Guide to Graphic Design Apps

Using the right tools can help you explore your creative talents and advance your artistic production. Whether you produce content full-time, as a freelancer, or as a side hustle, graphic design apps can complement your creative process and increase your output. Below, you can explore graphic design apps, key features to consider when choosing the right one, and nine design apps worth checking out for your next project. 

What graphic design apps are available?

You can find graphic design apps suitable for designers with all experience levels, each with unique features and tools. If you're familiar with graphic design software, you may already know some of the names below. They represent industry favorites for a variety of users:

• Adobe Express

• CoreIDRAW

• Sketch

• Snappa

• VistaCreate

• Canva

• Affinity Designer 

• GIMP

• Adobe Photoshop

• Adobe Illustrator

• Adobe InDesign

Read more: 5 Popular Graphic Design Software and How to Choose One

Features to look for

When searching for the right graphic design app, you’ll want to assess the apps, noting features that complement your creative process and preferred working style. As you look at the different features, consider the following:

• Think about the work you do and how you like to create.

• You may have previous experience working with graphic design apps or be new to the experience and require a beginner-friendly solution.

• Your budget will likely also be a determining factor, as many graphic design apps offer different packages at different monthly costs.

Ultimately, the app should provide the tools and resources you need at a skill level you are comfortable with, allowing for smooth and productive content creation.

Templates

Templates can help you save time and act as a springboard for the creative process by providing a starting point for workflow. Many apps come preloaded with templates you can use to create professional quality work. Ideally, the app should also allow you to customize the design and save your own templates to create a consistent look across your brand and establish an efficient process for producing content.

Image database

An engaging and high-quality image database is essential to dynamic content creation because photos, illustrations, and other visuals help your audience connect with the content. Ideally, your graphic design app should come with a library of visuals in various styles and sizes, including royalty-free and paid stock photos, as well as a database to store your own photography and artwork. 

Editing tools

Effectively communicating messages through your images requires the right tools for composition and editing. Different apps include tools like drawing, typography, and 3D visuals for consideration. For example, if you like to draw, consider an app that allows for freehand sketching. If you specialize in logo design, infographics, or illustrations, consider graphic design apps with vector graphics editing capabilities that allow you to create scalable images. Like any craft, you need a properly equipped toolbox to produce quality work.

Read more: 10 Video Editing Skills That Look Good on a Resume

Collaboration tools

When you work on a team or with your clients, collaboration tools make it possible to share files, monitor everyone's progress real-time, and get feedback from your clientele. With these tools, you can assign access to files, work on designs concurrently, and leave comments for team members and clients within the app. Saving to the cloud also helps reduce the chance of losing work because someone saved it in the wrong spot.

Nine top-rated graphic design apps

As a graphic designer, you will choose the apps that best meet your professional needs and personal preferences. To help you sort through the many options available, consider the following nine apps, each earning high user reviews from designers and artists like you. 

Some apps are free, while others are tailored for beginners, and still more are suitable for experienced professionals.

Free graphic design apps

If you’re just getting started with graphic design, take some time to check out these free graphic design apps first. They give you a low-risk way to test out the basic features and functions of the design software before committing to the cost of purchase or a subscription and can sometimes provide you with all the design tools you need to get your message out there.

1. Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a great option for beginners because it combines design tools of the company's more complex programs like Photoshop and Illustrator with intuitive features that beginners can navigate. Among the tools that stand out on this app as the greatest assets to the users are: 

• Adobe Fonts for a wide variety of fonts to match the message of your designs

• Adobe Stock for a large library of royalty-free images

• 25 generative AI credits each month to create unique images or templates

The free version of the app gives you access to over 1,000 licensed fonts [1]. When you upgrade to a premium plan, you enjoy a greater variety of fonts and images. 

2. Snappa

The free version of Snappa is ideal if you only need to make a few images per month for social media content. You have access to the app's full catalog of more than 6,000 templates and more than 5 million graphics and HD photos with a maximum of three project downloads per month [2]. Some of Snappa’s notable features include:

• Resizing graphics with a single click to fit various social media platforms

• Access to fonts and royalty-free photos, graphics, vectors, shapes, and templates 

• No limits on the resources you can access, only the number of downloads per month

3. VistaCreate

VistaCreate, a popular free graphic design app, is a web design tool affiliated with VistaPrint. The platform's free version comes with more than 150,000 templates [3]. What makes this design tool stand out is the Brand Kit feature, which allows you to create seamless brand continuity across online and print content. With it, you will create visuals with the logo, fonts, and colors that match your brand and then easily apply these settings to all of your content with the click of a button. 

Best apps for beginners

As you explore creating content in graphic design applications, you may find it helpful to begin with programs designed with the novice user in mind. These apps can give you exposure to and experience with design software to start building your skills. 

4. Canva

Canva consistently receives praise for its user-friendly interface and impressive templates database that appeal to beginners and professional designers. The free version comes with extensive offerings, including over 250,000 templates, more than one million photos and graphics, and over 100 types of designs, such as social media posts, documents, websites, and presentations [4].

This cloud-based design tool uses a drag-and-drop editor that can be run in-browser, making it a great option for anyone with a budget-friendly computer and limited design experience. In addition to the vast array of templates, Canva supports multiple graphics formats and includes the following tools:

• Brand kits to ensure consistency across social media platforms

• Content planner for tracking posts

• Photo editor to adjust and filter photos to create specific effects 

You can do basic creating and editing in the free plan, and upgrading to a paid plan gives you access to more templates, visuals, video and other editing tools, scheduling tools, and cloud storage. 

5. Affinity Designer 2

Considered a competitive alternative to popular Adobe products, Affinity Designer 2 is an affordable professional-caliber design tool—an attractive feature when exploring what you want in a graphic design app. Instead of paying a monthly fee to use the software, you purchase a single license for the program. Affinity Designer belongs to a suite of graphic design software that includes a photo editor and publishing tool. Whether you prefer to work on a Mac, PC, or iPad, you can access tools like Vector Warp, Shape Builder Tool, and X-ray View to customize images. 

6. Pixlr X

Pixlr X is a cloud-based free photo editing and design app you can use on any device with an internet connection. The interface features familiar photo editing tools with drag-and-drop functions, making the software simple to use for a beginner. You can easily edit colors, remove backgrounds, add text, and retouch your photos. Pixlr also includes an AI image generator, AI Infill tool, and Colorize tool that give you more options for exploring your creativity and adjusting photos to meet the needs of your clients or projects.

Best apps for graphic design professionals 

The following three Adobe products are robust applications that have advanced editing tools developed for enthusiasts with design experience. They feature business-level services including collaboration tools for teams.

7. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is one of the top design applications in the world, accounting for 34 percent of the market share in 2023 [5]. The program's popularity among graphic designers stems from the suite of tools that allow you to retouch photos, remove or change backgrounds, scale objects, and more. Among its most notable features, you can work in layers, select subjects in a single click, extend backgrounds, and duplicate objects in photos. Photoshop now includes Adobe Sensei AI technology, which makes it possible to edit images more efficiently.

8. Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator was conceived by John Warnock, who released the first version to the public in 1987 [6]. This graphic design tool remains one of the preferred graphic art apps for professional designers who use the program to create a number of designs, from icons and logos to original digital artwork. If you work with vector graphics from points connected by lines and curves, Adobe Illustrator is worth checking out. You'll be able to change the scale of graphics and use time-saving tools to repeat patterns and edit multiple objects at once.

9. Adobe InDesign

If you work in the publishing industry, you may find Adobe InDesign a helpful tool for drafting layout schemes in digital magazines, e-books, and interactive documents. You can also use the program to design various print materials, including brochures, business cards, posters, and more. Notable features include text-to-image generative AI, cloud storage, and password-protected projects for added security. You also have the option to collaborate on designs with team members through the InCopy feature.

Getting started with Coursera

No matter what project you have in mind, you will likely find a graphic design app that can help you bring your vision to life. Free programs like Adobe Express, Snappa, and VistaCreate offer you a tool to experiment with graphic design apps and test features, while apps like Canva, Affinity Designer 2, and Pixlr X can offer beginner-friendly tools to help you get started without a lot of experience. For professional designers, Adobe offers a suite of tools—Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign—to help you deliver quality design products.

Whether you consider yourself a beginner or a seasoned professional designer, you can enhance your training and refine your skills with online courses and Specializations on Coursera. Learn some basics of graphic design elements with Graphic Design Elements for Non-Designers Specialization. You can also gain the vital skills needed to communicate your ideas as a graphic designer with a Graphic Design Specialization offered by the California Institute of Arts on Coursera. You'll be able to get some hands-on practice with design elements, color theory, and more.