36% of marketers use online tools or graphic design programs to develop visuals
41% of marketers believe that more than 70% of businesses will heavily rely on visual content in 2021.
This indicates that brands will increasingly invest in professional graphic design services to get quality visuals that support their marketing efforts.
In this article, we outline the best graphic design software, free and premium versions, that designers of various skill levels and skill sets leverage for their design needs.
Adobe Photoshop is one of the best graphic design software used by 90% of the world’s creative professionals, according to the computer software company.
The tool is synonymous with photo editing and offers features of various complexity. From basic image cropping to designing logos and making animations, designers of every level can use it to create artwork.
Key features:
Auto creations including slideshows, collages and effects
Intelligent editing like adding motions, adjusting facial features and adding fun filters and effects
Step-by-step guided edits such as moving, scaling and duplicating objects, replacing backgrounds and creating multi-photo texts
Sharable photos to social media and other platforms
Effortless organization including finding photos faster with auto-tagging
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac
Skill level required:
Entry to advanced
Pros:
Equipped with 3D design capabilities
Integrated stock library
Capabilities for performing professional color grading
Smooth file transfer between different programs
Ease of editing different image formats
Cloud storage
Customizing images for social media
Complimentary mobile application
Cons:
Expensive
Consumes a lot of space
Impossibility to create true vector files
Incomplete updates or untested beta versions
Cost:
$20.99 /month
Free trial? Yes, seven days (credit card required)
The CorelDraw Graphics Suite is a full package bundle that offers pro-level features allowing professional designers to create vector illustrations, use various layouts, edit photos and take advantage of typography tools to deliver outstanding design projects.
This best graphic design software is always up-to-date and includes powerful tools, like customization options, that help designers work faster and smarter
Key features:
Vector illustration and page layout
Image editing and pixel-based design program
Font exploration and management tool
AI-powered bitmap-to-vector tracing
Online vector illustration via a web browser
Screen capture tool (only available in Windows version)
RAW photo editor
Creative web content development
Publishing directly on WordPress
Cutting-edge typography
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac
Skill level required:
Advanced
Pros:
Flexible payment
Capabilities to export files in up to 48 file types
Customizable UI environment
Content exchange
Smooth transition from desktop to tablet mode
Can handle a large amount of data without being slow
Cons:
Not easy to use for beginners
Documentation is not available with all features
Less-than-perfect updates
Cost:
CorelDraw offers two types of purchase options for its graphics suite including:
Annual plan: €29.08/month (about $35) or €349.00/year (about $420)
One time purchase: €719.00 (about $875), where users have access to the current version they get only
Free trial? Yes, 15 days (no credit card required)
With both options, users can get a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Adobe Illustrator is another great tool from the company’s Creative Cloud that shares similarities with Adobe Photoshop. However, unlike Photoshop, Illustrator is centered around vector design.
Using this best graphic design software, designers can create different types of artwork, from logos to website mockups and page layouts.
Adobe Illustrator is most suitable for professional designs since it offers a wide range of tools, allowing them to create designs fast.
Adobe InDesign is another must-have best graphic design software from the company’s Creative Cloud that allows users to create stunning artwork for the publishing community as well as collaborate with writers and editors.
The tool is used both in print and digital media, particularly for laying out magazines and newspapers, posters, interactive PDFs, brochures, reports and eBooks, among the other projects.
Key features:
PDF accessibility enhancements
Alternative text
Tag page items
Text management in Creative Cloud libraries
Object styles
Endnotes support
Paragraph borders
Adjusting layouts
Automatic resizing and arrangement of images
HTML export
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac
Skill level required:
Entry
Pros:
Low learning curve
Huge selection of fonts
Capability of resizing multiple objects
Intuitive cropping and resizing features
Combining graphics and texts to optimize files
Cons:
PDF formatting is not perfect
Suitable for enterprise use only
Not very user friendly for new users
Cost:
Similarly to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, you can purchase InDesign as:
As a single app for $20.99month, or
As part of the Creative Cloud for $52.99/month
Free trial? Yes, seven days (credit card required)
Canva is a drag-and-drop online editor that allows even non-experts to create designs easily and quickly, which makes it one of the best graphic design software tools for those with no prior design knowledge.
This Cloud-based platform comes equipped with a vast library of templates that users can leverage to create invitations, book covers, presentations, marketing materials and much more.
Key features:
Team collaboration
Drag-and-drop gesture
Precise cropping
Photo effects
Transparent images
Design grids
Stickers
Photo frames
Cloud storage
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Skill level required:
Beginner
Pros:
No previous experience needed
Easy to use
Wide selection of high-quality templates
Access from any computer and device
Project collaboration and sharing
Cons:
The free-plan has some limitations
Requires fast Internet
Cost:
The software offers two paid versions:
Pro ($119.99/year)
Enterprise ($30/month per person
Free trial? Yes, 30 days (credit card required)
Canva also offers a free graphic design software version that comes with less advanced features.
Sketch is a vector-based tool available exclusively for the macOS platform. It is most useful for designers working on iPhone, iPad and macOS applications since it is most appropriate for building interactive prototypes for UI/UX purposes.
While this best graphic design software is not developed for photo editing purposes, like Adobe Photoshop, it is great for designing various interface elements.
Key features:
Vector editing
Boolean operations
Pixel-level precision
Easy еxports
Cloud sharing
Prototyping
Customizable shortcuts
Supported platforms:
Mac
Skill level required:
Entry
Pros:
Easy to learn and use
Low cost
Massive library full of templates and responsive web design layouts
Ability to design and collaborate in a single workspace
Gravit Designer is a suitable tool for graphic designers, product designers and web designers, helping them create high-quality vector graphics.
It is an HTM-based software great for designing illustrations, logos, animations and other types of artwork and marketing materials but also for editing photos.
Key features:
Advanced vector editing
Object transformations and distribution
Image editing
Organizing design projects
Text and typography
Live effects and adjustments
Automatically saving Cloud files every 5 minutes
Cloud integration
Social media posts design
Supported platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS
Skill level required:
Entry
Pros:
Easy to use and navigate dashboard
Entirely customizable interface
Cross-platform portability for Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS
Friendly keyboard shortcuts
Supports multiple file formats for export and import
Cons:
Complex designs make it slow
Lack of option for real-time collaboration
Prototypes can’t be run on smartphones
Many basic features are included in the Pro subscription
Cost:
€59.50/year (or about $65) with a 30-day money-back guarantee
Affinity Designer is a useful graphic design software and a low-budget alternative to Adobe Illustrator which makes it most suitable for professionals who are in the early stages of design careers.
This tool is a combination of vector and raster design tools that graphic artists, web designers and game creators can use to create vector graphics, UX/UI designs and concept art.
Key features:
Pan and zoom at 60fps
Live gradients, effects and adjustments
Real-time blend mode previews
All transforms and curve edits previewed live
Handles huge documents
Snapping option
Sophisticated typography
Supported platforms:
Mac, iPad, Windows
Skill level required:
Entry to advanced
Pros:
Simple for beginners to use
Sufficiently powerful for designers on a budget
A wide selection of colors
Advanced grids, snapping and alignment
Dynamic on-screen guides
Unlimited artboards
Cons:
Lacks natural perspective grid
Doesn’t export files in AI
No vector eraser in Designer Persona
Cost:
$49.99 for Windows and macOS
$19.99 for iPad
Free trial? Yes, 90 days (no credit card required)
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is one of the most popular open-source image editors on the market that is equipped with many sophisticated tools, customization options and plugins.
Suitable for graphic designers, photographers and illustrators, this tool has advanced photo retouching, drawing and cropping capabilities like many expensive and widely known programs.
Key features:
Highly customizable interface
High-quality image manipulation
Original artwork creation
Graphical design elements
Art for user interface components and mockups
Programming algorithms (multi-language support including C, C++ and Python)
Color management
Supported platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, BDS
Skill level required:
Entry
Pros:
Clean and easy to use user interface
Great number of tools for a free program
Tutorials for every feature
Regular updates
Option of working on a modular and single-window interface
Inkscape is a cross-platform and free graphic design software most suitable for beginners interested in vector drawing.
It is a user-friendly option with flexible drawing tools that graphic designers, illustrators and web designers can use to create easy and quick designs for any purpose.
The tool focuses on the SVG format as its primary file format and has many available filters and a helpful community for beginner designers to grow.
Key features:
Object creation (drawing tools, shape tools and a text tool)
Object manipulation (transformations, Z-order operations, grouping objects, alignment and distribution commands)
Fill and stroke (color selector, a gradient editor, pattern fills, path markers)
Text support
Rendering
File formats
Supported platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Skill level required:
Entry
Pros:
Easy to use
Regular updates
Easy personalization of code
Lots of filters
Supports multiple gradients
Comes equipped with Bezier handles
Cons:
Can be slow sometimes if a complicated process involves rendering
Vectr is an open source editor and free graphic design software for creating 2D vector graphics mostly used by beginners and amateur artists. It is not the best option for professional graphic designers because it might not include all the advanced features they might need.
This best graphic design software offers users detailed guides and tutorials helping them bring their designs into reality.
While some graphic design tools come equipped with a number of features that designers can use to create different types of artwork, some of them have a single purpose.
So, based on their functionality and purpose, we can divide them into three main categories:
Desktop publishing tools: These types of programs allow designers to create visual communications like page layouts, business cards and brochures that they need for digital use or printing.
Photo editing tools: Designers take advantage of photo editing tools to alter digital images, illustrations and prints. They come with a wide set of features like cropping unwanted parts, adjusting brightness and contrast, replacing look and more.
Drawing tools: Also known under the name of drawing software, these tools help designers create art and illustrations. They allow for precise dimensioning and positioning and users can easily transfer them to other systems.
Get free proposals from top graphic design agencies!
With so many options on the market, selecting the best graphic design software can be a tricky process.
However, there are a few points to consider that can make your choice easier:
Available Features
Based on your needs as a designer and the type of work you do, you should first and foremost look at what features these tools offer so that you can make the right choice.
For instance, if you work for clients in the publishing industry, then Adobe InDesign may be the best fit since it allows collaborating directly with writers and editors but also laying out magazines, newspapers and similar types of artwork.
However, if you need photo editing tools then Adobe Photoshop may suit your needs.
Cost
While some of these tools are free to use, others come with different pricing structures and range from more affordable to expensive ones.
So, it is a best practice to think about how much you are able to allocate or how much you want to spend on a premium tool if the free ones don’t fit your needs.
However, make sure you strike a balance between price and features and don’t overpay any tools just because they are well popular and there are other free or more affordable ones that offer similar solutions.
Usability
What can be more important than creating the actual design, is how you can use it after you finish your projects.
Based on your needs, see how you can export these files, if you can share them online easily and whether you can print them without compromising quality.
Why Should Marketers Invest In Graphic Design Tools?
36% of marketers use online tools or graphic design programs to create visual content. (Venngage)
This is because these tools come equipped with certain benefits including:
Learning is easy: Almost all graphic design tools come with a lot of tutorials, guides, learning resources and communities helping beginner designers to grow. These allow them to learn how to use new features and functionalities that can boost their productivity and improve their capabilities.
Designs are kept safe: Most of these graphic design software have the option to store designs in the Cloud automatically. This makes them easily available but also safe since they are not only saved in a secure environment but recovering deleted projects is also possible.
Production speed: Designing visual content with these programs is quick since they are equipped with a great number of tools, features, functionalities and drag and drop gestures that speed up the design process. What’s more, they also come with many templates, so designers don’t always have to create everything from scratch.
Great flexibility and scalability: These tools provide users with great flexibility to develop great visual content without having to capture photos in real life. In addition, designers can also export the file in multiple formats like PDFs, create visuals for social media posts and even distribute them directly to various marketing platforms like WordPress and Facebook.
Designing marketing materials that drive business results: Using graphic design software, designers can create professional and consistent visual content for marketing purposes. This can help their clients improve their branding efforts, maintain brand positioning as well as enhance brand engagement.
Best Graphic Design Software Takeaways
Designers take advantage of the best graphic design software to create outstanding visual content for personal and professional purposes.
We distinguish three types of graphic design tools:
Desktop publishing tools
Photo editing tools
Drawing tools
The key benefits of using these are:
Learning is easy
Designs are kept safe
Creating visuals is fast
Great flexibility and scalability
Designing marketing materials that drive business results
To pick the best graphic design software for your needs, consider the following three points:
Available features
Cost
Use
13 best destinations for graphic design jobs revealed!
