Design & Graphics
Desktop
Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator lets you create precise, editable vector graphics that stay sharp when scaled to any size. Use flexible shape and drawing tools to create logos, icons, and other illustrations that look equally good on a business card, flyer, or billboard. Edit and customize text in many ways to create striking typography.
Use Illustrator to create artwork that will be used across different mediums, and for varied types of artwork including custom typography, infographics, and one-page design layouts like a form or a flyer.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $20/month (Student Pricing) Subscription Model
Platform: Windows & MacOS
Adobe InDesign
InDesign is the best choice to design and publish multipage documents containing text, vector artwork, and images. Use precise grids and guides to position page elements and create polished layouts. Take advantage of professional typesetting features to format text consistently across pages, chapters, and publications. You can also publish your document online and share it with a single click.
Use InDesign to create a variety of digital and printed material such as stationery, resumes, pamphlets, annual reports, catalogs, interactive digital publications, EPUBs, books, magazines, and more.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $20/month (Student Pricing) Subscription Model
Platform: Windows & MacOS
Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is your go-to application for working with pixel-based images designed for print, web, and mobile apps. Powerful editing tools let you correct exposure and color balance, crop and straighten images, alter colors in your photograph, remove blemishes from a portrait, or combine multiple images into a new scene.
Use Photoshop to create image-heavy flyers, posters, web and app designs, videos, and animations, or to edit 3D content.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $20/month (Student Pricing) Subscription Model
Platform: Windows & MacOS
Illustrator, InDesign & Photoshop are part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. There is only a 7-day free trial if you wanted to put the software on your personal device. After that the educational price is $20/month. You can access the software for free on ESF campus in the following computer labs: Digital Storytelling Studio (Moon 014), Baker 309 & Baker 319 labs.
These applications and the rest of the adobe suite can also be accessed using both ESF and SU’s Virtual Labs from on campus or off campus. Information to connect to the virtual labs can be found here: https://it.esf.edu/Access/Remote-Labs
Affinity Photo
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/
Affinity Photo is the first choice of millions of creative and photography professionals around the world. With incredible speed, power and precision, the award-winning software has everything you need to edit and retouch images, create multi-layered compositions, beautiful raster paintings and so much more.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $69.99 One time payment - No Subscription
Platform: Windows, MacOS & iPadOS
Affinity Designer
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/designer/
Affinity Designer is an award-winning vector graphics software setting the new industry standard in the world of design. Available for Windows, macOS and iPad, the super-smooth, feature-packed app is the choice of thousands of professional illustrators, web designers, game developers and other creatives looking to create high-quality concept art, print projects, logos, icons, UI designs, mock-ups and more.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $69.99 One time payment - No Subscription
Platform: Windows, MacOS & iPadOS
Affinity Publisher
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/
Affinity Publisher is the next generation of professional page layout software. From books, magazines and marketing materials to social media templates, website mock-ups and more, this incredibly smooth, intuitive app gives you the power to combine your images, graphics and text to make beautiful layouts ready for publication.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: $69.99 One time payment - No Subscription
Platform: Windows, MacOS & iPadOS
GIMP
GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: FREE
Platform: Windows, MacOS & Linux
You can access the software for free on ESF campus in the following computer labs: Digital Storytelling Studio (Moon 014), Baker 309 & Baker 319 labs.
These applications can also be accessed using both ESF and SU’s Virtual Labs from on campus or off campus. Information to connect to the virtual labs can be found here: https://it.esf.edu/Access/Remote-Labs
Inkscape
Inkscape is a Free and open source vector graphics editor for GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS. It offers a rich set of features and is widely used for both artistic and technical illustrations such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagramming and flowcharting. It uses vector graphics to allow for sharp printouts and renderings at unlimited resolution and is not bound to a fixed number of pixels like raster graphics. Inkscape uses the standardized SVG file format as its main format, which is supported by many other applications including web browsers.
Learning Curve: Intermediate – Advanced
Price: FREE
Platform: Windows, MacOS & Linux
You can access the software for free on ESF campus in the following computer labs: Digital Storytelling Studio (Moon 014), Baker 309 & Baker 319 labs.
These applications can also be accessed using both ESF and SU’s Virtual Labs from on campus or off campus. Information to connect to the virtual labs can be found here: https://it.esf.edu/Access/Remote-Labs
Mobile (Android & iOS)
Web Based
Adobe Express
Adobe Express is a collection of mobile and web-based creative tools that "make it possible for anyone to quickly and easily make standout content that allows them to express their ideas. Choose from thousands of beautiful, unique content templates and design elements like backgrounds, overlays, graphics, and effects through our refined search and browse capabilities." (via Adobe.com)
All ESF students have access to an Express Premium account by logging in with your esf.edu email address.
Canva
Last updated