Content sharing has become a trend nowadays due to the revolution in the field of technology and the Internet. You must have observed the latest trend of people sharing maximum content in the form of short graphic clips and logos for every occasion and for marketing purposes as well making graphic designing as the most popular career option among the young generation.
Also, being a pro designer doesn’t only require having newest of the tools including latest software and hardware but having creative ideas and ability to execute them is the essence of graphic designing not to forget that having a good toolkit for this purpose is a mandate.
So, whether you are a beginner who is looking for the great start in the field of graphics designing or a seasoned expert looking for advancement in your current creative tools, this ultimate guide will help you in choosing the vital tools which will enable you to transform your overall work experience and will enhance your creativity.
Let’s begin with it:
1. GIMP
It is a free and an open source software for image editing. GIMP is a feature-laden software that can fine-tune images easily and it can also create attractive artworks from simple images. It offers features like layer marks, Bezier curves, animation packages and filters for professional users. It has got a user-friendly interface that requires no training in using it. It supports the third party, pre-installed or downloadable plugins. Few of its impeccable functionalities include:
• Noise Reduction feature
• Colour Adjustment Tools
• Image Enhancement Tools
• Brushes which can be customized
This product may not contain the vast functionalities of a good commercial designing tool but it for sure has all the editing and customization features required for enhancing user experience.
2. Adobe Illustrator Creative Cloud
Adobe Illustrator CC provides with vector graphics solutions that permits a user to develop beautiful designs, sketches, illustrations, and topographies. It is highly recommended for advanced graphic designers as it offers diversified tools which help them in creating logos for brands, graphics for websites, games etc. Its in-built templates and designs contribute in faster design creations. Its features include:
• Merge data using CSV or XML files
• A range of variable fonts
• Redesigned color screen panels
• Puppet Warp
It could be integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud and one could share projects easily. Illustrator act as a keystone for artists and designers for creating vector-based art.
3. MyFonts
This software has got the plethora of fonts. A graphic designer always needs the huge variety of fonts for their different piece of work. It’s unique “WhatTheFont” provides graphic designers access to different new and old fonts even if they don’t know the name of that font making it a compulsion for every designer to have it, a designer just need to upload a screenshot of the piece of a font which they are looking for and voila! they have it. It basically tracks the origin of a font by uploading it to WhatTheFont tool. This app has got the wide array of free as well as exclusive subscription fonts for the designers at all the levels.
4. Inkscape
It’s an open-source graphic design software well known for its capability to create vectors in its wide range of vector editing tools makes editing much easier for an artist or designer. These tools support customization of clones, shapes, text, transparency effects, paths and many other of these graphics aspects. It supports operations like:
• Node Editing
• Circumfluent Object Text
• Path Operations
• Creative Common Metadata
Projects can easily be saved into SVG, PNG, BMP, JPG and TIP formats which could be easily shared with other vector-based formats. Inkscape is a free software and offers robust editing solutions which are equivalent to solutions offered by expensive tools.
5. Krita
This is a free, open source painting and sketching tool which is suitable for the needs of both beginners as well as seasoned graphic designers and design artist. It painting abilities. This tool is a must for illustrators, texture, even visual effects artists prevailing in the movie industry. This tool provides solutions like:
• Manipulation of a highly Dynamic Range image
• Smoothening
• Colour Blending
• Mirroring
• Pressuring and Layering
Krita offers the range of Nine brush engines to pick from as depending upon the need of artists and designers. Users can also create their own brushes and can, later on, tag them using an already developed tagging system. You can use this tool by simply signing up for its services.
6. PhotoImpact
This software is designed keeping in mind the needs of both an amateur as well as novice designers. It has a user-friendly interface making it a must-have for the graphics designer. Loaded with tons of features like:
• Single Click
• Quick Fix Mode
• Digital Art Tools with Cutting Edge Technology
• Customizable Project Templates
It adds high-quality professional touch to your work. Its unique features help in enhancing your work by providing you space to come up with extraordinary graphics for Slideshows, DVD’s, and Videos etc. Drawing and painting tools offered by PhotoImpact are so spontaneous that it allows you to experiment with your creativity for designing graphics.
7. ACDSee Photo Editor
This software is ideally the best substitute for expensive pixel- based photo editors currently available in the market which assists users in making quick alterations by improving an image, precision target and for applying filters in images. It is recommended for those who usually do not want complex image alteration functionalities. Its wide arrays of tools offer features like:
• Easy image adjustments through the automatic process
• Layered image editing
• Pixel Targeting
• Smart Erase
• Frequency Parting
It is backed by RAW which helps in balancing colors, providing the sharpness to images or for any other such kind of adjustments. All these features make this editor an idyllic alternative to choose from the more expensive ones.
8. Adobe Fireworks CS6
The Adobe Fireworks CS6 simplifies graphic designing for applications and websites it is a powerful yet very light software for image editing. You can easily create graphics, images here without the use of any intricate codes. Along with access to API, it also supports CSS creation and iQuery mobile theme skinning. Adobe Firework CS6 enables you to:
• Crops Graphics
• Perform Vector and Bitmap Editing for Websites
• Automates Repetitive Tasks
• Offer tools for Drawing, Pop-Up menus, and Rollovers for apps
This tool may not be as powerful as others but has the capacity to make CSS sprites and could also easily retain codes from CSS designs. It can save images of different formats along with HTML which can be used in websites further.
9. ArtRage
This is an application intended to serve the needs of both conventional as well as contemporary graphic artists. With this drawing and painting application, you can create concept based artworks for video games, animated movies, traditional artworks and graphical illustrations for picture books etc. It has the wide array of most unique features like:
• Accessible Workspace
• Visual References
• Interface Options
• Natural Media Pencils
Basically, its tools are based upon traditional paintings which help in editing, designing and drawing process. This app is compatible with both iOS and Android smart devices.
10. Adobe Photoshop CC
It is among one of the most reliable images and graphics editing tool which a designer at any level must possess. It provides inbuilt tools and templates which help the graphic designer in designing banners, posters, icons, mobile apps, and websites. Using this tool, you can create and improve illustrations effortlessly. It also helps in a modification of different artworks through its brush aids, exceptional tools, and patterns. Its other features include:
• 360 Panorama Work View
• Group Layer Arranging
• Curvature Pen Tool
• Luminance Range Masking
• Access Lightroom Photos
It offers its users benefit from sharing their work and projects directly from the app with several services and on almost most of the major social media channels.
Wrapping up
Graphic designing is definitely not a layman’s task it requires working with creativity and that work should match with the client’s requirements and one must show up with a unique, ground-breaking piece of work that must be attractive too. To keep up with the good work designers surely requires the latest tools and here you have it a list of 10 must-have tools for graphic designers to bolster their efficiency.
