Illustration + graphic design
Graphic design Wireframing Publishing My selection of proprietary, open source and freeware tools
Graphic design
vector graphics
Design quickly and confidently with Adobe Illustrator software. Sophisticated tools for drawing and typography, along with advanced color controls and creative effects, provide a comprehensive vector graphics environment. Explore more efficient ways of working with multiple artboards, a Blob Brush tool for intuitive vector painting, and transparency in gradients with on-object controls. Stay ahead of the pace of change — equip yourself with precisely the tools you need for today’s print, web, interactive, motion, and mobile content design.
Free vector graphics software used to create graphics easily and intuitively.
Vectr is a simple yet powerful cross-platform graphics editor to bring your designs into reality. Get started immediately without the massive learning curve. Whether you’re working on graphics for marketing, logotypes, icons, website UI designs, brochures or vector art, Vectr’s intuitive tools let you focus on what truly matters - creating beautiful graphic designs.
Powerful vector graphics editor • Precise and rock-solid vector graphics tools that work intuitively • No learning curve • AI, EPS, SVG, PNG, JPEG files import • Scale designs to any size without losing clarity
Drawing tools • Easy to use pen tool - create curved and straight paths and modify them • Intuitive freehand drawing tool - draw custom shapes • Easily add lines, circles, rectangles and manipulate them • Grouping layers - group layers and modify them together • Corner radius - change the radius of any corners • Create icons, website UI designs, logotypes, brochures, banners
Social and collaborative • A unique shareable URL for every design • Send anyone a Vectr document for real-time collaboration without the wait • Others can watch you create and edit designs live in the web app • Post your designs to Facebook or Twitter in one click
Free forever and cross-platform • Vectr’s basic graphics editor is free forever. • Cross Platform - use Vectr on the web, or install the web-app to your desktop: Mac, Windows, Chromebook or Linux. We'll automatically save and sync your work in real-time, across all platforms. • Open Roadmap - Vectr's open roadmap is a living document where our community gets together to shape what Vectr will become.
You may use Vectr anonymously, but we highly recommend signing up for a free account which is going to let you sync your designs.
Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.
It supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.
Draw lets you produce anything from a quick sketch to a complex plan, and gives you the means to communicate with graphics and diagrams. With a maximum page size of 300cm by 300cm, Draw is a an excellent package for producing technical drawings, general posters, and much else.
You can arrange your most-commonly used drawing tools around your screen, ready for single-click access, and take advantage of the "Styles and Formatting" box to put all your graphics styles just one click away.
You can manipulate objects, with the ability to rotate them in two or three dimensions. the "3D Controller" gives you access to spheres, rings, cubes and other objects.
Portable version for Windows available from PortableApps.com: http://portableapps.com/apps/office/libreoffice_portable
Wireframing
Adobe XD (Experience Design) is a vector-based tool developed and published by Adobe Inc for designing and prototyping user experience for web and mobile apps.
Wireframe, design, prototype, present, and share amazing experiences for web, mobile, voice, and more — all in one app. XD is made for designers, creative teams, and organizations that need to design at scale. It’s everything you need to work more efficiently, collaborate effortlessly, and create and manage your design system.
Adobe XD has a companion app for phones that allows you to view and interact with your projects as visual prototypes called Adobe XD Mirror
Publishing
Design professional layouts for print and digital publishing.
Adobe InDesign breaks down the barriers between online and offline publishing.
Create compelling print layouts, immersive content for playback in the Adobe Flash Player runtime, and interactive PDF documents.
Microsoft Publisher, part of the Microsoft 365 (Office), helps you create, personalize, and share a wide range of publications and marketing materials in-house. New and improved capabilities guide you through the process of creating and distributing in print, Web, and e-mail so you can build your brand, manage customer lists, and track your marketing campaigns — all in-house.
Publisher is not limited to marketing and can be used for other printed materials like chapbooks, magazines and newspapers.
Scribus is a desktop publishing (DTP) application. Scribus is designed for flexible layout and typesetting, and the ability to prepare files for professional quality image setting equipment. It can also create animated and interactive PDF presentations and forms. Example uses include writing small newspapers, brochures, newsletters, posters and books.
