The possibilities are endless.
Pros
- Versatility – Adobe Illustrator allows you to create everything from single design elements to entire compositions. You also have the freedom to create designs of literally any size. From billboards to icons.
Cons
- Needs powerful hardware – Adobe Illustrator is a big boy. Be ready for the minimum system requirements before you add this one to the cart.
Pricing
Adobe Illustrator offers a 7-day free trial. The paid plans start from £19.97 per month for an individual and top up to £238.42/yr.
Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) is the full creative cloud subscription. I’ve added it because for many designers,
one tool simply doesn’t cover the scope of their work. Adobe CC gives you access to all the above and more:
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- InDesign
- Adobe XD
- Lightroom
- Acrobat Pro
- Animate
- Dreamweaver
- Premiere Pro
- Premiere Rush
- After Effects
- Dimension
- Audition
- InCopy
- Lightroom Classic
- Media Encoder
- Character Animator
- Prelude
- Fuse
- Bridge
Favorite features
All in one – Adobe CC gives you access to all the best tools Adobe has to offer. As a creative designer, there might be a few of these tools you’ve never even tried. A whole new career may lay ahead of you.
Discount pricing – Probably the biggest advantage of going for Adobe CC is the discount you’re getting. The combo price is more affordable than buying Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Not to mention all the other tools, new releases, and updates you’ll have access to.
Behance integration – Behance is a social media platform for creatives owned by Adobe. Having the Adobe CC package gives you access to the Behance ProSite. Stunning portfolio websites, absolutely free with Creative Cloud. This includes hosting and unlimited pages.
Pros
- All-in-one discounted offer – Adobe CC gives you access to all the amazing tools that Adobe has on offer. It also means you’ll always be using the latest versions, and have access to the newest updates. For everything it offers, Adobe CC is perfect for designers who don’t want to be limited by software.
Cons
- Subscription – Adobe CC gives you the ultimate freedom, but it’s never truly yours. I get the idea, offer amazing tools on a subscription so it’s “affordable”, but still, sometimes you just want to know something is yours – forever.
Pricing
The annual plan paid monthly – £49.94/mo
Annual plan prepaid – £596.33/yr
Monthly plan – £75.85/mo
Does Adobe CC have a Free Trial? Yes, there is a 7-day free trial
Gimp
| Pros | Cons |
| Many tools and features | No video support |
| Open-source | Limited support for CMYK |
| Third-party plugins available | Limited 3D design capability |
| Great user community and support |
Gimp is probably one of the most popular free graphic design software tools. It is used for editing and enhancing images as well as full-scale graphic design work. The open-source software is quite well known as a free Photoshop alternative, although it doesn’t have as many features. However, you can edit the source code to customize it, and there are hundreds of third-party plugins you can find if you’re looking for specific functionality. There is a steep learning curve if you haven’t used similar software before, but there are many tutorials available online.
Best for: Graphic design with full features
Level of expertise required: Medium
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux
FotoJet Designer for Windows & Mac – Easier Design for Love
FotoJet Designer is a powerful yet easy graphic design software for beginners, which allows users to swiftly design with the help of its inbuilt samples. It provides a large number of ready-made templates, including instant YouTube banners, customized invitations, personalized cards, well-designed magazine covers, together with elaborate email headers. If you want to design for a Facebook post or other social media shares, you can also find the portal to these features in its panel. FotoJet designer, as a recommended graphic tool for desktop, gives users the maximal freedom to design well in a good mood.
Platform: Windows, Mac.
Reasons to Choose FotoJet Designer:
*Stunning graphic design output: 900+ stylish templates to modify and save.
*Fluent & Visualized design by editing templates.
*100% user-friendly: suitable for any design novice as well as a professional.
*All-in-one design box: graphic texts, cliparts, and background themes are all included.
*Directly share to social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Tumblr.
*No learning curve: everybody knows how to use it without a tutorial.
*Layer management.
*Multi-language: English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, and Japanese
*Free to try, Pro is at a cost-effective price.
Some Points to Improve:
*No support for Linux and mobile devices at the moment.
FotoJet Designer Free Download:
Rank Star: 5 Stars
Vectr – Free Vector Graphic Editor Online
If you are looking for a free SVG designer online, Vectr shall be one of the best graphic design apps. Svg, short for Scalable Vector Graphics, is a graphic format. Svg photo has no quality lost when zooming in and zooming out. And Vectr is the professional svg creator, which is best to draw shapes for web mocking up. You may as well use it to modify a vector image for free.
Platform: browser-based, across the platform.
Reasons to Choose Vectr:
*Best for professional vector graphic creativity.
*Initiative operating interface.
*Somewhat like a slim version of Illustrator.
*Easy vector graphic editing.
*Lower learning curves.
*Support annotating graphics.
*Create mockups and infographics.
*multiple-layer arrangement.
*Free online.
Some Points to Improve:
*Not well support for browsers in Linux OS.
*Not suitable for non-professionals.
*Only support English.
Vector Graphic Design Website:
Rank Star: 4.5 Stars
ArtStudio – Simple & Free iPhone App for Graphic Design
Nowadays, totally free iPhone apps are countable. ArtStudio is the few that existed. It supports users in designing photos on the fly. Thus it’s ideal to process journey photography when you are on the road. To some extent, ArtStudio is a brief Photoshop for Apple devices.
Platform: iPhone, iPad & Android.
Reasons to Choose ArtStudio:
*Sketch graphics, draw & edit photos.
*Creating surreal photos.
*A group of brushes, up to 150+ brushes for all demands.
*40+ iPhone image filters.
*16 handy graphic tools.
*Layer construction.
*Intuitive interface, easy to learn.
*Free of charge.
Some Points to Improve:
*Only support English.
*Android devices have some support issues.
*Only support for mobile devices and a few OS.
Some Points to Improve:
Rank Star: 4.5 Stars
Krita
| Pros | Cons |
| Intuitive interface | No formal customer support |
| Easy to use | Uses a large amount of RAM |
| Great community forum | A learning curve when using brush presets |
| Highly customizable |
Krita is an open-source raster graphics editor. It’s most useful for 2D animation and digital painting. Krita is designed for ease of use with a drawing tablet, although it is possible to use the software without a drawing tablet. It also supports vector artwork.
Best for Digital painting and 2D animation
Level of expertise required: Low to Medium
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and Chrome OS
Paint.NET
| Pros | Cons |
| Plugins available to increase functionality | Only available on Windows |
| Lightweight and fast | Can only view and edit one image at a time |
| Easy to use, even for beginners | Limited functionality |
Paint.NET is free raster graphics editing software and a more advanced version of the well-known Paint app by Microsoft. It doesn’t have as advanced functionality as some of the more complex apps, but there are many plugins available to expand the features to your needs. It’s extremely quick and responsive, even when working with fairly large files.
Best for Quick and simple image edits and designs
Level of expertise required: Low
Available on: Windows
Affinity Designer is relatively new in the industry, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t made waves.
Designed to work on Mac, Windows, and iPad, Affinity Designer is setting new standards for design software. The combination of functionality and affordability has made it a favorite in the freelance graphic design world.
Favorite features
Vector or Raster – One of the drawbacks of other tools is that you have to choose. But not with Affinity. Easily switch between vector and raster workspaces with a single click. You can also combine techniques. The possibilities are limitless.
Special Zoom – The zoom feature isn’t just easy to use, but also provides you with a great deal of zooming power. E used Getting into those fine details has never been easier with a 1M % zoom effect.
No subscription – Unlike Adobe, the team at Affinity has listened to the people! Not everyone likes a subscription. Affinity is a one-time purchase, and you can use it on as many computers as you like. Shut up and take my money.
Pros
- Photoshop Alternative – Professional, yet affordable. Affinity Designer is the best possible Photoshop alternative.
- The layout is recognizable and it’s an easy switch if you’re used to Adobe Photoshop.
Cons
- Lacking features – There aren’t many features missing, but it does get a bit irritating when it’s that one feature that you need.
- Luckily, all updates on version 1 of Affinity Designer are free to download. So, voice your needs! They might just listen.
Pricing
Mac – £47.99 once-off
Windows – £47.99 once-off
iPad – £19.49
Does Affinity Designer have a Free Trial? Yes, there is a 30 day free trial on Mac/Windows
Conclusion
Graphic design software can seem like a bit of a minefield. There are so many to choose from and they all have different names and acronyms – which ones should you consider? Most programs will allow you to create similar designs and layouts, but by choosing the right tool for the job, your life as a designer will be much easier and you’ll get better results.