Major project: Design tools

  What tools do graphic designers use?

Graphic designers are the creativity and the brain but the hands and the tools are the software programs they use.  Usually, graphic designers choose programs as Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects, which are best for graphic designers to bring their ideas to life.

Picture from shotkit.com

A brief about the design software programs from BrainStation.io:

Photoshop

Photoshop is a graphic editor that is best used for image editing. It is the industry standard for manipulating photos and computer art. Photoshop offers 2D and 3D image manipulation, compositing, video editing, and image analysis.

Sketch

Sketch is a vector-based tool available on Mac and focuses on web, app, and interface design. This is a great program for designing icons, ad banners, social media images, and presentation materials. It also has many UI and UX-related usages, such as icon design, prototyping, and creating user flows.

Illustrator

With Illustrator, you can create everything from vector illustrations and logos to graphics and fonts. While Illustrator shares many similar tools and functions with Photoshop, it is centered around vector design, which means that you can resize and rescale designs without losing image clarity.

InDesign

InDesign is a page layout program and an essential tool for Designers working in publishing. This software can be used for laying out magazines and newspapers, or putting together reports and brochures. With InDesign, Designers can effectively organize text, create layout formats, insert image placeholders, and save files in a print-ready format.

After Effects

After Effects is a motion graphics and visual effects software that is ideal for Graphic Designers who incorporate motion into their work. With After Effects, designers can create animations, movie titles, transitions, or even design in a 3D space.

(BrainStation, 2023)




The design does not have to be digital, any designers like interior designers, fashion designers, graphic designers and even architects need to master working traditionally (with their hands) and widen their creativity and innovative skills. Most popular traditional tools are pen, pencil and paper, paint, camera, graphic tablet and much more.




For my project, I will be using pen, pencil and paper, adobe express, photoshop, canva, unsplash and WIX website maker. As a graphic design student, I should be familiar with programs like these.




References:

BrainStation®. (n.d.). What Tools Do Graphic Designers Use? (2022 Guide). [online] Available at: https://brainstation.io/career-guides/what-tools-do-graphic-designers-use#:~:text=Graphic%20Designers%20rely%20on%20software.

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