What is the best graphic design software to use in learning graphic design?

I doubt that software will teach you design. It'll teach you mechanics (e. g. how to color in a stripe), but it probably won't teach you why you might want a stripe in the first place.

If you want to learn how to get your designs into a computer, it depends. What are you designing?

If you want to learn how to come up with designs in the first place, the answer is "pencil, paper, and possibly a ruler and a circle". Jespah is right: software won't teach you design.

When it comes to graphic design, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are the software that everyone uses.

You won't be getting a job in print graphic design these days if you aren't proficient in both of those.

If you want to get into web design then there are other softwares to learn.

Ultimately you will need a good eye to tell what works and what doesn't and why it works. Pencil and paper will only get you so far and is really not needed in this day and age. It's much easier to put text on a photo on the computer.

Adobe Spamshop is the best graphic design software out there!

There ISN'T NO OTHER EQUAL!

I've been doing graphic design and p.r. work for more than 30 years. Believe me when I tell you this. Buying software and thinking it will make you a graphic designer is the same as buying a hammer and thinking it will make you a carpenter. You can't buy design skills in a box.

So take some courses. Read some trade publications. Apprentice yourself to a working designer (agencies love extra help.) Start a box full of printed samples of things you like, and ask a commercial printer and/or graphic designer how that was designed.

Good design: The ideas must come first. The computer is just a tool to help you make your ideas happen.

Bad design: Letting the software dictate the design. Newbies and unprofessional types get blindsided by all the bells & whistles in the software and forget their concept/message.

The most popular current software: Adobe InDesign (page layout), Illustrator (drawing/illustrating) and PhotoShop (image editing & manipulation). These are expensive programs. Every few years, a new program comes along that you will have to learn, but your basic design skills will not change.

Ive seen beginning srt students think the same thing. They then begin to produce **** that is off center, perspective all wrong and no basis of interest in the graphic idea.

"Skills in a box" love it.

Games companies are hiring folks with a good "pencil and paper" art degree and SKILLS. Then teaching them the TOOL of Pshop and Ptshop are just that. They wont teach you jack ****. I can tell newspapaer "Graphics designers" whove not gotten any skills at art, they just dump out the crap from the program and get crap as a product.

I have a Photoshop girl who is a moron at design. AShe works for me and I tell her what I want by drawing or painting it and then, through PAINFUL iterative functions we get the product I had in mind. Im not gonna spend my time learning the program but I can optimize the users of it by my art skill .

Very true.

Great stuff from you Eva.

Software is just a tool. The better the tool, the faster and more efficient you can work. Graphic designers used to have to put text into pictures by hand just as carpenters used to have to cut everything by hand.

Computer programs will never give people what they don't already have or at least the capability to have. It can only make the job easier.

A CAD program won't make someone an architect.

A project management program won't make someone a project manager.

A money management program won't make someone organized with their receipts or able to keep to a budget.

For all of you that responded with "you will never be as good as me...." Shame on you! When someone asks for help you should try to help not act like a pretentious ungrateful artist.

I don't see anyone saying that. I see people telling the original poster that a program won't teach them design.

I agree. The guy wasn't asking how to become a jack in the box artist! He was only asking about what people's thoughts were about the best graphic design software for someone wanting to learn more about graphic design! Geezs!

Hello Friends,

All the Adobe software products. But Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are the two biggest ones you will need to get familiar with. If you're planning on going to school for graphic design, you will need to get that software anyway, and you will have an edge over all the other students if you already know a little bit about the programs.

Thanks
Vicky Milza

Hello Friends,

Computer-aided design (CAD) software refers to a computer application used to design digital 2D drawings or 3D models – from buildings to machinery, toys to furniture and virtually everything in between. While CAD software is used extensively in complex, design-centric industries such as architectural design and mechanical engineering, it can also be used by consumers and hobbyists to create basic designs and objects.
There are many advantages to using CAD software, but perhaps one of its biggest benefits is it enables you to conceptualize a design or object in full before bringing it about tangibly. This not only saves ample time but can help minimize errors and streamline the entire design process. The traditional drawing process with pencil and paper requires immense time and specialized drawing skills, and correcting errors can be difficult and time-consuming. To the contrary, though it may have a learning curve, CAD software can be used by anyone. It also helps you easily determine the proper dimensions of your design, undo errors and replicate redundant design components with a single click of the mouse. Overall, the software makes a once laborious and lengthy design process easier and quicker to accomplish.
As per my thought, I say that CAD is the best software for graphic design.

Thanks And Regards.
Agili Ron

There are many software available for graphic design such as adobe, Photoshop etc and mostly there are many similar options in every software in order to design the graphics.

Graphic Design Software: Major Layout Programs
Quark XPress
Adobe InDesign
Graphic Design Software: Major Graphic Creation Programs
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Graphic Design Software: Press Preparation & Utilities
Adobe Acrobat
Font Book (Mac) or Xtensis Suitcase (Mac or PC)

Illustrator, InDesign,Photoshop, Corel draw

Yes, I definitely agree with you.

CorelDraw, PhotoShop are the best to use in learning graphic design