Graphic design requires the use of relevant graphic design software tools. Beginners will start by learning one or two applications, but as they move into a full-time career, they need to have the right tools for the specific types of design they are engaged with. We look at the best graphic design software tools for beginners.

Canva

Canva is good for the novice graphic designer. It has thousands of templates for print or website documents and vector images and works with image manipulation. Canva can also be used to create cards. Its pre-made templates take the work out of designing and the tool is well-organised so that it is simple to find what you are looking for. One downside is that a few images are bigger than they should be, resulting in unpredictable results once printed or uploaded as posts. On the plus side, it has great customisability. It has applicability to digital marketing and social media. Canva has a PDF editor and a chart maker. There is a free option and a Pro version is available.

Lucidpress

With tons of templates for images and illustrations that can be manipulated or customised, easy to use, and working with a drag and drop function, this is a good starting software package. It is missing PNG icons and many other desired images. However, a nice touch is the automatic branding data that can be used for email addresses and telephone numbers.  Import and export are swiftly accomplished with any browser and permit you to store brand assets.

Lucidpress is great for simple graphic designs for use with brand identity and on social media. Again, there is a free option that is perfect for newbies. The Pro version works with the number of users and requires a quotation.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful and extremely popular tool. It allows for quality creation and manipulation. Photos can be readily organised as desired, It enables the creation of fantastic images, including 3D, from a blank screen. Colours can be corrected on any image and text can be added. Borders are easy to apply. Adobe Photoshop is best for graphic designers with prior experience with other, simpler software as it is hard to master. That said, it is a must-have at some stage for photo editing. Costs are monthly and vary for individuals, students and teachers, and businesses. Universities and schools require a custom quotation.

Inkscape

Inkscape is suitable for those graphic designers just starting and up to the intermediate level. It is for the creation and manipulation of vector graphics. Beginners can acquire skills with vector graphic editing. It is suitable for those who cannot afford to buy tools like Adobe Illustrator CC that want to work with vector design. Shapes can be used to create basic objects and curves for more complex designs. It supports rendering transparent PNG. Colour selection is made simple but works with a powerful tool. It does take a bit of time to learn and is perhaps not the best place to start as a beginner, although you also don’t need to be an expert.

Whatever package you start with, bear in mind that you will need a computer with the right graphics processor, such as Intel® Arc™ Graphics at Lenovo.

It is best to start with one of the simpler packages that are free, Once you master that, you can move up to the next level and keep progressing as far as you want to go.