The classic Adobe graphic design program always comes to mind when we need to make a graphic design for an invitation, a logo, a poster, an infographic, or simply edit a photo.
But the truth is that we find free, paid, and online graphic design tools and programs that can sometimes help us and be very good alternatives to those that we have already tried and that does not work for us due to some specific aspect.
For this reason, today, I want to leave you a list of the best graphic design programs for professionals and for beginners to help you in your choice to do the work you need.
1. Adobe Photoshop
The program with which this list had to start could not be other than Adobe Photoshop since it is the one that comes to mind when we talk about graphic design, right?
For me, it is the best design software in which to carry out photo editing and image processing since we can do almost anything that comes to mind in a photo.
It is a tool with which we will not only do retouching, but with its brushes, we can create impressive drawings, as well as with its video tool make super cool cinemagraphs and even 3D images. We can also include filters in the photos and special effects that will give our image a touch, although, for the latter, we already have Adobe Lightroom, which is much more powerful.
2. Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is my favorite graphic design tool for vector images since, with it, we can create all kinds of vectorized drawings such as logos, icons, fonts, and thousands of other things.
It is currently the program that I use the most since I work with it daily in the creation of my web pages (I make a previous mockup of the result), not only for this but for almost any modification or creation that I have to make. For example, for social media images, vectorized icons, mockups, etc.
3. Adobe Indesign
The Adobe Indesign program is neither for photographic nor vectorial editions but for design and layout for printed and digital documents.
With Indesign, you can create books, PDFs, catalogs, magazines, Ebooks, etc., in a very professional way.
As you can see, each Adobe program has a different function within graphic design, but all three can help us at certain times for different things.
4. GIMP
When I was little, my pocket was not enough to pay for tools, so GIMP was my program par excellence since it is free.
Although you have to download it on your computer to start working with it and it is free, you can achieve impressive results.
The first time I used this program was for a computer class project in which we had to take a photo of a celebrity along with a personal photo of ourselves and pose together in the most realistic way possible.
5.CorelDRAW
The CorelDRAW tool is professional and works for both vector and photography. It is one of the biggest competitors for Adobe Photoshop, as you can get very good results.
With this program, you will be able to create logos, fonts, illustrations, vectorized images, and a thousand other things with an interface very similar to that of Photoshop and Illustrator.
6. Sketch
This graphic design tool is used to create prototypes and wireframes in a very intuitive way, with a complete panel.
What have I used this software for? For web design. Before creating a web page, we can make the initial Sketch or design of the structure with a vector or element distribution program, and Sketch is a very good option.
As you can see, if what you want is to edit a photograph, Sketch is not your program, but it will work very well if what you want is to make diagrams, applications, web pages, etc.
7. Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer is a graphic program for vector or raster designs for computers and tablets.
It could be considered a mix between Photoshop and Illustrator, very powerful and a possible competitor.
I have to confess that I have not tried this software since it is paid, and I have not had the need, but I wanted to include it in the list because I think it is a very powerful alternative and should appear.
It has a free trial, so if you decide to download it, I hope you will tell us about your experience.
8. Pixlr
Pixlr has a free version and a paid version, but with the first one, we can get a lot of things for a user or beginner level.
The first thing we do is select the dimensions of our canvas or work table, and once we have it created, we select the image or photograph that we want to edit.
It has many filters that we can play with to create very cool effects.
9. Canva
Canva cannot be considered a vector graphic design program because it is not a very powerful tool in these aspects, but it is still image editing.
If you are looking for free graphic design programs for beginners, this is the best option for you since it is easy to use and the results you can achieve are incredible.
It has a lot of templates depending on the dimensions you select for your canvas, so you can choose one and modify it with your own images on top to get a really professional design without messing your head.
10.DesignCap
DesignCap is a more starter-friendly alternative to Canva, and it’s cheaper, too. It has a free version but with limitations. This tool is very useful if you want to create infographics, posters, or charts, so you can create your designs in a more accessible way.
It is web browser-based, so we can use it wherever we want and start testing it.
