If Graphic Design is Your Passion, here’s the software you need to get started
Trying to get into graphic design? Here are the top 5 free software you need.
If you’ve spent five minutes on any social media feed, you’ve probably noticed that most content that pops up includes videos, gifs, or at the very least, images. Even when you’re walking around, posters on bus stops, van wraps, train ads and billboards all serve to convey advertiser’s messages to you. Whether you’re planning on designing the next Apple logo or if you’re just trying to make a nice social media campaign and the last raster graphics editor (i.e. image editing software) you touched was MS Paint, here’s some of the more professional software you’ll want to look into.
Adobe Photoshop
There’s a reason why ‘photoshop’ has become a catch-all term used to refer to image manipulation. Having pioneered some of the early photo editing tools, Photoshop is now the industry standard for digital art. Initially, Photoshop was a one-off purchase with new versions released every few years. However, when Adobe introduced the Creative Cloud in 2013, the licensing scheme was changed to a monthly subscription, which comes with a package deal of cloud sharing, collaboration and other Adobe programmes.
www.adobe.com/sg/products/photoshop.html
PaintTool SAI
If you’re more of a digital artist, you might want to try out PaintTool SAI. This Japanese-made software supports pressure-sensitive tablets, has an intuitive and comprehensive user interface and is designed to avoid unexpected termination so you won’t lose any of your hard work. The colour-mixing function and stroke smoothening functions are great for creating illustrations, but it has fewer tools, filters and brushes available. Want to try before you buy? You can use the software free for 31 days, after that, you’ll have to pay a one-off fee of USD$50.
www.systemax.jp/en/sai
Clip Studio Paint
Not only is CSP compatible with Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android and Chromebook, it can also be used to create everything from concept art to comics and animation. There’s plenty of features to explore including AI colorisation and thousands of customisable brushes. There are also one-time and monthly subscription payment plans available if you’re on a budget.
www.clipstudio.net
Open-source software for newbies
Visual assets rule the commercial world and trying to muscle your way into the field can be tricky when you’re starting out small with limited resources. Luckily, there’s plenty of free, open-source graphic design software out there which can meet the needs of any novice or amateur graphic designer. Here’s some of our top picks:
GIMP
GIMP (or GNU Image Manipulation Program) covers all the basics of Photoshop including cloning, and it’s 100% free. It’s not as intuitive as Photoshop but it’s constantly updating and if you know what you’re doing, it’s a powerful photo editor.
www.gimp.org
Photopea
If you’re looking for an in-browser alternative to GIMP, Photopea fully replicates all of Photoshop’s basic functions. It can both read and save Photoshop files such as .PSD, .AI, .XD, as well as PDFs, RAWs and so on. Its goal is to create the most advanced and affordable photo editor and we’d say it’s well on its way to achieving it.
www.photopea.com
Befunky
If you just need a quick and easy photo editor to crop your photos or create a moodboard for a low-fi wireframe or marketing campaign, Befunky is a fuss-free in-browser website that allows you to upload your pictures and make minor edits without being distracted by other tools.
befunky.com
Canva
This website is perfect if you’re diving into social media for the first time. Canva doesn’t just have a well-stocked library of graphic elements, stock images and videos, it also has templates for every marketing material under the sun — flyers, posters, mailers, Instagram stories, Facebook, you name it! Since it’s an in-browser website, you can share your design with your team to make changes in real-time. There is a paid version for businesses and schools, Canva Pro, but the free version is just as useful. Plus you can get Canva Pro for free if you’re a K12 teacher or a non-profit organisation.
www.canva.com
For more open-source substitutes, check out this comprehensive infographic by @XdanielArt on Twitter.
Sourcing Images
Many newcomers often think “If an image is on Google, it’s a free for all!” This isn’t always the case. Besides that, getting into the habit of attributing or giving credit is good practice. Not only does it support your fellow creators, it’s also a sign of good faith. Plus, you’ll avoid getting any nasty surprises in your Inbox or DMs, especially concerning Singapore’s strict Copyright Act.
If you don’t have the cash to dole out for a Shutterstock account, here is a list of websites where you can get royalty-free photos with a creative commons license, attribution optional.
- Unsplash: Great for mood boards, mockups and wireframes. The search function is a little limited and the library is still growing, but it’s all high-quality images. Medium sources images straight from Unsplash so if you like our hero images, you can thank Unsplash!
- Pexels: On top of having a library of amazing stock photos, Pexels also has a selection of stock videos. Plus, they have plenty of plugins you can use with platforms like Google Chrome, WordPress and Figma.
- Pixabay: Boasting over 2.4 million photos to choose from, you can get everything from graphic vectors to scenic shots. And you can even leave a comment to let the creator know just how much you love their images!
- Wikimedia Commons: Just like Wikipedia, the over 76 million (and counting!) freely available to use images, videos and sounds in Wikimedia Commons are all community-sourced. The quality isn’t the best but if you’re looking for something a little more obscure that can’t be found on any stock image site, you can start here.
- Rawpixel: On top of some seriously aesthetic images, Rawpixel also has transparent assets you can use in your designs.
- Reshot: Looking for SVG icons, vector illustrations as well as stock images? Reshot has them all.
Did we miss out any of your favourites? Leave a comment to let us know!
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