Unleash Your Creativity With The 3 Best Free Graphic Design Software Programs

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Written By Sam Davis Ph.D.

Sticker Crypt is the internet's premier source of free advice for artists and small business owners! 

Graphic design is a critical component of any successful marketing campaign. It can be used to create eye-catching and compelling visuals that capture the attention of your audience and help you stand out from the competition. However, graphic design can be expensive and time-consuming if you don't have the right tools. In this blog post, we will discuss three free graphic design software tools that will help you create stunning visuals for your business!

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Inkscape – A great program for vector illustrations and logos

Inkscape is one of the best free graphic design software options for vector editing. It's a great program for vector graphics and logos. I love making simple vector graphics with Inkscape, and it has plenty of advanced features too!

I find myself using Inkscape a lot for web design, and many of its basic features completely replace the need for Adobe Illustrator. While I do own Affinity Designer as a paid graphic design software alternative to Illustrator, I still find myself using Inkscape for some basic tasks.

It's free to download and use, and it's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. One of the only flaws I've found with this graphic design tool, which is basically a fully fledged Adobe Illustrator replacement, is that it doesn't have a mobile app.

Inkscape has a wide variety of features, including:

  • a wide variety of brushes, pencils, and pens
  • advanced path controls
  • Boolean operations
  • gradients
  • support for SVG, EPS, and PDF files

Inkscape is also easy to use, with a user-friendly interface and comprehensive documentation. Whether you're a professional graphic designer or just getting started with vector illustrations, Inkscape is a great program to consider.

Plus, this free graphics software is supported by a great community of programmers and graphic designer types who lead the charge on developing the editing tools and free software. Open source software will always be the most powerful tool to create graphic images, because it's community owned and created.

GIMP – A comprehensive image editor with capabilities similar to Photoshop

GIMP stands for the GNU Image Manipulation Program, and its a mature graphic design software. This is among the best free graphic design software options for raster and photo editing. GIMP is a powerful free graphics software that offers many of the same features as Photoshop.

Because GIMP is free to download and use, it's a great option for those who can't afford the high monthly subscription price of Photoshop. GIMP is also available for multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Just like Inkscape, however, GIMP as a free tool does not offer a mobile app.

In terms of features, GIMP offers a wide range of tools for both novice and experienced users of graphic design software. Whether you're looking to do basic edits like cropping and resizing, or more advanced features like retouching and color correction, GIMP has you covered. The user interface is a little dated, but it works quickly and is one of the drawing tools that can easily handle big files.

And if you're ever stuck, there's no shortage of tutorials and online forums to help you learn the ropes of this graphic design software. So if you're in the market for a comprehensive image editor, be sure to give GIMP a try. Graphic designers often start with free graphics software like GIMP before moving onto paid graphic design software like Affinity Designer. You might just be surprised at how much it has to offer.

Scribus – A desktop publishing program that's perfect for creating flyers, posters, and other marketing materials

Are you looking for a graphic design software that can help you create professional-looking flyers, posters, and other marketing materials? If so, then you should definitely check out Scribus. This is the best free graphic design software option for desktop publishing, and it beats out freemium options like Canva. However, it is not up to the industry standard, and will be best for basic projects.

This powerful software provides everything you need to layout high-quality documents, including support for a wide range of color spaces, output formats, and paper sizes. Best of all, it's free and open source, so you can use it without spending a dime. So why not give Scribus a try? You might be surprised at just how easy it is to create great-looking documents.

Best free graphic design software options for all purpose designs

Graphic designers need to make a lot of different types of graphics for their jobs. Which graphic design tool can do it all? Canva can do most things except advanced vector graphics, and most of its advanced features are free and easy to use.

While the free features of Canva work for most, the premium stock and graphic design tools available in Canva premium make it an outstanding value. Plus – they have a free trial! Give Canva a shot today, as it is one of the top graphic design software options on the market.

Final thoughts

From web design and graphic design to logos and painting, the free graphic design software listed above should be able to take your graphic design skills to the next level. While these may not be the best graphic design software out there, they're certainly the most affordable.

Do you have a favorite tool? What's the best graphic design software that you've used recently? Let us know in the comments below. And if free's not cutting it – check out Adobe Illustrator and the Creative Cloud suite. It's probably the tool you need.

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