The 6 Best Graphic Design Programs
Graphic design is a key factor in what can separate a good business from an amazing business. While graphic design is a career path many people go to school for, it’s still possible to pick some skills up on your own for your own business. There are platforms for graphic design that are for experts, some for beginners, some are paid and some are free. Let’s break down a few and you see which one may be best for your business.
Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is a member of the Adobe suite and more geared towards professionals, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few tricks that a newbie couldn’t tackle. Photoshop is great for editing photos, especially using Camera RAW, but it also offers ways to create unique graphics using text, overlays and the like, all through layers, and the ability to change the canvas or photo size. Photoshop is a paid software.
Adobe InDesign
InDesign, a paid software, is almost a level up to Photoshop as it does similar abilities but on more of a magazine-style level. This means that InDesign is really good for creating spreads for newspapers, magazines, and such. InDesign doesn’t offer the ability to use layers, so the graphics won’t be as complex as Photoshop. In fact, it’s almost best to create a graphic in Photoshop and then bring it into InDesign for the overall concept.
Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator is another member of the Adobe family, though not the last it is the last we will be talking about. Illustrator, also a paid software, is probably the hardest to master of the three we discussed, being used to create complex logos and typography. This one uses outlining, freehand and has the ability to upload or create new fonts. This one is designed for the more experienced graphic artist.
Canva
Canva is a free software but can be upgraded for a fee. Canva is pretty much Photoshop for beginners as it features a drag-and-drop design. It even has templates to use if you decided to do so. Canva has the ability to use shapes, stock photos, and gifs and you can even upload your own photos. For the paid subscription, you get more stock photos, more gifs, and the ability to do more precise transformations.
Fotor
Fotor is free but could be paid (depending on how fancy you want to go) tool for editing photos. Unlike Canva, Fotor is strictly for making your photos look great. It lets you touch up your photo’s exposure, contrast, vibrancy and whatever else you feel needs tweaking. You can even create collages, change the size, and more.
Pixlr
Pixlr is another free editing tool, similar to Canva that allows you to remove backgrounds, add text, add photos and even use filters to edit your photos. Similar to Canva, if you want to get more intricate with your photos, then you’d have to upgrade to a paid account. While there are countless other platforms out there to edit photos, create graphics, and combine the two, these are the most commonly used. Whether you choose one of these or decide to explore further,
Do your research on what would work best for your business and what would work best for the person doing the designing. Keep in mind skill level, price, and the reason for the work.