Entrepreneurs and individuals can benefit greatly from graphic design for it is the new way of promoting and branding one’s identity. This skill might give off the impression of being costly because of the software, however, there are a variety of free options available. In this day and age, having graphic designing skills has become extremely valuable, which is why, in this article, a list of the best free graphic designing tools will be covered while also ensuring to understand the individual’s needs. 

Also Read: The Basics of Color Theory for Designers

Canva

Description: 

Canva makes its mark at the top due to how simple and effective it is to use. The website provides an array of premade templates that can be edited to one’s own desire. As a beginner, this would prove to be an excellent website for you.

Features:

• Thousands of customizable templates for social media posts, presentations, logos, and more.
• An inbuilt editor along with a tonal pull feature. 
• Access to free images, icons, and fonts.
• Collaboration features for teams.

Advantages: 

Campaigning through marketing material, or even content for social media can be easily designed on this platform. The free plan is more than enough to get started and, once familiarized with the website, moving on to brand kits and other templates would be easy.

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

Overview: 

GIMP is a great open source substitute for Adobe Photoshop that does not lack in features such as robust tools needed for photo editing, graphic designing or creating digital art.

Features:

• Advanced editing tools such as layers, masks, and filters.
• Compatibility with PSD, JPEG, PNG file types and many more. 
• A versatile workspace interface and the availability to install third-party add-ons. 
• Available to all platforms ranging from Windows, Mac to Linux.

Advantages: 

Thanks to its open source condition and thorough guidelines, GIMP is a great software for developers and designers who are focusing on photo editing and compositing of images.

Inkscape

Overview: 

Just like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape is a vector graphics editor that is best suited for designing logos, icons, diagrams and illustrations. But unlike Illustrator, Inkscape is completely free of cost.

Features:

• Vector based designs that allow scalable images. 
• Object creation, manipulation and styling tools. 
• Compatibility with SVG, EPS, PDF files and other formats that may be needed. 
• Available built-in features for added usefulness.

Advantages: 

Designers who work with scalable vector graphics demand precision and flexibility while working on designs. As Inkscape accomplishes these conditions, it is the best choice for designing more complex and intricate graphics.

Krita

Overview: 

Krita is a free open-source software dedicated to digital painting and 2D animation which is highly preferred by concept artists and illustrators alike.

Features:

• A wide selection of brushes and textures that can be modified as per the need of the user.
• Onion skinning and animating functionalities.
• Layer amalgamation along with blending modes.
• Windows, macOS as well as Linux compatibility.

Advantages: 

Krita excels because of its aim on artistic workflow. It is most suited for an artist whose interests lie in illustration and intricate paintings.

Blender

Overview: 

Blender is a free and open-source tool for creating 3D models, animation, and renders. While it is a 3D model design tool, it complements additional graphic design tasks as well.

Features:

• Tools for modeling, sculpting and animating in 3D.
• Cycles and Eevee rendering engines.
• Video editing.
• Automation scripts created in Python.

Advantages: 

Blender is excellent for designers who are keen to explore 3-dimensional designs. Its Wide range of tools enables the user to blend 3D graphics into 2D graphics without any fantastic integration.

Gravit Designer

Overview: 

Gravit designer is a robust vector design app that is available both in offline and online modes. This application is perfect for designs that are intended for the web or any print.

Features:

• Offers cloud integration allowing users to save and access their designs from any location.
• Provides a diverse selection of pre-made templates targeting various design needs.
• Allows Exporting options in various formats including SVG, PDF and PNG.
• Includes vector-based features allowing for precise artwork and designs.

Advantages: 

Gravit Designer is user-friendly, whenever new users come across it for the very first time. Its complimentary version is also very powerful, but opting for the Pro version opens up additional tools and features.

Pixlr

Overview: 

Pixlr is an internet based photo editing application that offers a blend of regular editing functionalities with a user-friendly interface. It can be used for basic design work and for editing photos in a short span of time.

Features:

• Provides a user-friendly interface by including a drag-and-drop feature.
• Includes tools that are ai-powered for background removal and color adjustments.
• Has an extensive collection of filters, overlays and a variety of other effects.
• No need to download any software, as it can easily be accessed through a browser interface.

Advantages: 

Perfect for individuals that are at the beginner phase of editing, with an easy-to-use interface. Because of its web-based service, there are no issues with compatibility.

Vectr

Overview: 

Vectr, a vector graphic design application that can be installed as a desktop application or used online is completely free and is ideal for first time users because of its ease of use.

Features:

• Collaboration in real-time with links that can be shared.
• Ability to function on various platforms.
• User-friendly interface for the creation of shapes, text and paths.
• Ability to Export in svg, png and other types.

Advantages: 

If your aim is to finish simple tasks that require designing quickly for a group of people, or working in teams then Vectr is the best tool for you.

Adobe Express (Formerly Adobe Spark)

Overview: 

Adobe Spark, like other tools provided by Adobe, is more suited for social media creators and brand designers because it provides a more targeted approach.

Features:

• Use of templates designed by professional designers to avoid long editing sessions.
• Utilization of free photos, icons, etc through integration with Adobe Stock.
• Tools that allow simple editing of pictures and texts.
• Mobile phone applications alongside the ability to use a desktop browser.

Advantages: 

Easy to use methods along with the support of Adobe makes it one of the best choices for those who want to get introduced to graphic designing.

Figma

Overview: 

Figma serves its purpose flawlessly as a UI/UX design tool. It works with a variety of users at the same time, on the cloud.

Features:

• Interface vectoring as one of the available options.
• Seamless team collaboration through clouds.
• Live team updates.
• Interactive design tools including prototyping.

Advantages: 

With the help of Figma, multiple users worldwide can collaborate which is needed for projects involving interfaces and any form of experiences. Its free option is more than enough for individual projects and small groups.

Choosing the Right Tool

As a designer, always focus on what you want to achieve first and pick the right tool that would help you with tasks. You can try to use canva or pixlr to achieve something more appealing. If you’re looking for something more powerful, you can go with GIMP and Inkscape, these tools among in this list worked exceptionally well so achieving professional design shouldn’t require the investment of heavy-duty applications.

Conclusion

Investing in graphic design is easier now more than ever because of the factors highlighted above. These tools mentioned are effective enough to cover a variety of design requirements and don’t cost a penny. Utilizing these tools, you can embed yourself into graphic design through social media design, illustrations, and branding materials.