What Programs Do Graphic Designers Use?

The best graphic designers can pull from a host of different program tools in order to create the perfect, original work of art for their client. Whether creating a logo, working on an ad campaign or producing content for the opening of commercial, graphic designers need both knowledge and skill in an assortment of programs. If you're interested in becoming a graphic designer, here are just some of the most common programs you need to become fluent in.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is one of the main staple programs a graphic designer turns to. When working from scratch to create an original design, few programs can match the sheer power and tools Illustrator provides. Illustrator is part of the Adobe Creative Suite, which combines several different programs (including a handful of graphic design musts), making it easy to move a project from one program to another.

Adobe Photoshop

Few programs receive more attention than Photoshop. It is primarily a photo editing program and commonly used to correct blemishes and errors within an image. Photographers heavily rely on the program and realistically most magazines, fashion or otherwise, on the market today use Photoshop for its images.

In the graphic design world, you may need the software to touch up photography, but you'll likely use it to combine multiple images together. Whether overlaying text onto an image, changing the visual colors and aspects of a picture or using the program to combine both photography and graphics together, this is a program you'll need to know inside and out. Like Illustrator, it is also part of the Adobe Creative Suite.

Adobe InDesign

The InDesign program is another essential for any graphic designer. This is used for creating multi-page layouts. If you're customizing a pamphlet for a company or creating a booklet for another, InDesign gives you the tools to tailor make every page, panel and section while ensuring it flows together smoothly. Packaged with Illustrator and Photoshop, it is easy to import edited material from the other Creative Suite programs, such as Photoshop and Illustrator to complete the document.

Adobe Acrobat

Most people know of Adobe Acrobat as the program that allows you to read PDFs on a computer. Adobe Acrobat Reader does make this possible. A simple program allows you to view the PDF content downloaded from the Internet.

However, Adobe Acrobat gives you the power to go in and edit a PDF. Short for Portable Document Format, the file is commonly used as it does not lose its formatting when sent online. Word based documents may have formatting issues based on the program someone is using to view it. With Adobe Acrobat, you can edit a PDF, add in graphic content and yet do so much more.

The software is designed for easy export to the Microsoft Creative Suite, while also allowing you to create customized forms and produce mobile content. Understanding the ins and outs of Adobe Acrobat is necessary for any great graphic designer.

Captivate

The Captivate program is one of the latest title releases from Adobe. While new, knowing how to use the program makes it a valuable tool for landing a graphic designer job. It is what is referred to as a rapid response authoring program. It helps create add-ons to Internet content using HTML5 and SWF. The program is helpful in producing screencasts and helps you convert PowerPoint files over to Web based formats for easy upload to a website.

InfoPath

Knowing Adobe programs is necessary for graphic designers, but there are also a handful of Microsoft titles that fall under that column as well. Microsoft InfoPath is one such program. It is used to produce, design, and customize electronic firms with data. It helps maintain the document structure.

OneNote

OneNote is a helpful program used within an office setting. For a graphic designer, it allows you to share screenshots and other images of the content you're working on with others within the office instead of emailing or presenting them with a hard copy.

Publisher

Web publishing is another job title, yet knowing at least the basics is important for a graphic designer. Microsoft Publisher provides an entry-level publishing tool that provides additional layout design features over what a traditional word processor might.


Educating yourself and gaining valuable work experience in these different programs is a must, if you want to succeed as a graphic designer. With the graphic design courses offered by Infotec, you'll not only gain hands-on experience using the programming but receive the essential instruction needed to thrive within these different software titles. If you're ready to take your graphic design career potential to the next level, contact Infotec today.

What Programs Do Graphic Designers Use?

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