V this section I plan to consider not only programs for creating website design, but also any other software that a web designer encounters in one way or another in his work. The most popular design program is probably Photoshop, but, as they say, not the only one. There are many more nuances and directions in web design where you can use specific software - layout, fonts, work with browsers, FTP, etc.

In general, the use of web design software will not only allow you to "do your job well", but often it good opportunity save a little time, automate and simplify some processes. I am glad that recently there are more and more such solutions and programs for designers - I will talk about all the new products and old proven software.

Designers are those people who are in constant search for something new: interesting sources of inspiration, specialized online services, offline programs like CSS editors as well as all sorts of tricks / scripts to help speed up and improve your workflow. You've probably heard about one of the largest software products for this browser - built-in developer tools Chrome Devtools, but at the same time you can find dozens and hundreds of smaller, but very useful applications. It is about ...

The effectiveness of any web resource largely depends on the degree of success of its interaction with the user, i.e. usability and successful UI / UX design. If the site is difficult to use, then its visitors are more likely to find and choose something else. However, if the user gets a positive impression, he will not only use this product himself, but will also recommend it to his friends. In this article, we'll take a look at the best tools for creating good usability….

When it becomes necessary to edit / improve photos, not every user will be able to solve the problem using professional software like Photoshop. Unfortunately, you can't figure it out without additional knowledge or searching for information on Google. However, as an alternative, we advise you to try simpler photo editors, which are just created for quick and easy processing of graphic images. One of the most popular of these tools is Movavi. Earlier they already talked about him in ...

Modern graphic editors have long gone from the old desktop versions and launched their own online services and various mobile applications... So, for example, we recently reviewed more than 10 full-fledged and self-sufficient design programs for Android, there is similar software for iOS, you can recall the Vectr vector editor and much more. Google has decided to keep up with these trends and launched its online web application for drawing on browser pages - Canvas Chrome. Despite ...

A watermark is a transparent logo or emblem on images and photographs. Designers and photographers place them on their works for copyright protection. You may also have seen them in different online stores. Today we will look at the Visual Watermark program for quickly and easily adding watermarks to the photo.

This task arises when you, for example, want to digitize your ancient family photo collection by saving the pictures on your computer or printing them again. Alas, over time, the original version of the image may deteriorate: bends, scuffs, cracks and other artifacts appear. In general, you cannot do without additional processing. Theoretically, many graphic editors can be useful as a photo recovery program, but to do this work you will need special ...

For a long time, vector graphics creation / editing tools have been difficult to access for webmasters, bloggers, and content marketers. Firstly, special software was often expensive, and secondly, it was too complicated for ordinary users (not designers). Now the situation is better - you can find different analogues Illustrator in the public domain, not much inferior to the original. Let's talk about one of them today - the Vectr program. Use this free vector editor on a regular PC or ...

We discussed Wordpress mainly in terms of templates, but the system has another big advantage - modules. Because of them, many webmasters who make money online choose this CMS to implement their ideas. Today we'll talk about the Wp-Loaner plugin, which will be useful to those who are engaged in credit affiliate programs in the CPA (Cost Per Action) niche. Let's briefly consider the capabilities of the tool and customize the appearance of the displayed data in it. If…

There are several interesting alternative programs for Photoshop for processing photos on a computer. They make it easy to edit pictures, giving them uniqueness and individuality, just like after using professional software. Today we will tell you about one of such solutions called PhotoMASTER. The main advantages of the program over Photoshop: As simple as possible / user-friendly interface... You do not need professional skills in working with graphic editors. If something is not clear, then there are free tutorials on the official website ...

Android is the most popular mobile operating system that is installed on millions of devices around the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are a lot of games, utilities, applications for it, including various Android Apps for designers. You can use them on average Chinese smartphones, top-end devices like the Google Pixel 2 XL or Samsung tablets with the S Pen. This article will be a kind of logical continuation of the collection ...

So let's define: you need a tool to speed up your work. That is, you do not need to master all the functionality perfectly, you need to learn how to work quickly. Whichever tool you choose, explore the key features and master all the hotkeys.

Learn to use them automatically, and only then move on to more advanced functions. To design simple sites, you just need to be able to install a font, draw simple forms, work with layers, change colors, etc.

Rice. 7.0: I designed my site with a few basic tools, one font and three colors.

Once you become comfortable with your tool, you can quickly test different ideas (this will help you achieve better results) and finish work on time (and this will make your clients and employers happy!).

If you are just starting to learn design or want to switch to another tool for a long time, I advise you to experiment with several options and choose the most convenient one. We all have our own life experiences and our own habits. If you like a program for some reason, most likely you will master it much faster.

It is important to understand that at some point you may have to switch to a different instrument. Most of us have used Photoshop for years because there were no alternatives on the market. Over the past couple of years, the situation has changed radically.

Design on the web has long ceased to be static, and we are trying to fill the gap between design and code. Most likely, in the near future there will be many new features and even tools.

Popular design software

When choosing a design tool, an important role is played not only by the speed and quality of the program itself, but also by its popularity in the professional environment. It will be easier for you to work with other designers and developers (for example, within a large-scale project) if you use the same software.

1. Sketch- $ 99 / year (Mac only)

Fig 7.1: Sketch

For most of my current projects, I use Sketch. The tool is very fast, intuitive and quite easy to use (I switched from Photoshop without any problems). Sketch is one of the most popular design apps out there, so most developers and designers are familiar with it.

Sketch has everything you need for design: guides, grids, symbols, transforming images in perspective (for previewing designs on iOS), vector editing, prototyping, libraries, asset export, cloud (to share designs and libraries), and even code export. ... It also has tons of plugins and resources.

Sketch's biggest flaw is that it only works on Mac. However, you can export projects for applications such as InVision and Zeplin to create specifications and developer guides.

2. Figma- Free or $ 12 / mo (web app)

Fig 7.2: Figma

Figma is relative new program for design. This is probably Sketch's biggest competitor - and it's growing very fast. Figma has all the same features as Sketch - plus multiple designers can work on the same project at the same time.

The coolest thing is that Figma is completely free if you have up to three projects, and for only $ 12 a month you can unlock all the features and create an infinite number of projects. The application works directly in the browser - therefore, on almost any operating system. User interface reminds of the interface of Sketch and Adobe XD: if these tools are familiar to you, then you don't even have to master anything.

This is a great option if you are a beginner designer and would like to try your hand without investing in expensive software yet. I have used Figma in several of my projects and it was very simple and fast for me.

3. Adobe xd- Free (Mac and Windows)

Fig 7.3: Adobe XD

Adobe XD is another strong player in the world of professional design applications. I think it is great for UI design, wireframing and prototyping - although it lacks a few advanced features compared to Sketch or Figma.

The plus is that the tool is free for both Mac and Windows (although it may be paid when it is brought to mind). Plus, it's Adobe's product line - so you can swap assets with other tools like Photoshop or Illustrator.

The interface is very similar to Sketch and Figma, so you can use three tools at the same time - and switch between them without any problems (except that some hotkeys are different!).

4. InVision Studio- Free (beta version, early access available)

Fig 7.4: InVision Studio

InVision Studio is a new full stack tool that is still in beta, but looks promising. The interface is a copy of Sketch and Figma, which have already become the modern standard for design tools.

I experimented a bit with InVision Studio and since I have a good overall impression of the other InVision products, I'm sure the guys will be successful when the official version comes out.

5. Webflow- Free or $ 16 / mo (web app)

Fig 7.5: Webflow

Webflow is a full stack tool for creating functional and responsive websites that can be hosted directly on their platform (or exported and hosted elsewhere).

I'm not a fan of design-to-code tools, because usually the generated code does not perform well in practice, plus it is difficult to work with. However, Webflow is pretty good. You have complete control over the CSS code, plus the tool shows how HTML and CSS works, because all design elements in the browser behave as they should.

I think Webflow is great for quick prototypes, simple websites, one-page pages, and the like. Many professional designers I know use Webflow - so it's worth taking a closer look!

6. Adobe photoshop- $ 20.99 / mo or as part of Creative Cloud ($ 52.99 / mo)

Fig 7.6: Adobe photoshop

It's no coincidence that I put Photoshop at the very bottom of the list. Photoshop is a very popular website design program, but it is losing the battle with Sketch, Figma, and other tools. If you're still using Photoshop, that's fine, but be prepared to move to another tool in the near future.

The current web development standards force us to make more flexible projects, move closer to the code, work within the framework of the design system. Photoshop is too slow and generates files that are too large compared to the above tools.

However, I still use Photoshop for photography, graphics and illustrations.

Figure 7.7: A quick comparison of the Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD interfaces. See how they look alike!

Other tools that I use at work:

Here is a complete list of tools that I use in the process.

Every day, more and more programs appear on the network that offer designers to use. Especially there are many task planners, tools for creating mind maps and other trendy features among them, they appear almost every day, ask for incredible money and then die a natural death from greed.

I am always very skeptical about such new products and wait for some time for their natural selection and withering away before rushing to study a new service. This can be a real headache, especially if you are just starting to work and still do not fully understand why you need this or that program.

In fact, the list of programs and services that I use to create web design, graphic design and coordination of tasks is not that great and each of its points has definitely passed the test of time.

Top 10 software for web and graphic designer:

1. Adobe Photoshop

Although it is far from being the first to open when creating a web design, let it be the first item as the most popular. Photoshop has been used for interfaces for god knows how long, I have been using it for at least 10 years and the program is only getting better. It has a huge number of possibilities, but web designers use it to draw interfaces, create raster graphics, and process photographs. Graphic designers are for roughly the same purposes.

P.S. For several years I have been waiting for the moment when Photoshop will replace vector programs. Its first competitors are Sketch. Adobe illustrator and a little bit of Indesign. They are really convenient in working with interfaces, but the trouble is that the layout designers who know how to work with these programs can be counted on one hand in Russia, and they all work in large companies. So if you are a freelancer and you do not know who will typeset your layout, Photoshop is still universal and the best way... Maybe in a couple of years this will change.

2. Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator already mentioned above, of course, has already taken over some of the web design. Namely, all vector graphics: icons, vector texture, logos, vector illustrations are created in it. And then, using the same program, they are exported to scalable web graphics SVG.

For a graphic designer, the illustrator is the number one program. Because all logos, corporate styles, simple printed products that do not require page layout (business cards, for example) are also created in the illustrator.

It also collects presentations and guidelines for clients.

P.S. Of course, this is not a panacea. If you have a task to make a flyer with no text at all and only with photos, then it would be more logical to draw it in Photoshop, because it is bitmap graphics.

3. Coggle.it

In search of an adequate tool for mind mapping, I tried a dozen services. Of course, my favorite was mindmeister. But after creating one card, he asked me for a rather expensive subscription with payment every month and I decided that by paying every month for the Adobe Creative Cloud package and I was already a fairly honest person and began to look for a free tool.

Coggle does not limit the number of cards, they can be shared with other users, saved in pictures and they look pretty and convenient enough. But for some reason he insists that your cards are open and, in theory, anyone can see them.

P.S. If you do not know what a mind map is, this is a very convenient and versatile tool for developing concepts, designing a sitemap, and custom scripts. This is where web design usually starts. Someday I will describe this method in more detail.

4. InvisionApp

A very handy prototyping tool. I use it to create a gray design and even use it for presentation already ready-made layouts... You can not only immediately work out the entire structure of the site and place a link, but also arrange such nice little things as a sticky menu or make global navigation. The downside is that Invision is paid again and only offers one free prototype. If you are not managing 5 projects at the same time, this is enough.

There are absolutely free alternative Marvel App, but its functionality is much simpler and working with prototypes is still more difficult.

5. Pinterest

It is an online service popular among the narrow circles of designers. It is very convenient to create mood boards for projects and store references here. Moodboards can be shared, collaborative, besides, this resource has a chic base of design work, which is nowhere else.

P.S. Moodboards and references are another tool for creating concepts, but already visual ones. Look for examples of work and build a mood board from them, including fonts, colors, style, which will help you for inspiration in a specific project.

6. Evernote

I use free version, its capabilities are quite enough. Evernote is very convenient to store briefs, notes, links, and organize an organizer. it Notebook in fact, it syncs with several of your devices, you can share notes or notebooks. Many people work in it, so it is very convenient for team communication too.

7. Adobe InDesign

He's so far down just because I don't do printing a lot. but in general it is a very popular program for the layout of multi-page products. Booklets, catalogs, brochures, leaflets, books. If you want to work in the printing industry, you must know it, together with Photoshop and an illustrator, of course, because graphics are still drawn in them, but the text is typeset in in-design.

8. Toggl

Time tracker for indoor use. It is not as advanced as TimeDoctor, which takes screenshots from the screen and sends them to the client every 3 minutes. But toggl helps to properly allocate time, focus and calculate how much time you spend on this or that work. Work with him for a year and you will easily evaluate any project by the hour and, accordingly, you will name the cost not at random, but understanding how much of your effort is actually needed for a particular project.

9. Trello

10. Adobe Lightroom

Rarely, but still I use it for quick photo processing. Photoshop, of course, has all the capabilities of lightroom, but if you have a package of hundreds of photos for a project and they are all damp, you can quickly run them through lightroom and get very nice photos for a sketch layout, for example.

Top 5 applications for customer communication:

I honestly admit that half of a designer's job is communication with the client. Many conflicts between freelancers and clients arise due to the lack of normal communication, you misunderstood the task and solved it incorrectly, for the most part it is even the fault of the freelancer. Therefore, I set up all my devices for instant push notifications and install those instant messengers that my clients use so that I can always be in touch under any circumstances.

1. Skype

Of course, Skype, despite the fact that it has recently become more decrepit and lame. But so far no program can replace it. And all calls and videoconferences are conducted through it.

2. Telegram

I believe that Telegram will soon die. But maybe I'm too strict with it, quite a few clients have already fallen in love with telegrams and of course I had to install it too.

3. Vkontakte, facebook

Even if you are a social media hater, you will have to use them. Because your customers use them and sometimes communication is through them. The most popular facebook, of course, is traditionally used for work contacts and vacancies. But Vkontakte is rare, but it still happens. But by the way, I use VKontakte as a journal, setting it to useful groups, it is very convenient to look for inspiration.

4. Mail client

I try to communicate by mail only formal, i.e. with large clients if documentary correspondence is needed and after a year it was possible to find the right letter. It is inconvenient to communicate there on minor issues, of course.

5. Viber, WhatsApp

I have a personal hatred for this application, but it's all about spam and the fact that they didn't send me a pair at one time important notifications... I deleted them and put them 5 times =) So far I was not forced to put them back.

Additional programs:

It is also very important to learn something new. Five years ago, no web designer would have thought of studying modeling in 3D in order to improve their skills. And now we see dozens of sites based on 3D, and sometimes also animated. This is one of the reasons why I stopped separating the work of a graphic designer and a web designer and try to learn everything that can be useful in my work.

1. Adobe After Effect

I use it for animation. For example, animation of icons, videos, presentations of animation sites.

2. Adobe Premier

I rarely use it for editing, more often it is videos for YouTube or something for a portfolio.

3. Cinema 4D

I work in it with 3D objects or animation clips. In general, a very useful thing for a designer: with this program you can very quickly and easily create stunningly beautiful things for anything: be it web or corporate style.

Today there are three decent graphic editors for web designers. I will not in any way compare them. I will just make a brief overview and share my opinion regarding these applications.

Adobe photoshop

The first version was released in 1990

The most popular graphics editor. It appeared a long time ago and was number 1. It is used: f otographers, graphic designers, web designers, interactive designers, video developers. A very powerful application that has it all. The program is used and supported everywhere. In any studio, company, printing industry.

Initially it was intended for retouching and working with photography, but then it acquired wider functionality and capabilities.

My personal opinion:

Pros: A really advanced editor with all sorts of features such as 3d support, animation gifs, scripts, addons. Huge library of ready-made graphics, templates and more. For Photoshop, there are a huge number of cool actions where you can make a beautiful picture from a photo in one click:

Photoshop is great for working with photographs. There are no restrictions, you can create and manipulate the image as soon as your heart desires. There are a huge number of tutorials on Photoshop on Youtube.

Minuses: With the development of Photoshop, which every time tries to cram everything that is possible into itself, it has become very heavy and unwieldy. The program takes a very long time to load, it also performs some functions for a long time. The app only works through a subscription. On weak computers, opening Photoshop can be very problematic. There are so many uncomfortable things. Have to imitatesome styles are different.Window with effects neededopen and close each time.Confused managementstyles and sizes of text. And yet, do not forget that the application was originally created to work with raster graphics, not vector graphics.

Output: Photoshop is great for processing photography in the first place. The format and program is supported everywhere and by everyone. If desired, you can create anything in it. Designs, icons, banners and more. But the question is how convenient and fast it will be.

Sketch

The first version was released in 2012

Vector graphics editor for Mac

After Photoshop, Sketch appeared.It was as if the Sketch developers took a powerful vector graphics editor and threw out everything unnecessary. The application interface is similar to the classic programs from Apple.

The developers write the following - creating good graphics can be quite a complex process, and you need an application that is designed for this very purpose. So they, rather opaquely, hint that Photoshop was not conceived as a program for drawing website designs, interfaces and icons. Also, in the description of the program, an explicit emphasis is made on the simplicity and accessibility of tools, which in no way diminish the capabilities of the program itself.

One of Sketch's main features is associated styles for shapes and text. This allows you to combine different elements, giving them the same appearance and change the appearance of all your objects in a few clicks. The same goes for text. You can also create symbols, turning the selected layer into an easy-to-use reuse element.

Sketch, in my opinion, is an ideal tool for developing app and website design. The most advanced UI / UX tool available today.

Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a new graphics editor for Mac and Win. Compared to Photoshop, it comes out victorious in several ways: speed, smoothness, and an easy interface.

Buy: http://affinity.serif.com (unlike Adobe, you buy the program once and use it always)

Affinity Designer was truly a discovery for me. It was developed from scratch especially for designers, taking into account all modern new technologies and trends. Affinity is incredibly fast, convenient, practical and thoughtful.

I got acquainted with this program when it was only in the Beta version and helped developers find bugs, gave recommendations for improvement. Anyway, any designer could take part in the development, thanks to the active discussion of the program on the official developers forum. You can safely call this application from people to people.

Now the program has very quickly acquired new functionality and incredible capabilities. Working in this program, you understand that everything is thought out there to the smallest detail. I'm not going to talk about all of her super-chips. Detailed description can be found on the official website. Just watch the video:

Replace video

I can definitely recommend this app without any doubt. Do you want to create illustrations, you want website layouts, draw icons, logos. Design various layouts for printing. The program is perfect for all these tasks.

If today few people know about it, then in the near future all designers will use it. If you are a beginner, then start with Affinity Designer. If you are a seasoned designer, then take a closer look at this program. I am sure it will greatly facilitate your life.

Thanks to Affinity, my work speed after Photoshop increased by 50-60%, in this application everything is 10 times easier to do than in Photoshop. You get great pleasure working in it. I studied this program just thoroughly. Every button is real, every function is needed, important and good.

Pros: The performance of the program. Friendly interface. Lots of unique features tailored specifically for web design. There are a lot of chips, such as: saving a project with history, the ability to view the history of changes with a slider, the ability to customize the interface as you like. Sharpened both for vector and for working with raster applications and much more. Even the layout can be made responsive in Affinity. Which is also very convenient when you need to make several screen sizes. The program can export and import files of any popular formats.

Minuses: Honestly, I haven't found one for myself. The only thing that distinguishes it from Photoshop is that the developers have made a second application for fine work with photographs. Affinity Photo, almost everything is the same, only sharpened exclusively for photographers. That is, there are many more opportunities for photographs. Well, this is not a big problem. When I need to retouch a photo, do subtle color correction or some other manipulation, I open Affinity Photo and do it. The programs are interconnected and you can transfer files simply by copying ctrl + c / ctrl + v or by saving the project. Each other's application formats are supported and readable.

Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is a program of the same type as Affinity Designer, they can be safely called brothers, but specializes exclusively in working with photographs. So, this is more of an application for photographers, but it complements Affinity Designer well and is suitable for certain tasks and for a web designer, for example, a photo is sometimes also necessary to process.

It has n Full featured RAW converter.Work with different color spaces: RGB, CMYK, LAB, Grayscale, 16-bit density.File compatibility with Adobe Photoshop PSD, support for TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, PDF, SVG and other formats.

It is indeed made on the same engine as Affinity Designer, but it is fundamentally different. It is not worth drawing site layouts in it. For example, there is no support for Artboards, and many other functions. Here we work exclusively with photographs. The program has, for example, the ability to automatically glue panoramas, make 3d panoramas, use Liquify tools and much more. If you are developing an application interface, then you do not need all this at all.

Therefore, the developers, in order not to interfere with all the processes in one heap, made two applications. If you want to work with projects based on vector graphics (design of sites, applications, banners, icons, etc.) - useAffinity Designer. Need some subtle work with photos or bitmaps - use Affinity Photo.

While working with design, I'll be honest, I rarely open Affinity Photo, as Affinity Designer handles all the basic tasks. In order to cut out a photo, for example, and adjust the color and brightness, it is not necessary to open Affinity Photo, all the basic functions for working with bitmaps are in Affinity Designer (cut out the background, adjust colors, brightness, etc.), but if you need something more (change perspective, use the Liquify tool, you need fine color adjustments, face retouching, etc.) then yes, you can't do without Affinity Photo. Everything is there for working with photographs.

Figma

A relatively new product on the market. Figma is very similar in meaning to Sketch, it is focused on UI / UX for creating applications and websites, but is focused more on the cloud and joint work with the team.

Its meaning is that programmers and designers can work in real time in one window of a website. This is a very handy tool for large companies with many designers and developers. There is version control, you can leave comments on layouts, edit layouts and much more.

The disadvantage of the program is that it has a very specific "engine". I don't really like the rough work of the interface in the application. But you can live with it.

What to choose?

I highly recommend purchasing immediately Affinity Designer and Affinity photo to work with design: icons, illustrations, graphics. Start learning with Affinity Designer, since we are still primarily interested in web design and everything related to it.

To test the program's convenience in terms of working with illustrations, I was not even too lazy and drew a VHS cassette in vector and coped with it in a couple of hours. It was very convenient and simple to work.

Affinity Designer / Photo- ideal for developing icons, illustrations, banners, SMM booking, various printing layouts and everything else. Recommend!

When it comes to creating an application design, I recommend studying Sketch or Figma.

There are many free graphics programs and image editing tools that can be considered alternatives to Photoshop. I've compiled a list of the best ones. Some of them are free online services, while others are available for free download and installation on computers and mobile devices.

Vector graphics

1. SVG-Edit - development of vector graphics in the browser

If you need to programmatically reproduce a drawing or vector graphics, this can be done using the Scalable Vector Graphics ( also known as SVG). And the program for developing Scalable Vector Graphics is called SVG-Edit.

it software open source. SVG-Edit is a powerful tool that lets you create or edit SVG elements. The tool is built on top of CSS3, HTML5 and JavaScript. With its help, you can quickly edit and process two-dimensional ( 2D) vector graphics:

2. DrawPlus Starter Edition by Serif - Free Graphic Design Software for Windows

Free software for creating graphic design. It is a 2D vector graphics editor program that allows you to draw, edit and create professional designs.

DrawPlus also contains a number of functions that allow you to create 3D objects using extrusion, apply a wide range of 3D styles with a huge collection of brushes:

In DrawPlus, you can easily develop graphic designs, logos, technical drawings, animations and more. There are various predefined templates. There are also beginner tutorials available to help you get started with the program.

3. Inkscape - vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux

If you are looking for a replacement for Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, then InkScape is the tool for you. It is an open source vector graphics editor with many powerful features:

It also supports SVG integration with advanced print and web design capabilities. It is a professional graphics editor with a simple and easy-to-use interface.

4. Skencil - vector graphics program for Unix / Linux

Free graphical software for Linux / Unix. It is a flexible and powerful tool for creating illustrations, diagrams, and more:

5. Ultimate Paint - a tool for image processing on Windows

Functional 32-bit program for graphic drawing. Latest version supports a set of basic functions that can be used without any restrictions:

Ultimate Paint supports flexible brush controls that let you create creative designs. As well as PEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PCX, AVI (read only), TGA, WMF / EMF, ICO (read only), IFF / LBM and WAP BMP formats, as well as Twain-compatible scanners.

6. SmoothDraw NX - Free Imaging Tool for Mobile Devices

A simple touch-based freehand drawing tool that can be used to produce high quality images. It supports many kinds of brushes ( nib, pencil, airbrush, natural brush, etc.), retouching tools, layers, etc .:

7. Fat Paint is the best drawing software

Fat Paint is known as the best software for graphic design, painting and logo creation. it free program image editing tool that allows you to create pages, vector illustrations, logos, edit photos, and develop web designs:

8. My Paint is an open source graphic design application for Windows and GNU / Linux

A graphic design program that lets you focus on creativity rather than interface management:

It is a fast and easy-to-use open source graphic design application that is available for both Windows and Linux users.

Image editing tools (pixel art)

9. Paint.net - Free Image Editing Software for Windows

Paint.NET is a great alternative to the built-in paint editor. It is an easy-to-use image editing tool with a range of basic and advanced features:

Its powerful features are often compared to other digital photo editing packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft photo editor, and GIMP.

10.GIMP - GNU image processing software for Linux, Windows and Mac OS

Another powerful graphics program for a computer, which is widely used for photo retouching, processing, image composition, etc.

It is a free and open source graphic design software that is widely known as a Photoshop alternative. Although the GIMP was originally created for Unix, it is now available for other operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X, etc.

11. Pixlr - Photo Editor for iPhone, iPad, Mac OS and Android

Powerful image editing application for IOS and Android. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play Store. It's interesting and powerful editor photos that allows you to quickly crop, rotate and adjust any image.

Pixlr has over 2 million free effect combinations to make your images look unique.

12. Sumo Paint - browser-based graphic design application

If you want to get started with images in the browser, Sumo Paint can help you with that. It can be used to edit photos online or install the program to access all the functions in offline (paid subscription):

With Sumo Paint, you can edit photos right in your browser. Although this requires Adobe Flash.

13. Image Magick - Bitmap image converter for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android and iOS

A powerful tool for converting images from one format to another. For example, from .jpeg to .png. It is a raster image graphics editor program that allows you to create, edit and convert bitmaps to other formats.

The program contains such useful functions like cropping, rotating and transforming images, mirror reflection etc. What makes her handy tool for graphic designers.

2D / 3D and animations

14. Daz Studio - 3D models, 3D animations for Windows and Mac

If you want to start learning 3D design and animation, install DAZ Studio. You will have at your disposal a sufficient amount of teaching aids which will make you a "ninja" of 3D animations, no matter what your level is at the moment:

With DAZ Studio, you can create your own 3D characters, avatars, graphic design elements.

Create your own short films and animations, illustrations for books and magazines, and more. This free software will be of great help when learning 3D.

15. Sculptris - 3D development software for Windows and Mac

If you want to unleash your potential in 3D sculpture, 3D painting, then Pixologic will help you with this.

It is a 3D modeling tool with powerful features to help you navigate the world of digital reality. If you are new to 3D sculpture and 3D painting, then Sculptris is the best place to start.

16. Blender is free and open source 3D software for Windows, Mac and Linux

One of the best graphics software for creating 3D projects. It is open source software that is free to download and install on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc .:

Blender contains many 3D tutorials and a gallery of previously created projects available for download. There is also an active community whose members are ready to answer your questions.

17. Google SketchUp - 3D for everyone on Windows and Mac

3D SketchUp is still the most in a simple way drawing in 3D. It is a powerful 3D modeling software that allows you to quickly create 3D objects. The program is very easy to use.

18.3D Canvas - 3D modeling software for Windows

It is an intuitive real-time 3D modeling and 3D animation software. It provides tools for simple control Drag-and-drop 3D scene:

This is a graphic design program developed by Amabilis Software. It is available in three versions - 3D Crafter, 3D Crafter Plus and 3D Crafter Pro. Basic version is free, while Pro and Plus are paid. The program works on Windows 7/8 / Vista.

19. Art of Illusion - open source 3D modeling software in Java

Open source 3D modeling and rendering software. It is written in Java, so it is a powerful 3D design program that can be used by many virtual machines Java.

On the website of the project you can find many manuals, galleries of works. In addition, active forum participants are always ready to help. Therefore, even if you are new to 3D modeling and are just taking your first steps, Art of Illusion is perfect for you.

20. Anim8or - 3D modeling software for Windows

One of oldest programs for 3D modeling, which was introduced back in 1999 and is still actively used all over the world. It is mainly intended for 3D modeling and character animation under Windows:

Anim8or includes many powerful features: a tool for creating and modifying 3D models, support for TrueType fonts, a built-in 3D object browser, a Joint character editor, and more.

Data visualization

21. Google Developers - Google Chart Tool Web Apps

Powerful tool for creating and customizing charts with different data. Easy to use free app for data visualization that makes it easy to create interactive pie charts, line charts, segmented charts, and more.

With this graphical program, you can create a visual representation of data and get the code for embedding it in web pages, spreadsheets etc.

22. Visual.ly - web application for creating interactive infographics

Infographics are a fast-paced new way of presenting data visually. Visual.ly is best program to create and publish interactive infographics:

it social platform to create and publish infographics, which allows you to interact with other users and share interactive visual representations with them.

23. Infogr.am - creating infographics and visual diagrams online

Another powerful interactive tool for creating stunning visuals and infographics. With Infog.am, you can create infographics, diagrams, and other visual representations using three simple steps: Select a template, render the data, and then publish it.

You can also select charts for free from a collection of over 30 types of interactive charts.

24. Easel.ly - create and publish visual ideas online

Another powerful infographic creation tool. Even if you don't know how infographics are created, all you have to do is go to the site, choose a template, and get started:

Within the framework of this service, a huge number of graphic forms and objects are presented, as well as infographic templates with which you can create and publish visual representations online.

25. Visualize.me - visualize your resume online

A personalized tool that allows you to create and visualize a resume in one click. All of this is available for free.
With over 500,000 projects already created, Vizualize.me is the # 1 service for creating resumes. He contains large quantity powerful tools to help you create a resume.

Other graphic design software

26. Favicon Generator - Free Favicon Generator

This tool is a free favicon generator that allows you to create favicon icons for your website. Just upload the file and click the Generate button.

27. ColorPic - selection of colors on a desktop computer

ColorPic is a free color picker for your monitor screen. It allows you to capture color palettes of up to 16 colors at a time. You can also use an advanced mixer to mix the four colors.

28. Fast Stone Image Viewer - a tool for viewing, editing and batch converting photos

This graphic artist software supports advanced features such as red-eye removal, color adjustment, photo viewing, sending by e-mail, cropping, etc.

Fast Stone Image Viewer is another powerful functional tool for viewing, editing and batch converting photos.

29. Pixel Toolbox - design development for Windows

Pixel Toolbox is a powerful tool for creating impressive graphics for Windows. Create, edit and apply 1-bit patterns, wallpapers, icons and cursor icons - all with one tool.

30. Prezi - Free Presentation Software

Powerful free software that lets you create, edit and use presentations remotely from anywhere. It is available for desktops, smartphones and tablets. There is also integration with the cloud service, which expands the functionality of the program.

New free graphic design software

31. Canva is an amazingly simple graphic design software

It is a free web application that lets you design almost anything. Simple drag-and-drop functions make it so easy to work that you don't need to be a designer to create stunning graphics.

Getting started is easy with the graphic design services and programs discussed above! Wish you all the best!

This publication is a translation of the article " 31+ Best Free Graphic Design Software to Create Stunning Graphic Visuals"Prepared by the friendly project team