10 Essential Graphic Designing Tools Every Designer Should Know

Graphic designing is the process of creating visual content to communicate information, ideas, or messages to a target audience. It involves combining typography, images, illustrations, and colors to create designs for various purposes such as advertising, branding, packaging, editorial design, web design, and more. Graphic designers use a variety of tools and software to create designs that are visually appealing, informative, and engaging. They work with clients or organizations to understand their needs and objectives and create designs that effectively convey their message to the target audience.

Essential Graphic Designing Tools

Graphic designing involves a wide range of skills, including creativity, design sense, technical skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills. The field of graphic design is constantly evolving with new tools and technologies, and designers need to keep up with the latest trends and techniques to stay relevant and competitive.

10 best tools for graphic designing :

1. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a professional-grade image editing software developed by Adobe Inc. It is widely used by graphic designers, photographers, and digital artists to manipulate and enhance digital images.

Features :

• Allows you to work with multiple layers of images, text, and graphics. 
• You can select specific areas of an image using various selection tools, such as the Marquee, Lasso, and Magic Wand tools.
• Provides a range of tools for retouching images, including the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Spot Healing Brush tools. These tools enable you to remove unwanted elements from an image or fix blemishes and imperfections.
• Comes with a wide range of filters and effects that you can use to apply creative effects to your images. These include blur, sharpening, distortion, and artistic filters.
• Includes a variety of type tools that enable you to add and manipulate text in your designs.
• Provides advanced color correction tools that enable you to adjust the color and tone of your images, correct color casts, and adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation.
• Can work with a variety of file formats, including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and PSD (Photoshop’s native file format).

2. Canva

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows users to create various types of visual content such as presentations, social media graphics, posters, flyers, logos, and more. It was founded in 2012 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams in Sydney, Australia.

Canva offers a user-friendly interface and a wide range of design templates, graphics, fonts, and photos that users can use to create their designs. It also provides a drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy for users to add elements and customize their designs.

Features :

• User-friendly interface that makes it easy for users to create designs quickly and easily.
• A wide range of templates are designed for various types of projects, such as social media graphics, presentations, posters, and more.
• Allows users to customize their designs by adding their own images, logos, text, and other design elements. Users can also choose from a wide range of fonts, colors, and graphics.
• Its drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy for users to add and arrange design elements on their projects.
• Allows users to collaborate with team members and share designs with others. It also provides commenting and feedback features.
• Offers branding tools that allow users to create a brand kit with their brand’s logo, fonts, and colors, which can be easily applied to all their designs.
• Provides basic image editing tools, such as cropping, resizing, and color adjustments, which can be helpful for making quick edits to images.
• Has a mobile app that allows users to create and edit designs.

3. Figma

Figma is a cloud-based design tool used for creating user interfaces, web and mobile apps, and other digital designs. It was launched in 2016 and has quickly gained popularity among designers due to its collaboration features, accessibility, and ease of use.

Features :

• Allows multiple users to work on a design project simultaneously in real-time. This enables designers to collaborate with their team members, stakeholders, or clients from anywhere in the world.
• Offers powerful vector editing tools that enable designers to create scalable designs that can be resized without losing quality. This makes it ideal for creating icons, logos, and other graphics.
• Allows designers to create interactive prototypes of their designs, which can be shared with team members or clients for feedback. This feature helps designers to test and refine their designs before development.
• Offers a component system that allows designers to create and reuse design elements across their projects. This helps to maintain consistency and saves time when designing complex projects.
• A wide range of plugins extend its functionality and allow designers to automate repetitive tasks, integrate with other tools, or add new features.
• A version control system that enables designers to keep track of changes made to their designs and revert to previous versions if needed.

4. Adobe Illustrator 

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor which has been developed by Adobe Systems. It is widely used by graphic designers, artists, and illustrators for creating illustrations, logos, icons, typography, and other vector-based graphics.

Features :

• Allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Offers artboards, which makes it easy to create multiple designs in a single document.
• Offers symbols, which make it easy to reuse design elements across multiple artboards and projects.
• The pen tool is one of its most powerful features. It allows users to create precise vector paths that can be manipulated in a variety of ways.
• Offers a range of typography tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Offers a range of gradient and pattern tools that can be used to create unique designs.
• Offers a range of effects and filters that can be applied to objects and text to create unique designs.
• Offers a range of export options that make it easy to export designs in different formats and sizes.
• Integrates seamlessly with other Adobe apps, such as Photoshop and InDesign, which makes it easy to move artwork between different applications.

5. Procreate

Procreate is a popular digital painting app for the iPad that is used by artists and designers for creating detailed illustrations, designs, and animations. It offers a wide range of features that allow users to create stunning artwork with ease.

Features :

• Over 200 customizable brushes that enable users to create a variety of strokes, textures, and effects.
• Allows users to work with multiple layers, which makes it easy to edit and organize artwork.
• Offers a range of selection tools that allow users to select and edit specific parts of their artwork.
• Allows users to record their work process as a time-lapse video, which can be useful for sharing their techniques and processes.
• Enables users to create frame-by-frame animations with its Animation Assist feature.
• Has advanced color management tools that enable users to create and manage custom color palettes.
• Supports a variety of file formats, which makes it easy to import and export artwork between different devices and software.
• Allows users to customize the app’s interface to suit their preferences and workflow.

6. CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor that is popular among designers for its powerful tools for creating logos, illustrations, and other graphics. It offers a wide range of features that enable users to create complex designs with ease.

Features :

• Allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Offers a range of layout tools that allow users to create and manage complex page layouts for print and digital media.
• Has advanced color management tools that enable users to create and manage custom color palettes.
• Offers a range of effects and filters that can be applied to objects and text to create unique designs.
• Offers a range of text tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Supports a variety of file formats, which makes it easy to import and export artwork between different devices and software.
• Allows users to customize the app’s interface to suit their preferences and workflow.
• Offers collaboration tools that enable users to work on designs with team members in real time.

7. Adobe InDesign

Adobe InDesign is a page layout software used for creating print and digital documents such as brochures, magazines, and ebooks. It offers a range of features that enable users to create complex layouts with ease.

Features :

• Offers a range of layout tools that allow users to create and manage complex page layouts for print and digital media.
• Allows users to create master pages, which makes it easy to apply consistent layouts across multiple pages.
• Offers a range of typography tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Offers a range of styles that enable users to apply consistent formatting to objects, text, and other elements in their designs.
• Supports vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Supports a variety of file formats, which makes it easy to import and export artwork between different devices and software.
• Offers a range of interactive features, such as hyperlinks, buttons, and animations, which make it easy to create interactive documents.
• Offers collaboration tools that enable users to work on documents with team members in real-time.

8. Sketch

Sketch is a vector graphics editor and digital design tool that is popular among designers for creating user interfaces, web designs, and icons. It offers a range of features that enable users to create designs quickly and easily.

Features :

• Allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Offers artboards, which makes it easy to create multiple designs in a single document.
• Offers symbols, which make it easy to reuse design elements across multiple artboards and projects.
• Offers a range of typography tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Offers prototyping tools that allow users to create interactive designs and test user flows.
• Supports a variety of plugins, which makes it easy to extend the functionality of the app and integrate it with other tools.
• Offers a range of export options that make it easy to export designs in different formats and sizes.
• Offers collaboration tools that enable users to work on designs with team members in real-time.

9. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor that is popular among designers for creating illustrations, logos, and other graphics. It offers a wide range of features that enable users to create complex designs with ease.

Features :

• Allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Offers artboards, which makes it easy to create multiple designs in a single document.
• Offers symbols, which makes it easy to reuse design elements across multiple artboards and projects.
• Has a pixel persona that allows users to switch between vector and raster modes and create both types of graphics in the same document.
• Offers a range of effects and filters that can be applied to objects and text to create unique designs.
• Offers a range of typography tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Offers a range of export options that make it easy to export designs in different formats and sizes.
• Allows users to customize the app’s interface to suit their preferences and workflow.

10. Gravit Designer

Gravit Designer is a vector graphics editor that is available both as a web app and a desktop app. It is a popular choice among designers for creating illustrations, logos, and other graphics.

Features :

• Allows users to create and edit vector graphics, which makes it ideal for creating designs that need to be scaled to different sizes.
• Offers the ability to create multiple pages within a single document, which makes it easy to organize and manage designs.
• Offers symbols, which make it easy to reuse design elements across multiple pages and projects.
• Offers a range of effects and filters that can be applied to objects and text to create unique designs.
• Offers a range of typography tools that enable users to create and edit the text in their designs.
• Supports a variety of file formats, which makes it easy to import and export artwork between different devices and software.
• Offers collaboration tools that enable users to work on designs with team members in real-time.
• Allows users to customize the app’s interface to suit their preferences and workflow.

Thus, there are many great tools available for graphic designers, each with its own unique set of features and capabilities. These tools offer a wide range of features that enable designers to create stunning graphics, illustrations, logos, and other designs. Ultimately, the choice of which tool to use depends on the specific needs and preferences of the designer, as well as the requirements of the project.