Best software for graphic design

Best software for graphic design

Although there are many specialized web and graphic design websites like very few, they have an extensive and complete list of the best software for graphic design.

Next, we will see a list of the best design programs for your PC. Almost all of them are cross-platform. That is, they work well on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Many of them are free to design programs, and others are paid, but every one is worth it.

Best software for graphic design

While they may be similar when you look at them quickly, they all have their peculiarities. Some are better for designing an object, others for retouching photographs, or working with vector graphics. Let’s get started with the best software for graphic design!

1. Corel Draw Graphic Suite 2019

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is the graphic design suite of the famous software brand “Corel,” well known in the graphic design industry, pioneer, and still the undisputed leader as one of the best tools used by creative agencies.

This graphic design software is used by individuals, professionals, small and large companies. In addition to helping you at the graphic design level, it will also allow you to take care of other similar tasks such as illustration design, photo-editing, digital typography, web image retouching, among many other possibilities.

It is even widely used by experts in drawing and tattoo art, who use it before embedding their works on their clients’ skin. We invite you to try it, as it will surely accompany you for the rest of your days.

2. Adobe illustrator

Illustrator is our second recommended program for graphic designers. Together with Corel, it is one of the undisputed leaders in designing vector drawings and graphic elements.

It is especially recommended for all those who want to design vectors, including cartoons, logos, or illustrations in general. The Illustrator CS6 version offers many improvements to work quickly, especially when processing very large and heavy files.

It is also widely used in amateur drawing, professional drawing, editorial design, web design, and even graphics used to develop mobile applications. It offers design improvements in the visual field like few others.

3. Inkscape

Inkscape is our third pick after the two best known we mentioned earlier. This is a popular free software editor known for its excellent ability to edit vector graphics, generate high-quality illustrations, and draw logos, diagrams, and more.

It is characterized as the favorite alternative to Adobe Illustrator, only that it is free and cross-platform, that is, it runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

It is also open-source, so it has a huge community of developer users who are always improving the application. It is also characterized by having a huge community of helpers who will give you the best advice on using this design program.

4. Adobe Photoshop

We can’t move on to this design software list without first mentioning the famous Adobe Photoshop, one of the most popular image-editing tools of all time.

This program became very popular because it is used to retouch photos and achieve tremendous effects that can hardly be achieved with other design programs.

This is how you can retouch photographs, graphics, and images to later use them in digital magazines, video editing, or web design.

In the past, it was only used by graphic designers. However, today it is also used by photo agencies, freelance photographers, and digital marketing agencies.

5. Gimp

Gimp is the brother of Inkscape, also open source and cross-platform. It is the one chosen by Windows, Linux, and Mac web designers.

It is used to manipulate, edit, and retouch images, achieving really excellent results. For a reason, it is chosen as an alternative to Corel Draw, as it is ideal for generating high-quality graphics, logos, isotypes, among many others. Due to its photo retouching abilities, it is also an excellent alternative to Photoshop.

6. ACDsee pro

Another option that few designers know about is ACDsee Pro, graphic design software that has been on the market for years. Although it is not as renowned as Corel or Photoshop, it has earned a place among the most used tools to design graphic and photographic pieces.

It is probably one of the editors with more options, which will allow you to edit, control, manipulate, and retouch everything related to the production of digital images.

Not only does it allow you to edit them, but also to process, manage, analyze them, to finally export them to the most appropriate format according to the type of image you are working with, 100% ideal for when we have a large bank of images or digital camera photos.

It also has great integration with social networks and cloud services, allowing you to share them with whoever you need most. ACDSee Pro 8, will allow you to manage all your digital files and photographic flow tasks in a fast and friendly way.

7. Paint Shop Pro

We should never forget one of the graphic retouching tools that were as popular as Paint Shop Pro, software that has been around for years and was acquired by Corel a while ago.

If Corel bought it, it was for something. Then we must take it as a professional graphic design tool, serious and adapted to any photographer or creative professional’s needs.

With PaintShop Pro 2019 Ultimate, its most recent version, you can obtain very similar and even better results than if you work with Adobe Photoshop programs. In other words, it is oriented as a photo retouching application, where thanks to Painter Essentials (part of Paint Shop Pro), it will allow you to modify easily, edit, and correct images in any format, even RAW.

It brings with it some really powerful editing and layout filters for managing files, with a visual finish geared towards user experience to make the task of editing images a breeze. Another of its great utilities is to create graphics for printing and visual communication, something widely used in advertising and online marketing companies.

8. Canva

Canva is featured as another of the most popular photo editing and retouching options among amateur designers. It is characterized by being an online graphic design tool. That is, it does not require installation on your PC to function. The only limitation that this program has today is that it does not work from your mobile. That is, you must always load it using a PC or notebook.

It is characterized by being multiplatform, as it works from any web browser, regardless of the operating system you use. And it is used mainly to create logos, isotypes, brochures, flyers, and create advertisements, banners, and retouch photographs. To use it, you just have to fill in a couple of data and start designing your graphic pieces.

9. Picasa

Picasa is the popular design software created by Google Company. It is also characterized by being used mainly by amateur designers, who choose it as a tool to edit brochures, posters, banners, graphic pieces in general, and edit and retouch photographs, identically to how it is done in Adobe Photoshop.

Picasa from Google also can create graphic pieces and then print them on CDs, that is, create the covers and back covers of your favorite music albums, design wallpapers for interactive CDs, and graphics to insert into your videos directly.

10. Pixlr

And when we talk about online design tools, we cannot forget Pixlr. This useful photo editor will make your life much easier when you need to do any photo retouching and do not have a desktop application installed on your PC.

Like Canva, it only requires that you open your browser and go to its website to start using the entire palette of tools to design online. You will be able to retouch and modify photos, apply filters, shadows, warp, stretch, and much more.

As you have seen, in this article, we have exposed a giant list of the best software for graphic design, web design, architecture, and also industrial design. All of them will allow you to shine in the field of design work you are in right now, whether you are a newbie just starting to make your first logos or an established expert with your design agency.