The Best Graphic Design Programs
Introductory vs advanced graphics programs
With so many graphic design programs it can be hard to differentiate between between Adobe Illustrator vs Canva and PicMonkey vs Canva.
There are so many graphic design programs for those wanting to create beautiful images! Below are the best graphic programs for introductory and advanced designers. Every program has a free trial and I encourage you to try them all! It’s worth checking each one out to see which is right for your project.
The best INTRODUCTORY GRAPHIC design PROGRAMS
Introductory graphics programs are great for creating:
- A quick flyer or handout for work
- An infograph
- Social media images
- Blog promoting materials
I am a big fan of Canva for making graphics. You can read why I am a fan of Canva in my Canva vs PicMonkey review.
Besides those platforms, there is one other program that deserves to be mentioned and that is Adobe Spark. Adobe Spark is an awesome platform for those that have a Creative Cloud subscription. I’ll admit I have limited experience with Adobe Spark, but I have heard great reviews!
COST
Free
Canva Pro: $12.99/month
Premium: $7.99/month
Premium: $9.99/month
Free
Premium: $9.99/month
Premium: $99.99/year
STOCK PHOTOS
Free
Premium images with pro
None
Free with attribution
CUSTOM FONTS
Available in paid version
Yes
No
FEATURES
Premade Templates
Social Media Layouts
Shapes
Overlays
Filters
Infographic Elements
Basic Image Editing
Premade Templates
Collage Layouts
Shapes
Overlays
Filters
Basic & Advanced Image Editing
Premade Templates
Layouts
Shapes
Overlays
Filters
Basic Image Editing
Save Online
Yes
Limited space with free membership
Yes
Unlimited
Yes
Unlimited
the best advanced GRAPHIC design PROGRAMS
Advanced programs are ideal for those that are:
- Selling graphics, designs, photos and/or elements
- For professionals that want more control of their projects
- Advanced image alteration
- To achieve everything mentioned in the introductory graphics programs with more freedom.
The possibilities are truly endless! Below I list out the advantages of each program.
Photoshop Elements
Pros
- For those just starting out with a graphics program.
- Preset filters that are not available in Photoshop CC
- Program will walk you through advanced settings.
- Has a preview setting to see what your image will look like after changes are made.
- Does not create vector images.
Adobe Photoshop CC
Pros
- For advanced imaging experts.
- Can work with 3D objects.
- More options for brush elements.
- Extended blending modes.
- Settings available to warp images.
- Does not walk you through program as Photoshop Elements does.
- Has limited vector Image capabilities.
Adobe Illustrator CC
Pros
- For advanced imaging experts.
- Geared towards making standalone images, logos, custom fonts and vectors.
- Text quality and design appears cleaner than Photoshop.
- Does not walk you through program as Photoshop Elements does.
And the winners are…
CANVA
- Social media ads
- Infographics
- Pins for Pinterest that link to blogs.
Photoshop Elements
- Creating printables to sell.
- Creating ads for my Etsy business.
- Custom pinterest ads that Canva doesn’t offer.
- Designing custom logos, watermarks and business headers.
Canva is a great beginner platform for social media ads and hobby printables. However I recommend investing in a solid graphic design software if you are planning on creating images or printables for business purposes. Overall, Photoshop Elements is the best because the platform is easy to use and it’s the most cost efficient software.
In conjunction with Photoshop I use Adobe Acrobat for combining graphics and text. This is not a requirement for making printables, however if you plan to create and sell PDF’s then I recommend looking into this program down the road. This program has cut hours of work out of my day!
If you are a student or teacher, definitely take advantage of Adobe’s Student and Teacher pricing! You can save as much as 50% per subscription.
Here are the programs mentioned above with Student and Teacher pricing (Note: I have also included previous versions of Photoshop with the Student and Teacher discount for an even deeper price cut):
Are you inspired to make your own printables? Learn how to make amazing printables here!
