As they say, graphic designs are all about design softwares. That does not mean anyone can do this, and you need to be talented to create some stunning and impressive designs. But this software is the main medium that you use in order to put your thoughts into reality. With flexibility and intuitive control, a program has the potential to make all the differences.
Do you want to try your hand at graphic design? Are you searching for some softwares that offers plenty of features and a simple user interface? Here is the list of graphic design softwares for you.
Top 5 Graphic Design Softwares For Beginners In 2021
Here is the list of the 5 best graphic design softwares that will be a perfect choice for beginners in 2021. This list has been prepared by going through the reviews of social media magazines.
1. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a well-known name in the world of graphic designing. From basic things to pro-level designing, you can do everything with this. You can keep your hands in everything from basic cropping to some image manipulation. Some of the classic features that photoshop has are masks, layers, and pen tools.
The recent version of this comes with a frame tool for easier masking. A Content-Aware fill Workspace is another one that it has. For beginners, Adobe Photoshop is one of the best graphic design softwares with a limitless skill ceiling that will let you learn.
Cost: Adobe offers a subscription service for its products with a 30-day free trial. There are different subscription plans available for different levels.
Best Suitable For: Image Editing
Advantages:
- Almost limitless skill ceiling.
- Enough design tools for editing images.
- Integrated stock library.
Disadvantages:
- Less-than-perfect updates.
- A little tough interface to getting used to it.
- True vector files cannot be created.
2. Sketch
This vector-based tool is only available on Mac. Suppose you are a graphic designer and want to focus mainly on the interface, app, and web designing. Recently in a graphic design competition, it has been noticed that the best website builders or developers prefer sketch files rather than layered Photoshop files from the designers.
However, Sketch is not for photo editing or other print work. It is most suitable for icons and interfaces that are being used in websites and mobile applications. Apart from all the graphic design softwares, sketch allows designers to create live comps. And developers can preview it only by tapping or swiping through in order to see what they will actually look like after the final publication.
Cost: $99 per year for a single device.
Best Suitable For: User interfaces.
Advantages:
- Less expensive than many other popular programs.
- Low learning curve.
Disadvantages:
- Not suitable for illustrations or print designs.
- Only for Mac.
3. Adobe Illustrator {Graphic Design Software}
However, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe illustrator have some similar functions and tools, but Adobe Illustrator is based around vector designs. Illustrator comes with a pen tool, mesh tool, colors, swatches, Shapes, and pathfinder tools. Yes, it will take some time to learn, but the vector designs that you will be able to learn will be worth the time and effort that you have given while learning them. It can be considered as one of the impressive graphic design softwares for learners.
Cost: $20.99/month only for the illustrator and $52.99/month for Illustrator with full creative Cloud.
Best Suitable For: Vector Images.
Advantages:
- Wide variety of tools.
- Helpful user interface.
- Supports precise editing.
Disadvantages:
- Steep learning curve
4. Affinity Designer
If you compare the function and style of Affinity Designer with Adobe Illustrator, Affinity is a low-cost alternative to illustrator. It is even faster and easier than Illustrator. Especially when working with layers. At the same time, this is one of the simplest graphic design softwares for beginners for learning.
But once you get used to it, it has enough potential to generate powerful designs. Recently it has been packed with some new attractive features along with performance improvements. Affinity is perfect for those who want a high-level performance but cannot afford to spend a bunch of money in Adobe.
Cost: $49.99.
Best Suitable For: Vector Files.
Advantages:
- Fast.
- Easy to get started with.
- More affordable than big names.
Disadvantages:
- It does not have some of the tools that Adobe illustrator offers.
5. GIMP {Graphic Design Software}
GIMP is the abbreviation of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. This is one of the very few graphic design softwares that comes as a free raster open-source graphic editor. But this contains most of the features same as the paid softwares have. The layout is not as impressive as Photoshop, but the features that you will be able to utilize are advanced photo retouching along with some cropping and drawing capabilities of well-known programs.
Cost: Free.
Best Suitable For: Raster image.
Advantages:
- In spite of being a free program, it offers plenty of tools.
- Good community.
Disadvantages:
- Less recognized.
- Unlike other programs, not as quickly updated.
- Not as intuitive to use.
Some More
Though the above-mentioned list is pretty much enough for beginners who are searching for some graphic design softwares with a simple interface, in case you do not find those suitable enough for you, here are some more options for you.
- Gravit Designer is another one that is specialized for vector images and comes with two plans. You either pay $49 per year and take the advantage of all the features that it has to offer or use the free version, which is not as effective as the paid one.
- Vectr is one of those graphic design softwares for beginners that comes with video tutorials. As the name suggests, it is totally a wow for vector images. There is something I want to tell the high-end designer. It may not have all the features that you want.
Conclusion
So, now you know with which software you can start your journey as a graphic designer. I personally suggest you try the free softwares at first. Once you get some pro skills, dip your hands with the paid tools. You also can go through some tutorial videos in case you face any difficulty in your learning process.
Author Bio-
Mashum Mollah is a tech entrepreneur by profession and passionate blogger by heart. He is on a mission to help small businesses grow online. He shares his journey, insights, and experiences at Social Media Magazine & Search Engine Magazine. If you are an entrepreneur, digital marketing professional, or simply an info-holic, then this blog is for you.