by Irene Lizarraga

Created on: July 31, 2009   Last Updated: August 01, 2009

The first step to be able to do a good job as a graphic design professional is having the right graphic design software. There's software for all tastes and budgets, from open source free solutions to established brand names in the design world, and you will need to trial and error until you find the one that is right for you. The most complex ones will also benefit greatly from specific training to make the most of the features they offer. This article is not a comprehensive list of all the graphic design software in the market (that would probably cover a book all by itself), but its aim is to showcase the best programs available for graphic design in different categories, based on the features they offer, the costs and their established position in the graphic design professional market.

- Adobe Photoshop (commercial)
Adobe is the name everybody thinks about when talking about graphic design. Adobe Photoshop is particularly oriented for creating graphics and image manipulation, but it's widely used in web design as well. Its relatively hefty price tag is offset by the fact that is an industry standard, has all the features a designer can ask for and is oriented to increasing productivity by letting the artist focus on creativity over how to get things done. There's a reason why it's the market leader, and it's because simply, it does anything you can ask a graphic design software to do. Be aware though that it's not a program for beginners. Apart from being quite expensive and targeted to professionals, using it fully will require training in the form of lessons, books or lots of Internet tutorial, and takes time to make the most of it.

- Gimp (open source)
Gimp stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and is an open source graphic design program, comparable to a very simplified version of AdobePhotoshop. It's good, and you can work with it, but sometimes it will fall short. The fact that is free and easier to use than Photoshop (with plenty of plug-ins available for the most strange graphic effects) makes it an ideal tool for those starting on graphic design that aren't sure about making a big investment.

- Adobe InDesign (commercial)
Another member of the Adobe product family, this one is oriented towards publishing of both digital and printed media. It has the same benefits and drawbacks as the other members of the Adobe suite, and it's also an industry standard.

- Adobe Dreamweaver (commercial)
This is the Adobe Suite offering for web design, targeted to interface

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