Top 8 best graphic design software for professionals

Closely associated with a select group of people, graphic design is currently a generalized discipline that has followers and professionals dedicated to it all over the world. Their services are highly appreciated in all areas, as they are able to transform an idea into a creative and original image.

The services of professional designers are widely appreciated for the quality of their work and the level of skill demonstrated.

Today, graphic design is a discipline that has hundreds of followers in our country alone. In fact, the number of students who want to focus their studies on this part of design is growing , being aware that the presence of new technologies will play a fundamental role in its development.

If you want to have a competent and effective graphic design tool with great customization and control options, don’t stop reading: our experts have prepared a selection for you with Top 8 best graphic design software for professionals.

1. Sketch

Although exclusive to Mac, Sketch is one of the best programs for amateur and professional graphic designers. It is an ideal tool for creating icons , logos and interfaces for web pages and portable device screens.

Its control is very manageable, betting on accessibility and pretending to make Mac users fond of graphic design.

For this reason, it integrates an assistant capable of guiding you step by step through the entire process of preparing a simple project, being able to master it in a short time and putting at your disposal the necessary tools to become an expert graphic designer.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• With the simplicity of programs for newbies and the depth of the Pro versions.
• Exclusive to Mac, it exploits the technical characteristics of the equipment.
• Its high-precision color player, capable of distinguishing subtle changes in tones.

2. Affinity

It is known among graphic design fans for being one of the cheapest options.

Thanks to the support of the community and the feedback reported to its creators, today Affinity is a great graphic design tool with professional overtones, very easy to use and with a depth in its options that has nothing to envy to the great software on the market. market.

It’s perfect for those who want to get started in this discipline, since it comes pre-installed with a powerful assistant, evolved from the original, designed to guide you step by step through its control scheme.

However, given that it has been expanding functionalities over time, it has left behind its casual nature to become a real alternative to the most expensive and reputable programs.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• It maintains its wizard for beginners, a success.
• It has incorporated advanced features until becoming a Pro alternative.
• Perfect for complex compositions with high color contrast.

3. Adobe InDesign

It is true that Adobe has several digital design options in its catalog, but the one that continues to surprise the most is InDesign.

Widely used at an editorial level due to its high performance and the large number of possibilities it offers when it comes to editing the image, it is ideal for generating interactive documents, combining different types of audio and video formats, as well as animations.

If you’re not looking to work with documents and want to focus more on the creative part, Illustrator and the well-known Photoshop CC may be of interest to you, which have tools capable of making the most of digital devices and unleashing your creativity.

They have numerous export options to preserve the projects while respecting the original image quality, something of vital importance in this type of application, which works solely and exclusively with images and colors. In the case of Adobe, they are all optimized to work with a small stylus on portable devices.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• It complements well with other products in the Adobe range.
• Generate interactive documents by combining formats and file types.
• It is the best option for project layout.

4. Pixlr

Its main asset is that it does not require installation, since it bases its operation entirely on the cloud.

Very easy to use and with outstanding fluidity, it is one of the most recommended options if you are looking for a simple image editor to create your projects.

It is designed for those who have never entered the world of graphic design, since the options it integrates are too basic for an average user.

However, it is ideal for exporting small projects , optimizing images and making small adjustments without affecting the resolution of the work or the final quality of the image.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• Something basic, but very comfortable and easy to handle.
• Ideal for beginners who want to learn the fundamentals of graphic design.
• It works 100% in the cloud, which favors its performance.

5. CorelDraw

Launched in 1992, today it continues to be one of the best alternatives for carrying out professional projects thanks to its constant updates, its refined controls and the large number of tools it includes.

It offers the necessary tools to create vector illustrations and work on your projects. It has tutorials, tricks, a shortcut simulator and other alternative functions designed to improve performance with the program, something that is very much appreciated for all those who have not delved too deeply into the discipline.

It is available for both Mac and Windows and allows cross-device exporting, speeding up transfer and delivery tasks.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• It is synonymous with quality, since it is one of the best valued of all time.
• Almost 30 years of experience adding new features and debugging your control.
• It is now compatible with Mac and allows cross-exporting.

6. Canva

It has many followers thanks to the excellent content/price ratio, since it is one of the most complete and economical tools on the entire market.

It comes standard with a series of default templates (the free version comes with more than 8,000, almost nothing if we take into account that each user can upload and create their work teams to share them).

From the outset, it can be somewhat harsh for a certain type of audience, especially the target used to working with old programs or applications that are incompatible with the usual operating systems, but over time it will be a fundamental tool in the development of professional projects.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• It brings with it a lot of content.
• For beginners it is a very complete tool.
• It allows you to upload both your projects and the work equipment used.

7. Vectr

Although it’s free, it’s not a trial version or a basic program: it’s all competent and very complete graphic design software, compatible with smartphones and tablets that allow you to edit the half-finished project and finish it on a different medium than the original.

It is integrated with WordPress, a perfect option for those looking to add a more personal touch to their website and blogs.

And beware, because it has no OS restrictions : it features full compatibility with any operating system, including Chrome OS and Linux, in addition to Windows.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• Easy export between devices, without affecting the final resolution.
• It is integrated into WordPress, which allows you to include your own designs on web pages.
• Compatible with Windows, Linux and Chrome OS.

8. Designrr

It is well known among those who like to create electronic books, since it allows you to transform blogs, videos and other files (including PDF) into complete e-books .

The covers can be designed to suit everyone, and logos, icons or any other customizable detail can be incorporated into the text.

It also lets you create small custom watermarks with homegrown ornamental motifs to embed in the borders or body of pages to prevent unauthorized copying.

3 aspects that we highlight:

• Work with photos, videos, blogs, and even podcasts.
• Compatible with PDF format and with custom export options.
• With an anti-copy system based on the generation of a watermark.

Our recommendation when choosing the best graphic design software

No need to explain what graphic design software is for, right? By now you will know to what extent it simplifies the execution of projects of this type and how important it is to have the right tools to make changes or send them to your target devices.

Each software is based on a specific user profile , a selection system resulting from the generalization of these programs and the growing interest that this discipline arouses among the new generations.

What you may not know is that there is so much variety of programs on the market due not only to the increased demand for tools that facilitate the development of new designs, but also to the growing generalization of a discipline that, until not long ago, only aroused the interest of a few .

This has led developers to focus on the different profiles of designers and launch a specific application for them. Therefore, each one is based on a certain type of profile. Identifying it is not easy and may require specialized assistance to try to find the one that best suits you.

To try to give you a hand in your choice, we have concentrated the fundamental aspects in three main features that should deserve all your attention:

1.- Depth level. You will know how well versed you are in the subject and what you really need, but be careful not to overdo it: there are applications of a markedly professional nature that have a steep learning curve, being not suitable for beginners who first need to familiarize themselves with the basics.

Each app has its own depth level and predefined difficulty curve, so it’s a good idea to get to know each other beforehand to get an idea of ​​how suitable these apps are for you.

2.- Associated tools. It is rare to find graphic design software “as is”, since they all integrate some additions to improve the user experience. However, take a look at its complete features to see how far its level of synchronization goes. Certain programs are not only compatible with certain tools, but also have their own add-ons to be integrated into the program.

3.- Exported and compatibilities. Speeding up exports is essential to avoid massive time wastage between rendering a project and outputting it to a stand-alone file. The most complex projects can take hours, something that has been worked on to improve waiting times.

Features common to all graphic design software

Obvious aside, a graphic design software is designed to concentrate a series of features that allow all fans of creative design to have the necessary tools to develop their projects, export them successfully and make small modifications on the fly.

A graphic design software is associated with a whole series of tools to facilitate the tasks of reading, editing and exporting , in addition to synchronizing with applications such as WordPress.

As we have told you on some occasion, first consulting the specifications of each program allows us to get an idea of ​​how well a certain program matches our real needs. Looking for a very powerful tool with great customization options is of little use if what you want is to optimize export performance, for example.

Broadly speaking, all graphic design software must have the following characteristics:

1.- High precision display. This type of application has a precision tool to improve the editing of projects, but to avoid errors during the first bars of the same, it is necessary to be able to work with a high-precision display.

These programs are designed to work with very precise screens, with high visibility and high contrast. In the event that this is not the case, the same program can optimize the performance of the screen to try to improve its qualities to provide the user with a professional creation experience.

2.- Extensive export options. The hertz resolution and frame rate selectors per second (fps) are essential to adjust the quality of our projects, including dynamic ones or those that include a moving subject.

50% of the final quality of the product is directly compromised with this resolution and refresh rate selector, so it is very convenient not to neglect this aspect and check the options available to the program in this regard.

3.- Templates and synchronized applications. It is common for graphic design programs to come with some templates as standard to start working with more ease (some include several thousand, almost nothing!). Today, given the interest of this discipline among the common public, it is essential to provide the user with tools such as these templates to work with ease in the first stages of their career.

Advantages of using graphic design software

Graphic design software is very useful for developing projects quickly and accurately, and they increasingly have better tools to work not only on computers and specific devices for creating projects, but also on smartphones and tablets.

Today it is common to find professional graphic design applications that work extremely well on mobile phones and tablets , allowing cross-exporting to speed up their completion.

Among all the benefits of having graphic design software, there is a certain consensus among experts in pointing out these three in particular as the most important for professionals and amateurs of the discipline:

1.- Edit and export much faster. Not even a point of comparison with the old image design programs, which took several hours to generate a file from the elaborated project. The updates released are almost all oriented in this direction, since better results are increasingly demanded in less time.

2.- Create identical copies in a matter of seconds. One of the advantages most appreciated by the users of these programs is that they allow you to have backup copies of your projects. Some even upload multiple copies to the cloud at different stages of the project in order to provide the user with one copy of their work or another depending on the point from which they want to resume it.

3.- They can be resumed on any device. The cross-export options allow you to continue with half-finished projects on a different device than the one that has been used to develop it so far, taking advantage of tablets and smartphones to make modifications or continue with them until they are finished.

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