New graphic design tools crop up daily: there are lovely surprises and some disappointments. It’s difficult to keep pace with the trends, even if you are a pro designer with years of experience.
Beginner designers struggle with picking the best graphic design schools and apps even more. True, you need inspiration, motivation, and talent to work in design. But you also need to know:
- Where to start with graphic design equipment
- How to find free graphic design tools, and
- What apps to invest in once you achieve an expert level.
This knowledge will not only simplify your working day but also flatten the steep learning curve graphic designers face when learning new stuff.
And, finally, it will free space to focus on what matters most — designing beautiful visuals — infographics, illustrations, animations, T-shirts, magazines, and brochures that don’t end up in the (recycle) bin.
Free Graphic Design Tools for Beginners
To build the practice and polish skills, you must design daily. For growing design confidence, nothing beats persistent exercise. If you are just starting, there are graphic design apps that you can get for free that will help you deal with common issues beginner designers face, including:
- Undervalued work
- Tight deadlines
- Free design templates
- Fierce competition
The following free design tools will effectively remove at least some of the stress that arises when dealing with picky first-time clients. Also, it will be easier to tackle ferocious competition from design experts and the lack of experience in an established market.
Canva
Recognized as one of the easiest tools to use, Canva graphic design software is the layman’s favorite.
Senior designers may not appreciate the somewhat restricted layouts and templates. But students venturing into graphic design, as well as amateur marketers will benefit from the:
- Simple drag-and-drop features
- In-the-box text editing
- Abundance of learning tutorials
Canva includes tons of free templates, social media posters, and infographic makers. You can use them to spruce up your website and social media content even if you are not a designer.
Gimp
In contrast to popular paid image editors,, the open-source Gimp is free and available for Linux OS, too. Despite being based on features that aren’t as advanced as those of Photoshop, Gimp is still not as basic. It contains a plethora of layers, curves, and filters that can help you learn the trade.
The major benefit compared to Adobe Photoshop is, undoubtedly, the non-existing license cost.
ArtStudio Lite
The paid version of this graphic design tool is intended for drawing, painting, sketching, and image editing. ArtStudio is feature-rich and includes a user-friendly interface for iPhone.
If you don’t want to pay your fair share of coffee-to-go for the full version, get ArtStudio Lite, especially if you want to experiment with game design. Design professionals appreciate ArtStudio’s high-quality brush tools the most.
Vectr
Interested in working with vector graphics such as .svg or .xml files? Than Vectr may be the tool for you.
https://pixabay.com/images/id-1312718/
Vector graphic design tools use math equations that translate to points connected by vector paths. Vector paths can be either lines or curves. Unlike bitmap images that are based on pixels, vector graphics allow you to:
- Create shapes on images that can be scaled without compromising quality
- Convert images to bitmap (raster) format
- Use smaller file sizes
You can use Vectr in the browser or download the graphic design app to your computer. Start learning by watching the interactive on-screen lessons.
Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark is not completely free. But since you won’t get far in the design career unless you learn basic Adobe graphic design tools, the free Adobe Spark templates may be the best place to immerse in the world of Adobe.
You need an Adobe, e-mail, Facebook, Google, or Apple account to get access to the reasonable inventory of free social media graphics, occasion posters, and short video creation templates.
Paint 3D
It’s next to impossible to never have heard of Paint 3D, the MS-Windows 10 image editing and 3D modeling tool, or of its predecessor MS Paint.
Paint3D can be used by anyone for 2D and 3D modeling, basic image editing, or just plain doodling. The app is free.
You do need to own Windows 10, though, so, consider calculating the costs for that if you don’t own a licensed Windows software.
Pixlr
Known for its extensive focus on privacy and security, Pixlr is among the safest graphic design tools. Your images don’t get stored on the Pixlr system.
The quick fix filters provide professional-like quality to beginner photos. Therefore, by downloading Pixlr you can test the feel of expertly edited pictures by using the included tools for free.
Snapseed
Although Snapseed is free, even experienced professional designers like using it because of its advanced image editing features:
- Gesture-based interface
- Expert-friendly filters
- Image tuning tools, including ambiance, highlights, and shadows
- Structure and sharpness features
- HDR Scape
- Adjust angle and perspective
- Healing tool for small blemish removal
It can take some time to get to grips with this editing app known for its green leaf logo. Consequently, when you consider graphic design tools for photographers, this app should come at a later stage.
How to Learn Graphic Design for Free
There are several ways to build a career in graphic design and not all of them include university attendance. Many graphic design software companies make their own free video tutorials. Additionally, there is an abundance of free lessons from industry peers and guides that let you tackle a specific graphic design challenge.
Here are five potential roads you can take to learn graphic design for free or for a bargain price:
- Take university-verified studies, for example, the MIT OpenCourseWare, edX graphic design lessons, or Harvard’s free game development courses
- Sign up for Canva Design School,
- Learn Adobe InDesign CC at Udemy, Lynda or Skillshare
- Self-study by watching YouTube tutorials
- Join for free and get a graphic design scholarship on Coursera
Regardless of what your learning preference is, you can save big with free classes.
You may need to pay a fee to get a professional certification. Keep in mind, though, that you may not always need one as your creations will be the best testimonial of what you can do.
Is Graphic Design a Good Career Choice?
It takes years to build advanced graphic design skills.
Take your time and don’t get disheartened by the variety of available courses.
It is useful if you have a clear idea of the graphic design career path you want to take to direct your efforts to a specific learning area.
Essential Tools for Graphic Designers
Passionate learning is just one element of preparing yourself for a career in graphic design. You also need to pick up some equipment to help you get started. Fortunately, you probably already have the essentials. You can search for affordable deals to get the rest of the basic graphic design equipment.
Computer
A 21.5? or 27? desktop monitor (potentially two) or at least 15? or 16? laptop monitor with a 4K resolution, 16 GB system RAM, 4 GB VRAM GPU, external disk for backup, and an Internet connection are the minimum computer requirements for graphic design. MacBook Pro is a good choice.
Smartphone
You can conveniently run a full day’s work of graphic design on a smartphone, for example:
- Download graphic design apps
- Organize your portfolio
- Take photos
- Play with digital art anywhere
- Communicate with clients
Invest in a nice quality phone to give your career a head start.
Pantone Color System Tools
The role of color in branding is important. Understanding the Pantone color system or a similar color interpretation tool is key to meeting color standards for print, packaging, and product design.
Project Management Tools
As a designer, you can use a bit of a creative mess, but preferably not in self-organization. Choose a collaboration app to store files, track projects, schedule tasks, create checklists and manage lessons. Try Trello, Basecamp, Jira, or Asana for an organized designer’s life.
Designer’s Portfolio
Finally, showcase your work on the web by uploading a designer’s portfolio. Create your website or a profile on Behance and Dribbble for active community involvement and access to attractive graphic design jobs.
Best Graphic Design Apps for Senior Designers
Graphic designers are on a constant path of self-improvement. Therefore, it’s difficult to call yourself an expert. You can, however, acquire expert skills in a certain domain and become a senior designer. Many senior graphic designers choose one of the following apps as a specialty.
Adobe Creative Cloud Tools
With Adobe cloud tools, you get a powerful suite of advanced graphic design tools which allow you to:
- Use apps on several devices
- Receive instant updates and new features
- Access to Adobe Creative Cloud libraries
- Use Adobe typography
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign are widely accepted graphic design apps used by senior design professionals.
Photoshop
The most famous photo editing app has gained credit among seasoned professionals thanks to the simplicity it provides for editing images and videos in various formats, responsive design tools, and quick file transfer. The main downside is that it comes with a high price tag.
Illustrator
Developed for creating vector graphics, Adobe Illustrator is the tool of choice of top vector graphic designers who get access to flagship vector art, support tutorials, as well as working projects for beginners and advanced students. By using Illustrator you will sharpen the skills of the graphic design software that serves as an industry standard.
InDesign CC
Adobe InDesign provides examples of beautifully done professional-quality templates for books, magazines, publications, newspapers, flyers, and posters, as well as a chance to contribute your own page design layouts and craft visually appealing digital messages.
Inkscape
Inkscape is an open-source graphic design software for creating 2D designs with features such as:
- Object creation
- Object manipulation
- Fill and stroke tools
- Operations on paths
- Text support
- Rendering
The good news is that it includes a generous stack of tutorials. It is, therefore, considered to be a decent free alternative to the expensive Adobe.
Sketch
Sketch includes a powerful vector editor, built-in prototyping, and an excellent file sharing and collaboration system. However, it’s only available for macOS.
CorelDraw
Similar to Adobe design apps, CorelDraw also belongs to pricier graphic design tools for vector graphic and photo editing. If you decide to go for the CorelDraw Graphics Suite, you get six apps, including features you cannot find anywhere else which you can use to create almost anything.
From Free Graphic Design Lessons to Captivating Audiences
Building a career in graphic design takes time. However, the initial effort pays off as you progress with skills and understanding the market.
Having a passion for the job is a prerequisite to start but you won’t get far without a desire for life-long learning of the trade. Original graphic design software shows up constantly and to stay afloat, a healthy interest in technologies is a must.
Considering that a graphic design career includes creativity, an array of versatile jobs across industries, and plenty of space for getting a fat paycheck, you can’t go wrong by learning the basics of popular graphic design tools.
Make smart choices and scale proportionally as you build a senior graphic designer portfolio. In this way, you can turn a modest start into a lucrative career path.