Every designer knows that there are lots of tools that you need to combine just to create one single image. It is very complicated sometimes, but thanks to these online graphic design software, now you can achieve your design ideas without spending additional money just for the software.
There are so many graphic design software you can use to polish up your design. Graphic designers have tried lots of different graphic design softwares in order to create the perfect image. Here are the most popular free graphic design software that they use.
Vectr
Vectr is a free cloud-based tool that allows you to create unbelievable vector graphics with ease. Think of it as a simplified version of Adobe Illustrator and Affinity – just without the price tag.
Great for beginners, this tool will help you learn and grow as a designer starting out.
Favourite features:
Web-based editing – This is helpful for freelancers who work remotely. No need to download bulky software, just plug and play. Its online functionality also makes it great for freelancers to share and review designs with clients.
Cross-Platform – While Vectr used to be 100% web, the newest cross-platform feature allows you to install the app on multiple devices. Vectr will also automatically save and sync your work in real-time. A great feature for a free tool.
Easy Start – Vectr’s intuitive tools, a wide range of tutorials, and educational resources help you get started fast. The learning curve is more like a humble line.
Pros
- Web Accessible – Vectr is web-based, so you don’t need to worry about having space on your laptop or PC. Great if you’re not working on the best device.
Cons
- Limited capabilities – You won’t find nearly as many features here as you will in premium apps. Photo and image editing are seriously lacking.
Pricing
Vectr is Free to use online! They could show ads to offset some costs.
Timely
As a graphic designer, it is really hard to put a fixed amount for a gig. That’s why you will find a lot of graphic designers opting for an hourly job.
In that case, you will need a time-tracking and scheduling app, Timely. The app lets you schedule, track multiple projects and ensures that you are on track while working.
Behance
One of the best places for the graphic designers to be in, the Behance platform is a community of designers. Behance is a place where a graphic designer can not only showcase their work but take inspiration from others work.
According to us, it acts as a catalyst that brings more ideas to the table. Also, you can showcase your work to others.
Last, but not the least, it provides a good networking option where you can meet like-minded designers and potential clients!
Resplash
| Pros | Cons |
| Millions of stock images | No major cons |
Resplash is the app version of the popular Unsplash website where you’re able to access millions of stock images for your designs.
Best for: Sourcing stock images
Level of expertise required: None
Available on: Web
Adobe Comp
| Pros | Cons |
| Unique app | Requires other Adobe software |
| Create layouts in record time |
Adobe Comp will convert your hand-drawn layout sketches into crisp graphics. Connect the app to Creative Cloud to sync across other Adobe software.
Best for: Quick layouts
Level of expertise required: Low to medium
Available on: Android, iOS
Tayasui Sketches
| Pros | Cons |
| Simple interface | Many features (including layers) behind a paywall |
| Great look and feel of brushes |
Tayasui Sketches offers an intuitive, clean design and easy-to-use tools. The brushes have a natural look and feel, but some of the useful functions like layers are paid features.
Best for: Digital drawing
Level of expertise required: None to low
Available on: Android; iOS
Sketchbook
| Pros | Cons |
| Responsive brushes | Controls can be confusing |
| Clever design for a smaller screen | Some features are behind a paywall |
Sketchbook is a great free drawing app, with a really great mobile interface. The tools are minimised by default so that you have ample space to work on the canvas. There are loads of brush presets as well as a small suite of basic design tools. The brushes are highly responsive, making it a good option for digital drawing on mobile and without a drawing tablet.
Best for: Digital drawing and painting
Level of expertise required: Low
Available on: Android, iOS
Adobe Photoshop Sketch
| Pros | Cons |
| Good functionality | Large images can cause app crashes |
| Great selection of brushes | Tricky interface |
| Layer functionality |
Adobe Photoshop Sketch is relatively full-featured for a mobile app. There are loads of brushes and you can use layers. It can sync to other Adobe products but you can also save in various other file formats.
Best for: Digital drawing and basic design
Level of expertise required: Low to medium
Available on: Android; iOS
Desygner
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to use | No undo/redo button |
Choose from thousands of layouts to design banners, vision boards, social media graphics, and more. Desygner is perfect for beginners, and it has a really intuitive design. Even someone with zero design experience can create professional graphics in just minutes.
Best for: Social media graphics, template-based designs
Level of expertise required: None
Available on: Android; iOS
Snappa
| Pros | Cons |
| Simple interface | Limited functionality |
| Quick and easy |
Snappa is a mobile app that also has a browser version. It is made for non-designers, so it is pretty easy to use with limited or no experience. It is exclusively for social media graphics and web banners.
Best for: Social media graphics and web banners
Level of expertise required: None
Available on: Web; Android; iOS
SketchUp Free
| Pros | Cons |
| Quick and easy to use | Photorealistic renderings are tricky |
| Files can be easily imported to more advanced software | Precision of layouts is hard to achieve |
SketchUp Free is free 3D modelling software that you can use directly in your browser. The interface is highly intuitive, and there are easily accessible tutorials and tooltips, making it a great tool even for total beginners. However, it has a huge library of 3D components and although the functionality is basic, it’s great for drafting 3D designs. It’s most useful for interior design.
Best for: Basic 3D modelling
Level of expertise required: Low
Available on: Web
31. Daz Studio
| Pros | Cons |
| Ability to create realistic figures | Some features are exclusive to the paid version |
| Suitable for beginners and pros |
Daz 3D is great for building 3D characters and animations. It has an impressive array of features, arranged in a friendly interface, making it useful for both beginners and pros.
Best for: 3D animating and building characters
Level of expertise required: Low to Advanced, depending on how you use it
Available on: Windows; Mac
Boomerang
Boomerang is a Gmail plugin that you can use to make your email handling process effective. Freelancer’s, in general, have to send a lot of emails every day.
With Boomerang, you can schedule emails, set reminders, and much more. It also helps you get a slight idea of the strength of your email by providing you a live score when you type in the email.
Overall, a great app that provides you a better email handling skills.
Sketch Manager
Sketch Manager is a management tool created for Mac. Simplify mundane tasks that use to waste hours. Now you can manage your Design System with just one plugin.
- Create and manage folders
- Rename items
- Find unused symbols & styles
- Delete items
- Duplicate symbols & styles
- Manage symbols, Text styles, & Layer styles
Infinite Design for Android
Infinite Design is a simple graphic crafting app, which only sells at Google Play Store. It offers its user a pen tool to draw graphics freely in Android. Comparing to kinds of Android graphic drawing tools, it’s way easy to use. Besides that, there is no point to comment.
Platform: Android.
Reasons to Choose Android Infinite Design:
*Not difficult to figure out how to run it.
*Convenient pen tool to draw anything you need.
*Android text tool: horizontal, vertical, circle, or text on path.
*Allow drawing 3D cityscapes.
*Import or export SVG graphics.
Some Points to Improve:
*A small group of users reports malfunction after updates.
*Users have to pay after the trial period ends.
*In-app features: $1.99 – $7.99 per item.
Download link:
Rank Star: 3.5 Stars
GIMP – An Open Source Graphic Design Software
For those who are looking for a free Photoshop alternative, you’ve found it here – it’s GIMP, which has all graphic design features but with a steep learning curve.
Platform: Mac, Linux, Windows
Reasons to Choose GIMP Editor:
*Create an animated picture, make a gif.
*Layer system.
*Make a mirror image.
*Make a portrait stamp.
*Extract any shape from a photo.
*Multi-language, etc.
Some Points to Improve:
*Hard to learn.
Free Download:
Rank Star: 4.5 Stars
Blender – Top-level Open Source Application for Graphic Design
Blender is the best graphic creation software for Linux, Windows & Mac. It delivers more than just graphic designs, which is also famous as an excellent 3D graphic maker. As an open source software, Blender shares open source passion and spirits, and offers the most powerful features.
Platform: Mac, Linux, Windows
Reasons to Choose 3D Blender:
*Create game assets.
*Graphic modeling.
*Render photorealistic effects.
*Fully-support 2D, 3D.
*Create a human head.
*Curve Modelling.
*Paint bump maps.
*Quickly rig with some experiences.
*Make animations.
*Multi-language
Some Points to Improve:
*Difficult to learn, piles of tutorials.
Rank Star: 5 Stars
Conclusion
You will need to start using graphic design software when you use it for work purposes. Graphic design software is programs that are used by graphic designers to come up with designs that are to be printed or published on the internet or in magazines. Such programs are very popular today because they are easy to use. There are also some tools that are downloadable which means that they can improve your skills in graphic designs.