Photoshop
Photoshop, probably the most well-known design programme in the world is essential when wanting to become a graphic designer. Photoshop is an image editing software which makes use of raster (pixel) based work. Photoshop offers simple tools for beginners such as perspective correction, colour & channel alterations and other various tools made to achieve other aspects. Photoshop runs on both Windows and Mac. It is considered one of the best graphics programmes due to its friendliness to beginners. Although it may look daunting to look at its interface, once familiar with the tools and settings it is fairly easy to navigate and use.
GIMP
Gimp is a perfect alternative to Adobe Photoshop however not as readily used. Tools within this programme make it ideal not only for graphic designers but for photographers as well. The GIMP programme is very easy to use making it ideal for beginners and once you start using it you will see it as one of your main programmes on your desktop. It is definitely a prime chose when choosing a programme for a beginner.
Illustrator
For many graphic designers, Illustrator is a great companion alongside Photoshop. It is a programme used for its abilities to work with vector-based artwork which include creating logos, typography, icons and illustrious. This programme obviously offers different features to what Photoshop does which is why it is important for a graphic designer to be familiar with. As it is part of the creative cloud, it is able to be used on both Windows and Mac. A basic knowledge of Photoshop will help when using illustrator and some tools are familiar with both programmes.
Inkscape
Inkscape is an alternative to adobe illustrator which also makes use of vector art. Inkscape is very easy to use and isn’t as complex as Illustrator which makes it perfect for beginners. The programme itself is free to use however its abilities to do what illustrator can do is decreased.
InDesign
InDesign is a programme used for creating layout design such as magazines and brochures. Anything with multi-page documents is definitely something that should be created through InDesign. This programme works great as a trio alongside Illustrator and Photoshop. As InDesign isn’t really designed for creating graphics, knowledge in the other two would be desirable. Learning InDesign isn’t hard and is ideal for beginners to get to grips with as the graphics tools aren’t as powerful as Illustrator and Photoshop. The relationship with combing text and graphics is easy when it comes to InDesign.
Corel Draw
Corel draw is a vector-based graphics editor which allows you to create endless amount of designs without any restrictions. This is a very popular programme now in the industry which some great productive functions which are easy to use perfect for beginners who can learn through trial and error. However, Corel draw can be quite hard to navigate and tools can be quite hard to use at first.