The field of graphic and web design is one that requires a range of skills to be successful. From the conceptualization and planning phases to the hands-on creation of original elements, there are many different tools used by graphic and web designers to complete their work. Many of these tools are software programs, which allows them to design navigable websites or create logos and other digital art with ease. Other tools are more traditional, like pencils or paintbrushes.
Table of Contents
Graphic And Web Design Tools
1. ProofHub – Proofing tool
Designing teams are overloaded with creative work that includes discussions regarding the design, drafting the framework for the design, making changes and many other things to handle. The design you make will be checked at multiple levels before it gets final. And the whole process includes countless changes, several feedback and many things. So, the biggest challenge that comes for designers is proofing.
An online proofing tool like ProofHub for designing teams will help you manage all your tasks easily and hassle-free. The client can easily explain to you small changes like- Hey, shift this text here, or add color to this portion of the design. It eliminates the game of emails, feedback and approvals and reduces the time consumed for the entire process. With an online proofing tool like ProofHub, you can make changes in your file instantly, add comments, highlight the flaws in the design while keeping everyone in loop.
2. Adobe Photoshop
Launched in 1988, Photoshop has become a staple in the life of designers. Imagine a program to take your artistic style into a digital world with confidence, a program that compliments your artistic style. Photoshop is an extremely powerful program for creating prints and patterns to be the best you can be in the designing world. For graphic designers it has countless options, tools, and settings to open up new opportunities, to create design that is more authentic with proper guidance.
Photoshop for Designers allows you to:
- Build confidence in your design skills
- Enjoy the new insights
- Create digital artwork based off your drawings
- Learn from step-by-step instruction
- A wonderful way to learn and remember
- Speed up your design process
- Bring your ideas to life
- Stay motivated through daily emails and lessons
3. Adobe Illustrator – Create logos, icons and sketches
Adobe Illustrator offers 2D or 3D graphics manipulation to increase efficiency in the design workflow. Designers including both professional graphic designers and digital artists can use Illustrator to create many different types of digital products. Adobe keeps rolling out exciting features in Illustrator like variable fonts, faster document creation, easier image cropping, stylist sets to texts, stability enhancements, and modern user experience and many more to make it one of the best and most handy tools for web and graphic designers.
4. Filestage
Filestage is an online review and approval tool that gives graphic designers complete control over the content review process. The tool makes it simple for graphic designers to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on a range of file types including images, PDFs, websites, and more. The tool places a strong emphasis on ease of use. This means that your stakeholders are able to easily leave their in-context feedback to move your project forward. An integrated to-do list gives you a laser-focus on feedback and makes sure you don’t miss a single comment.
Filestage also shows the status of projects at a glance. In just a moment you can see which stakeholders have approved your design and which ones are yet to review your work.
5. PicsArt
PicsArt’s all-in-one online Photo Editor features endless editing tools to help you create professional-grade content even if you don’t have any experience in the designing field. They even house an impressive Video Editor you can use to add music and effects to videos. The app — which also has a desktop web editor — also boasts one of the largest creative communities in the world.
The best part is that unlike professional-grade editors, PicsArt’s tools are intuitive, easy to use, and free. There is a wide range of creative web tools for businesses, making the editing experience on desktop much more efficient. From AI-powered background removal to creating designs from scratch, PicsArt offers all the necessary tools for you to succeed in content creation, social media, and web marketing efforts. PicsArt goes above and beyond the basic effects with trendy designs and Magic effects that completely transform images. New effects and tools are added frequently, so there’s always room for more creativity.
Their most recent addition is an exclusive feature called Replay, which allows you to apply editing steps to your photos in just a few taps. With hundreds of unique and impressive photo effects and design tools at your fingertips, your content will definitely stand out with PicsArt.
6. Desygner
Desygner’s editor is an online-based Illustrator alternative that is super simple to use. Drag & drop elements into the design, replace images with one click, change fonts, colors, and text. Work with layers and multiple pages at ease.
Search Royalty-free images directly from Desygner using any keyword and find the highest quality royalty-free images to customize your designs.
In addition to:
– Thousands of pre-made templates
– Thousands of icons & shapes
– Hundreds of web fonts & pre-made banners
– Free Brand Library: where you can set up and organize your assets like colors, fonts, texts, images, videos and use them directly in the editor.
– In-built PDF Editor: gives you the ease of being able to edit PDF files and documents no matter where and when they were created.
7. DesignBold
DesignBold is a user-friendly online design tool (basically a simplified version of Photoshop) which helps you create stunning designs within only several drags-and-drops. With a massive library of 12,080++ customizable layouts and myriad design resources, DesignBold is a great choice for you to build the website elements yourself. For instance, a logo, a header or any other types of visuals for your website content. It is quick, cost-effective and suitable for both amateur and professional designers.
8. Fotor – Online edit images & design poster, invitation
What makes Fotor one of the best tools for web and graphic design professionals out there in the market is that no matter the basic photo editing such as ‘one-tap enhance the image bright and portrait beauty, or making some business promotion stuff poster, card, Fotor is a good assistant for you. Just input your own image or use its stock photo directly, adding some text and stickers to customize it easily. There are a number of Features that are helpful for designers, like:
- Design templates
- Design stickers
- Text and fonts
- Cloud saving
9. Logaster
If you want to create a logo for a small project, but do not want to spend a lot of time, then you can use an online logo generator Logaster. This tool will help you create many designs in a matter of minutes. Besides, you can create business cards and social media images with your logo. Created logos can be edited and downloaded or simply used for inspiration.
10. Mockplus – free online collaborative prototyping tool
Mockplus is a must-have prototyping tool for web and graphic design professionals to create fully interactive and mobile-friendly web and mobile app prototypes in minutes. As a prototyping tool aiming to help users design and collaborate better in one place, Mockplus makes it super easy for teams to co-design on the same project at the same time. A single share link is all you need to invite teammates, share designs, collect feedback, test and iterate your prototypes together.
- Simple and easy-to-understand interfaces make you focus on design ideas instead of spending time in learning it;
- A wide range of icons, compos and templates makes it easy to create their own projects ASAP；
- A full set of interactions and animations helps you create very real web and app prototypes;
- Have multiple users or even a whole team design on the same page without conflicts;
- Draw and combine vector shapes to create your own logos, components and illustrations with ease.
graphic design tools and equipment
1. Notebooks
This is a no-brainer. No creative is ever without a notebook at home or in their bag. Smart notepads and other digital tools are great tools for graphic designers to have, but nothing can beat a good old-fashioned paper notebook.
Every creative has a preference between softcover or hardcover; between a small or large-sized notebook. Whatever your preferences, you need something that works for you—the perfect place for your spontaneous doodles, sketches, ideas and notes.
The quality of the paper needs to be strong enough to handle whatever type of medium you regularly use, while also convenient enough to carry around with you to school, a coffee shop or on a bus. Take your time and invest in a high-quality notebook. Many companies have come up with a variety of notebook designs that include grids, lines, dotted pages, pockets, page markers and more.
It can be tempting to simply pick up a Moleskine at the nearest kiosk and call it a day, but with very little effort you can find a few gems that will not only warehouse all of your best ideas but might inspire a few as well.
2. Creative Software
You can sketch out a lot of designs and ideas in your notebook, but every designer should consider creative software as a necessary piece of graphic design equipment. Whether you’re a little newer to graphic design software or an experienced designer, having the right digital graphic design tools can make a significant difference to your finished designs. Most are easy-to-use while also having more superior features depending on your experience level, but all give you more control in how you create.
You know a few off the top of your head, like Adobe and Sketch but there are many others to look into before you choose your favorite. Start on the cheaper side with more affordable software, but then begin to make your way up to see if there’s paid software you might like a little better. Most will offer you a free trial so you can have a feel for the product before you commit to paying for it. Then, compare the features offered to the type of work you do most often.
3. Large High Definition Monitor
A large high-end monitor can seem more like a luxury than a necessity. However, the quality of the monitor you use can make a dramatic difference in the work you produce. When it comes to monitors, most people are pretty clueless about what to look for. It’s easy to get lost in the jargon, we know. Regardless of whether or not you buy a 4K monitor, you will need to pay attention to the resolution.
Most graphic designers will choose a UHD (3840X2160 pixels) or a QHD resolution. In this case, size does matter, so most designers will tell you that between 27 and 32 inches are ideal. There are a number of other bells and whistles that you can get when setting up your workstation, but the monitor isn’t the place to cut corners.
4. Wacom Tools
No list of tools for graphic designers would be complete without a serious nod to Wacom and its line of digital tablets, styluses and software that have become an industry standard. As far as graphic design hardware is concerned, Wacom is a great fit for designers of all levels. Graphic designers love how well Wacom pens and tablets are integrated with Adobe’s suite of products, including Illustrator.
Wacom’s pens deliver precision performance and a natural feel. Animations become richer and other visual effects are much simpler with pressure-sensitive pens and tablets.
5. External Hard Drive
Having a reliable external hard drive is a necessity for anybody whose work uses a lot of data or whose work depends on so many external files. Hard drives are portable, easy to use and can provide an immense amount of storage. Even if you don’t use them to backup existing files, they can expand your computer’s storage exponentially, which is especially important for projects that include animation, film or other large files. Although external hard drives aren’t explicitly graphic design tools, no serious designer could function without at least one.
6. Monitor Calibrator
Another piece of graphic design hardware that often goes without mentioning but is such an invaluable tool is a monitor calibrator. No matter how beautiful your photos or video turns out, your project may suffer if you find yourself working with a monitor that warps colors (I know, we just shuddered at the thought too!).
Unfortunately, this kind of warping can be hard to spot with your naked eye and, at times, nearly impossible to adjust after the fact. Of course, this assumes that you are also using a quality camera and lens and that your monitor is up to the task of displaying images that are true to life. No amount of calibration can compensate for poor-quality tools. However, using a monitor calibrator ensures that your images are just as beautiful after editing as they were when you took them, if not even more so.
7. iMac Pro
Of all of the graphic design equipment, you may have thought would be on the list, of course, the iMac Pro is one of them. How could it not be? It’s so commonly used in the creative community that it’s become the go-to hardware for design houses and ad agencies the world over. Whether you are a freelancer, student or employed by an agency, it is worth investing in an iMac. And it is an investment. This powerful tool is easily one of the most expensive all-in-one computers available to graphic designers, especially if you get the extras.
8. Procreate
Procreate is poised to take over the spot once reserved for Photoshop, with one significant drawback: it’s only designed for the iPad. Procreate allows you to create rich and detailed paintings, sketches and even animations, making it arguably one of the best tools for graphic design. It comes with an assortment of over 200 brushes that include charcoal, ink, paints and pencils—and you can even make your own custom brushes.
Being able to create works with layers and texture makes it easy to see why it is one of the most useful graphic design tools around.
9. Sketch
Photoshop used to be the be-all and end-all of digital design. But as the industry continues to evolve, so has the technology available to graphic designers. The new software has been very promising, but Sketch seems to be standing out among the rest. Sketch is a vector graphics editor with a design toolkit that can help you create amazing logos, graphics and layouts. The design of Sketch itself is slick and intuitive and its features allow you to collaborate with other users on your designs.
10. Ergonomic Furniture
Designers spend long hours at their workstations, which can lead to many different health problems over time. We know this isn’t a very positive note, but it’s also an extremely important one. You love to create, so don’t let your passion be overcome by pains and other issues that can occur from long periods of sitting or staring at a screen. What a literal pain in the neck.
This is where ergonomic furniture comes in. Consider your desk and chair just as much a part of your toolkit as your other graphic design equipment. You could even go as far as to say that a comfortable chair is one of the best tools for graphic design as comfort is just as crucial to creativity and productivity than anything else.
11. Walking/Standing Desk
When designing your workstation, whether at home or in a professional setting, we often forget that human bodies aren’t meant to sit still for long periods of time. In fact, being sedentary is one of the leading contributors to lifestyle-related illnesses, weight gain and back pain. Long working hours can keep you shackled to your desk, so the solution could be as easy as adding a rise to your current desk, effectively converting it into a standing desk.
The act of simply standing while working is beneficial for your health and productivity. If you are prepared to splurge, spend a few more dollars to get a treadmill desk. You can stroll slowly as you work, helping you to achieve the recommended 10K steps a day without missing out on work or even breaking a sweat (killing two birds with one stone!).
12. Headphones
Headphones aren’t exclusively graphic design tools, but they are necessary tools for graphic designers. Chances are you are asking yourself why graphic designers need headphones at all. Graphic design is a visual-based medium, right? While the visual side of graphic design is undeniable, the fact is that the field has expanded so that many graphic designers are not only designing visuals but coordinating entire experiences, including audio.
Whether it’s working on an installation or a project that includes video, a good designer is going to need a great set of headphones to be able to get the best results. Also, sometimes you just need to listen to a little music to get you in the mood to create.
13. Digital Camera
When it comes to graphic design equipment, a sturdy digital camera for crisp and beautiful photos and videos is a must-have. We know that graphic designers work in a wide variety of mediums, but even sketch artists often use photos to draw inspiration or accurately capture motion or subjects that will later appear in the final work. While a good smartphone camera can work wonders and is a great substitute for a DSLR in a pinch, for large projects and special events, nothing beats a high-quality digital camera.
14. Behance
In case you didn’t know, Behance is a social media platform designed by creatives for creatives to showcase their work and gain inspiration. This is especially beneficial for up-and-comers who have just started experimenting with different types of design. Behance is a great place to develop an online portfolio that is easily searchable and user-friendly as well.
If you aren’t good at or interested in building a website for yourself, Behance is a great alternative solution (although we recommend that you eventually invest in a website for yourself). The platform is well established and part of the Adobe Creative Cloud plan and chances are, you probably already have a subscription.
15. Cloud Storage
Ok, so you sprung for the extra-large memory on your PC and you even use an external hard drive. Why would you need cloud storage? The limitations of both your computer memory and your external hard drive are that they are physical and only accessible one way.
Should you meet with a calamity such as a fire or having your bags stolen at the airport, your work is gone. You can’t recover it. However, if you back up your work to cloud storage, not only do you have access to all of your files, you can have access from any device, anywhere in the world.
Need to pull up a schematic you were working on at home? You can access it from your phone, attach it to an email and get back to enjoying your vacation. It goes without saying that both Microsoft and Google now offer cloud storage as a standard part of their packages, but they aren’t the only options available. Shop around and find what works best for you.
16. High-End Smartphone
You wouldn’t normally consider your phone as one of your graphic design tools, but the ubiquitous device has become a must-have for nearly every career field, including graphic design. A great smartphone isn’t just about connectivity. Some of the newest phones are capable of taking videos and photos that are comparable to those produced by high-end digital cameras.
They can also access a treasure trove of tools for editing and publishing. I like to think of a great smartphone like an EMT’s first aid kit. It is designed to handle big jobs while out in the field.
17. Antivirus Protection
Reliable antivirus protection is vital for anybody who uses the internet regularly. It is doubly so for those who work remotely or use public wifi. A premium subscription to virus protection and/or antivirus software are undeniable tools for graphic designers.
18. VPN
What is a VPN and why do you need one? A Virtual Private Network acts as a secure backdoor to the internet, allowing you secure access. This is an essential tool for those who travel frequently or work in common spaces. If you frequently use public wifi or frequently work remotely using your smartphone, a VPN is an ideal investment. In countries such as China, where parts of the internet are completely blocked, a VPN can be essential.
As a bonus, it also allows you to access your home country’s version of websites even when you’re abroad. And when one of the benefits of a graphic design career is flexibility for traveling, this is essential.
19. Pantone Swatch Book
Swatch books are a little bit of a throwback to the early days of graphic design, but they haven’t lost their usefulness or charm. For this reason, we felt it was important to add it to this list of graphic design tools. Pantone color tools enable you to make sure that you get the right color, across all mediums, every time.
This uniformity and the ability to consistently get the right shade of any one color is especially important when it comes to branding.
Take, for example, CVS and Walgreens. Both friendly neighborhood pharmacies use the color red. It would be easy to mistake CVS red for Walgreens red. In fact, however, they have managed to distinguish themselves from one another, due in part to the way they use slightly different shades of red.
20. Productivity Software
Another set of graphic design tools that aren’t specifically for graphic designers is productivity software. One favorite is Google Docs. It is way more than just a web-based version of Microsoft Office. Google’s suite of templates, tools and collaborative features help you stay organized and allow you to access everything you need from any device. If you need help staying focused, analyzing how you use your time or staying motivated there are other productivity tools that can help you with all of that. Like Google Docs, many of them have both paid and free versions.
21. Tablet and Stylus
Of all of the tools for graphic designers, tablets and pens are perhaps the most overlooked. Wacom has held the crown for graphics tablets and design tools for so long that we tend to overlook its limitations. Some designers just can’t afford to spend hours every day tethered to their computers. This is particularly true for designers whose careers demand mobility.
Conclusion
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