Articles: design software

Choosing a program is often confused with choosing a skill. In practice a simple leaflet can be made in a free tool, while a large catalogue is easier in something with more range. Start by asking what exactly you have to prepare and how often you will come back to it.

Which tool for which job

A short overview, so you do not start by installing everything at once.

• Canva - quick pieces built from templates, handy when several people in a company design.
• GIMP - a free tool for photos and simple graphics, enough for most promotional material.
• CorelDRAW and Illustrator - drawings and logos that have to be scaled freely without losing quality.
• Photoshop - photo editing, retouching, montages and product shots.

Before you start clicking

If your company produces more than one piece, it pays to set up your own colours, lettering and ready templates once. After that a new project takes minutes and everything looks like one family, whoever happens to be working on it. The logo is a separate matter: keep a version with a transparent background so it can sit on a photo or a block of colour without a white rectangle around it. A PNG works for the web, while for print it is best to have a version prepared by whoever designed the mark. The finished piece usually travels to us as a PDF, because it holds the layout and the lettering best.

If you are still choosing a tool, start with the comparison article, then look at the text on building your own set of colours and templates.