Naturally, graphic designers tend to depend to some extent on technology and different computer programs and design apps. For that reason, it's no surprise that the explosion in the popularity of mobile apps for designers has had a notable effect on many independent graphic designers. Different designing apps and programs can be very helpful for various types of graphic design, and often offer a degree of simplicity and convenience that app designers are happy to take advantage of. Here's a look at 5 of the best apps for graphic design in particular that can be very appealing to graphic designers:
- Adobe Express: This free graphic design app offers an intuitive web-based design tool for creating stunning visual communication assets like social media posts, logos, flyers and more. It has thousands of beautiful templates to get you started.
- Adobe Photoshop: The gold standard in image editing, this powerful application for design is a must-have in any graphic designer's toolkit. Its robust features allow for pixel-level control and manipulation of images and design elements.
- Adobe Illustrator: For vector graphics and vector illustrations, no designer app beats Illustrator. It's the industry-leading graph design app for creating infinitely scalable logo designs, icons, and other branding assets.
- Procreate: This digital design app has become the go-to for artists and illustrators. Its professional-grade tools and brushes make it one of the best designer apps for sketching, drawing, and painting.
- Adobe Creative Cloud: More of a suite than a single app design graphic tool, Creative Cloud includes over 20+ Adobe design apps spanning graphic design, web design, video editing, and more. A subscription gives you access to all the best apps for graphic design in one place.
A few other notable mentions:
- Grammarly for ensuring your content writing is error-free
- Adobe Color for color inspiration and building palettes
- Adobe InDesign for layout design and print materials
- Milanote for project management and creating visual boards
With such a wide variety of graphic design apps for Android and iOS at your disposal as a graphic design maker, it's easier than ever to create stunning visual designs from anywhere. Whether you need to edit stock images, design branding assets, or create social media content, these free design app options and Adobe graphics programs have you covered as some of the best for designers.
Brushes
This is a fairly simple app, but it's nonetheless a great tool for amateur artists and experienced graphic designers alike. Basically, this is many people's go-to digital painting app for iOS devices. With tons of options for brush strokes, effects, and of course colors, this app can create surprisingly beautiful digital paintings (and even made a cover for the New Yorker magazine in 2009). A "layers" add-on is available for $2.99, and enhances your painting capability.
Adobe Photoshop Express
At some point, most graphic designers find themselves perfecting Photoshop, and if you'd like to be able to do more work on the go, the "Express" app is definitely worth picking up for a reasonable $4.99. It won't quite get you all of the capabilities of Photoshop on your desktop, but the basics are all there, and truth be told you can do a great deal of high caliber photo editing on your mobile devices.
Sketchbook Pro For iPad
This is a more limiting app in that it's meant for iPads specifically, but if you do any work on such a tablet, it's a must have. Sketchbook Pro is arguably the best painting and sketching app out there, with any feature you could possibly want for digital design. This app can produce some truly stunning images.
VectorSNAP
This is an awesomely handy tool for creating quick images for shirts, posters, memes, covers, etc. Basically, it takes photos from your library and turns them into high quality black and white images. Perhaps the best part is that the images can be shrunken or enlarged and don't lose their sharp quality. It's not the most advanced app you'll find, but the simplicity is valuable for quick design concepts.
Sharefile
While it has nothing to do with actual design, the ShareFile mobile app is a handy idea for any graphic designer working with a high volume of digital content. This app gives you access to secure file sharing and cloud storage that allow you to easily organize your digital projects across all your devices. This makes it easy to work on the same projects on your phone, computer, or other device, and also gives you added security if you send your work to partners, clients, etc.
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