Graphic Design Software For Beginners

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In graphic design, a grid is a structure (usually two-dimensional) made up of a series of intersecting straight (vertical, horizontal, and angular) or curved lines (grid lines) used to structure content. The grid serves as an armature or framework on which a designer can organize graphic elements (images, glyphs, paragraphs, etc.) in a rational, easy-to-absorb manner. A grid can be used to organize graphic elements in relation to a page, in relation to other graphic elements on the page, or relation to other parts of the same graphic element or shape.

The less-common printing term 'reference grid,' is an unrelated system with roots in the early days of printing.

History[edit]

Antecedents[edit]

Before the invention of movable type a system based on optimal proportions had been used to arrange handwritten text on pages. One such system, known as the Villard Diagram, was in use at least since medieval times.^[1]

Evolution of the modern grid[edit]

After World War II, a number of graphic designers, including Max Bill, Emil Ruder, and Josef Müller-Brockmann, influenced by the modernist ideas of Jan Tschichold'sDie neue Typographie (The New Typography), began to question the relevance of the conventional page layout of the time. They began to devise a flexible system able to help designers achieve coherency in organizing the page. The result was the modern typographic grid that became associated with the International Typographic Style. The seminal work on the subject, Grid systems in graphic design by Müller-Brockmann, helped propagate the use of the grid, first in Europe, and later in North America.

Reaction and reassessment[edit]

By the mid-1970s instruction of the typographic grid as a part of graphic design curricula had become standard in Europe, North America and much of Latin America. The graphic style of the grid was adopted as a look for corporate communication. In the early 1980s, a reaction against the entrenchment of the grid, particularly its dogmatic use, and association with corporate culture, resulted in some designers rejecting its use in favor of more organic structure. The appearance of the Apple Macintosh computer, and the resulting transition away from type being set by typographers to designers setting type themselves resulted in a wave of experimentation, much of it contrary to the precepts of Tschichold and Müller-Brockmann. The typographic grid continues to be taught today, but more as a useful tool for some projects, not as a requirement or starting point for all page design.

Grid use in web design[edit]

While grid systems have seen significant use in print media, interest from web developers has only recently seen a resurgence. Website design frameworks producing HTML and CSS had existed for a while before newer frameworks popularised the use of grid-based layouts. Some grid systems specify fixed-width elements with pixels, and some are 'fluid', meaning that they call for page element sizing to be in relative units like percentages, rather than absolute units like pixels or points.^[2]

The W3C published the CSS Grid Layout Module Level 1 to define a two-dimensional grid-based layout system.^[3]

There are also CSS frameworks that include their own grid system:

Grid Use in Print Design:

Print design has always used grid systems to organize and structure content. Grid systems started as helper lines for written books. Artists used grid systems to layout the content – text and images – in a manner that makes reading and absorption easier. Newspapers, books, magazines, and classifieds, etc., all use different grid systems that make the optimum use of space for better reading and presentation.^[4]

Software[edit]

Most desktop publishing software and professional publishing software and other office software including word processors displays grid layout as an option.

References[edit]

1. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2013-06-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. ^Marcotte, Ethan (March 3, 2009). 'Fluid Grids'. A List Apart.
3. ^Tab Atkins Jr.; Elika J. Etemad; Rossen Atanassov (14 December 2017). 'CSS Grid Layout Module Level 1'. World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
4. ^'What is a grid system?'.

• Baines, Phil and Haslam, Andrew. Type & Typography, second edition. New York: Waston-Guptill Publications, 2005. ISBN0-8230-5528-0.
• Burnhill, Peter. Type spaces: in house norms in the typography of Aldus Manutius. London: Hyphen Press, 2003. p. 101.
• Elam, Kimberly. Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004. ISBN1-56898-465-0.
• Hochuli, Jost. Designing Books: Practice and Theory.
• Hurlburt, Allen. Grid: A Modular System for the Design and Production of Newspapers, Magazines, and Books. Wiley: 1982. ISBN0-471-28923-X.
• Le Corbusier The Modular I.
• Müller-Brockmann, Josef. Grid Systems in Graphic Design. Niggli: 1996. ISBN3-7212-0145-0
• Ruder, Emil. Typography. Hastings House: 1981. ISBN0-8038-7223-2.
• Rudolf Bosshard, Hans. The Typographic Grid. Niggli: 2002. ISBN3-7212-0340-2.
• Khoi Vinh, Oh Yeeaah! Grids are good, South by Southwest Conference Presentation, 2007. [1]
• Antonio Carusone, Designing Grid Systems For Flash.[2]
• Marcotte, Ethan (March 3, 2009). 'Fluid Grids'.
• Capo, Daniele (April 5, 2009). 'Dividing a segment in n parts in a medieval, yet late-modern, fashion.' [3]

External links[edit]

• The Grid System Looking at the technical aspect of grids in practice, with many resources.

Professional graphic design software can be way, way too expensive. Here are 10 awesome alternative online graphic design options for every designer and budget.

Sick of sticking to just one graphic design software program? Why don’t you give some new online graphic design software a try instead?

We’ve compiled a sampling of 10 beautiful, accessible, and user-friendly options to empower you to find a design software that works perfectly for you—and will help you create some real stunners to include in your online graphic design portfolio.

1. Design Wizard

If variety is the spice of life, Design Wizard is the tastiest graphic design software option on the menu—and one of the most accessible. With its deft attention to visual detail, Design Wizard offers thousands of aesthetically pleasing templates for both social media and print, as well as over a million high-quality images (including icons, vectors, and transparent images).

The expertly curated visual library is updated daily, and is chock-full of endless video, illustration, and graphics options. Everything is licensed and completely ready for commercial use

And with a range of packages from Apprentice (free!) to Expert ($16.95 monthly), every budget is welcome.

Design Wizard at a glance:

• Best graphic design software for beginners
• 1,000,000+ premium images
• 15,000+ templates
• Template options for both print and social media
• Affordable and scalable pricing
• Custom template resizing and other free personalization capabilities
• Integrations with Hubspot, Marketo, and Buffer

2. BeFunky

Anyone can create captivating, professional-grade visual content with this free graphic design software. BeFunky’s main offering comprises three creative tools that are simple enough for beginners but powerful enough to tackle a variety projects: Photo Editor, Collage Maker, and Designer.

BeFunky’s “fun and functional” design software proves that you don’t need a background in design to produce stunning results. With the option to work from beautiful pre-designed templates or build your own from scratch, there’s a ton of creative flexibility.

BeFunky at a glance:

• Free graphic design software
• Quick, easy, and enjoyable to use
• 1,000,000+ free stock images easily accessible (thanks to a partnership with Pixabay.
• Make banners, infographics, flyers, posters, brochures, and more
• Design on the go with the mobile device app
• Upgrade to premium BeFunky Plus account any time

3. Canva

Graphic Design Software For Beginners

What if creating a beautiful visual canvas was as easy as drag-and-drop? Canva makes it possible by prioritizing simplicity, variety, and affordability.

When you visit their website, you will be asked to indicate what you’re using Canva’s design software for—education, small business, large company, non-profit, and so on. Canva wants to provide an excellent experience for designers of all kinds.

Billed primarily as a photo editor, Canva is a veritable Swiss army knife: it also works as a color palette generator, font selection tool, photo collage assembler, and infographic maker. It also features hundreds of free design elements for every project. Canva even provides online educational resources.

Canva at a glance:

• Impressive functionality for free graphic design software
• 100+ free design elements and fonts
• Diverse range of print, digital, and social media templates
• Templates are easily customizable and resizable
• Most tools are mobile-friendly and available as iOs and Android apps
• Upgradable to Premium based on needs and business growth

4. Pixlr

A powerful and intuitive (and did we mention free?) alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Pixlr also made our list of the best free online photo editors. With over 500 million users, we’re not the only fans.

But Pixlr also holds its own as a solid free graphic design software option, especially for beginners who don’t want to invest too much time and money or learn a complicated application straight out of the gate.

You can get started creating and editing beautiful images with Pixlr’s robust toolset in literally minutes, directly in your internet browser or via iPhone or Adroid apps—without any convoluted installation process.

Though Pixlr is especially incredible for editing photos on-the-go and provides a free vector editor and an array of free fonts, graphics, and stock images, many advanced features require a Pixlr Pro account. Luckily, it’s a small price to pay, as far as online graphic design software goes, at just $5 a month.

Pixlr at a glance:

• Excellent free alternative to Adobe Photoshop
• Easy to use for beginners with no installation required
• A variety of free fonts, graphics, and stock images
• Design on the go with iPhone and Android apps
• Supports five popular file formats (.png, .jpeg, .jpg, .bmp, and .tiff)
• Uses its own file format (.pxd) for easier editing

5. Crello

With an astounding image archive of over 65 million files, 12,000 templates, and hundreds of fonts, Crello is a frontrunner for most professional graphic design software option on the list. With expertly created templates that can be customized in a simple and streamlined way, Crello makes designing enjoyable.

This design software can help you create an extensive array of aesthetically stunning designs for print materials, digital ads, and social media posts. You can even create animated graphics. Visual assets are organized into themed collections to help inspire you.

If there’s enough wiggle room in your budget, we suggest checking out Crello Pro; it’s only $8.30 a month. Featuring unlimited commercial use without Crello watermarks or branding and access to advanced animation functionality, it’s well worth it.

Crello at a glance:

• Professional graphic design software quality that’s still easy to use for beginners
• An extensive and unparalleled library of free images, fonts, templates, and animations
• Features a gallery of design formats and themed collections to stimulate creativity and inspiration
• Help resources, tutorials, and how-to guides
• A high-value Pro option at an affordable price

6. Snappa

The best graphic design software for beginners is one that makes designing feel like a snap. Enter Snappa, the graphics software that will allow you to design like a pro.

Snappa breaks down the design process into easy, actionable steps. You can find the perfect image dimensions (whether it be for a blog, ad, email, or social media platform) in a one click, choose from thousands of crowd-pleasing templates in the blink of an eye, and take advantage of over 500,000 beautiful, high-quality stock photos in seconds.

You can also connect your Buffer account to Snappa to pre-schedule your posts, add a variety of text and effects to images, resize graphics for cross-platform posting, and make use of many other desirable free features.

Snappa at a glance:

• Quick and easy to use
• 500,000+ high-quality stock photos
• Free option includes access to templates, graphics, and five downloads per month
• Integrates with Buffer for post scheduling and more (for Premium accounts)
• Highly scalable with Starter (free), Pro ($10 per month), and Team ($20 per month) options

7. Infogram

A popular online graphic design toolkit, Infogram transforms charts, graphs, maps, graphics, dashboards, social media visuals, and more into little works of art. Infogram’s design appeal spans several industries including the non-profit sector, online publishing, education, and government, helping all kinds of business develop their own brand themes. Select from over 20 professionally designed themes or go rogue with your own color palette, logo, and fonts.

Infogram’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor allows you to plug in your data and transform it into something aesthetically beautiful and impactful—quickly. Along with personalized design options, there are also various pricing options for every creative, entrepreneur, business, and enterprise.

Infogram at a glance:

• Used by over 30,000+ companies worldwide
• 1 million images and icons
• Data integration
• Easy data integration: import from a spreadsheet or cloud service
• Five different pricing options make it very scalable

8. Tinkercad

Take your 2D ideas and bring them to life with Tinkercad, an effortlessly simple online graphic design toolkit for creating innovative 3D designs and coding. Catering to designers and creatives of all levels, Tinkercad is absolutely free. You can get started immediately—nothing to download, no lengthy installation process.

With an irresistible gallery of designs conceived by a community of creators to spark your inspiration, you’ll be itching to start learning 3D design. Tinkercad’s motto? “No experience preferred.” Get started with Tinkercad’s learning resources and you’ll never look back.

Tinkercad at a glance:

• 100% free
• Innovative collection of graphic design software tools for 3D design
• Educational resources are an ideal introduction to Autodesk, the leading 3D design and engineering software
• A community creators gallery fuels inspiration

9. Gravit Designer

You might already be familiar with this free graphic design software under its previous name, Gravit. Billed as a “cross-platform design tool for the 21st century,” Gravit Designer delivers the goods.

Whether you use it online or download it as an app, Gravit Design is an incredible resource for vector design and comes with a seriously robust toolkit. Icon designs, logo presentations, illustration work, animation, text integration? You’re covered.

Designed for simplicity and ease of use, the platform is still granular enough for a wide variety of projects. A serious perk for busy designers is the Gravit Cloud service that will let you design-on-the-go from any device, anywhere with internet access. Talk about a productivity boost!

Gravit Designer at a glance:

• 100% free
• Choice of using online or via downloadable app
• Cross-platform functionality
• Robust toolkit for vector design
• Can export files as PDF, SVG, or bitmap
• Gravit Cloud services facilitates on-the-go design work

10. Vectr

Vectr is a free graphic design software for creating beautiful vector graphics that is both elegant and easy to use. Simple and streamlined, designers at any level can jump right into their work without any pesky learning curve.

Another great cross-platform option, Vectr will synch your projects in real-time so you can begin designing at home on your desktop web browser and continue later on your iPad. It’s a completely seamless experience. What’s more, you can grant collaborators access to your document so that they can watch you create and edit as it happens.

Whether you’re working on website design mockups, brand logos, presentations, brochures, posters, and more, your designs will look crisp and clear—no matter the size. The sky’s the limit!

Vectr at a glance:

• 100% free
• Intuitive and easy to use
• Seamless cross-platform capabilities
• Share and edit documents with collaborators in real time
• High quality designs at any size or scale
• Free user guide and tutorials

More budget-friendly online resources for creatives:
11 Extremely Helpful (And Free!) Online Graphic Design Courses
The Best Online Illustration Classes for Artists
Best Free Online Courses and Tutorials for Photographers