Design Basics
The best graphic design software allows you to create pixel-perfect artwork as a graphic designer, but it varies greatly in price. In short, the more expensive tools are for professional designers and tend to be much more powerful and feature rich than the cheaper ones. This means that if you are designing a day-to-day job as a student, freelancer or full-time employee, they are indispensable for creating professional grade work.
Yes, the best graphic design software can be quite expensive. But over time, the increased efficiency, cross-compatibility, and feature set it offers mean it will pay off. In addition, there are often discounts.
However, if you're just getting started with design, or only need to design occasionally, for example, as part of a marketing job, professional software may suffice, and free apps can do whatever you need to do.
Looking for something more specific? Check out our Design Basics courses to teach you how to work in the best digital design software.
Adobe Photoshop overview
Photoshop is used for an incredible number of projects, from editing and correcting digital photographs to preparing images for magazines and newspapers and creating graphics for the web. You can also find Photoshop in law enforcement forensics departments, science labs and research centers, dental and medical offices, and in classrooms, offices, studios, and homes around the world.
What does Photoshop do?
Adobe Photoshop is an image-editing program used to perform many functions in the world of graphics, photography, and digital art. It was released by Adobe Systems, Inc. and was positioned as the new standard for personal image editing and painting programs. Photoshop software is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems, although it was originally designed to run only on the Mac.
Editing
Photoshop software is used to edit and modify a wide variety of images and image types. One of its most common uses is for basic photo editing. The editing tools available in Photoshop allow users to make simple modifications such as removing red-eye and adjusting lighting and color levels, as well as more complex modifications such as layering multiple elements of a photo to create a single image. This process includes a special Photoshop feature called a layer.
Layers
Photoshop layers allow the user to arrange and reorder images on top of each other. Each individual image has its own layer that can be moved back and forth through the image layer below it. Without layers, each image would merge with the image below it as soon as it was placed. This would make it impossible for any layout change or further editing of the layout to be possible. Layers can also be used to add and remove visual effects such as filters and lighting.
Digital painting
Photoshop also allows users to create original images such as digital paintings, illustrations, and other unique graphics. Digital painting is an artistic technique that involves recreating traditional painting styles such as watercolor, ink, and oil using computer software and digital tools. Photoshop offers an ever-expanding set of virtual brushes and pens that can faithfully reproduce many different painting techniques. Digital art is most commonly found in the context of the conceptual art of films and video games.
Professional users
Adobe Photoshop has proven useful in a wide variety of professional fields, including science, art, and design. Astronauts and forensic scientists rely on Photoshop's computing power to deal with the massive amounts of photographic data and evidence they need to work. Animators use Photoshop to create visually appealing, layered characters and environments. Graphic, web and industrial designers rely on layers and other creative features in Photoshop to create compelling and functional images, layouts, and products.
What is UX Design?
Every digital experience you come across has been carefully crafted by UX designers. Your Twitter feed and favorite e-commerce site has been meticulously crafted by the UX design team to make you use their product in the simplest and most engaging way possible. It's every UX designer's job to optimize your digital experience so you come back to the product.
A well-crafted design communicates and interacts with the user in a way that makes them feel comfortable and understandable. In a sense, quality design makes the user believe that the product is intended for them. More often than not, the first goal of a UX designer is to figure out how best to communicate with the user (what will keep the user on the site? What are the important features? What will turn them into customers?).
To communicate properly, UX designers must strike a balance between creativity and analytics. Designers must use the data they have gathered through countless research sessions and surveys to create the page design. They then work with other UX team members to create a brilliant visual design that guides users seamlessly through the conversion funnel.
UX design process
UX professionals must methodically follow the process in order to successfully complete one of their projects. Below is an example of the steps that UX designers can follow to bring their ideas to life.
1. Understand problems through custom research
UX designers are good problem solvers. To get the job done and provide an accurate solution, designers must first understand the underlying problems.
Designers regularly brainstorm clients to get their feedback. A UX team often allows users to test new or existing products or company sites to give the team objective feedback on what works and what doesn't. From there, UX teams will define user personalities (which types of users will spend the most time with this product) and then develop strategies based on those characters.
User feedback as well as the team's personal research identifies the underlying product issues and provides a solid starting point for UX designers. Both user and command data are vital to the overall success of the user experience.
2. Product development
Product development is much more difficult than it sounds. UX teams spend weeks or months moving a product from concept to production. Teams use all custom and team-generated data to start planning their product. First, they include user interface (UI) techniques such as sketches, whiteboard flowcharts, and wireframes for sharing ideas with stakeholders.
The design team will then create layouts based on the initial design meetings. These layouts are, in fact, prototypes of the finished product (that is, they do not have full functionality, but they have an appearance). With the custom flow, visuals, and wireframes ready, it's time to style. This is where images, colors, typography, and more are added to the product.
Early-stage software engineers and product managers are involved in the development of each product because they are the ones who make the product do its job. Engineers and product teams work side-by-side with the design team to communicate progress, ask questions, and voice concerns. Communication between these parties is key to a successful product launch.
3. Testing
Once the UI is complete during the design phase, it moves on to additional testing. Since no one wants to release a defective product to the world, each product undergoes rigorous testing to ensure it works flawlessly and meets the user's standards. Sometimes he even ends up in consumer review groups who use and criticize him. In other cases, testing is done internally. Can it be used? How easy is it to use? Does this fix the original user problem? How efficient are we doing this process? These (and many, many more) questions need to be answered before a product is released to the general public.
4. Product release
Once all stakeholders have signed off on a new product, it's time to distribute it globally. It takes a few minutes for the UX design team to appreciate all the efforts they have put into creating a revolutionary product; they then go back to work collecting consumer feedback on the product and gathering additional information for future ideas.
Difference between UX and UI
One of the biggest questions from the tech community is, "What's the difference between UX and UI?" These terms are often used interchangeably, but actually mean different things.
UX design encompasses any interaction between a customer and a company's products. The user experience aspect refers to how the user actually perceives a particular product, be it software, website, car, etc. The ultimate goal is to make it simple, efficient and generally useful to the user.
UI is more of a subset or addition to UX. Unlike UX, UI is a strictly digital term. The user interface is the point of interaction between the user and a digital product, such as a phone or tablet screen. User interface designers consider the interactivity of a digital product and strategize how to make it as intuitive as possible. These designers specialize in designing visuals and interactive elements for everything from app icons to buttons and color schemes.
How to become a UX designer
UX design is a fantastic area to explore, whether you're an aspiring young professional or a seasoned veteran looking for a career change. The best thing about a UX career is not having any of the formal degrees, licenses, or certifications required to work in UX. Every UX professional has a different career path and experience. What sets the most successful designers apart is their willingness to do whatever it takes in every project to ensure that what they create is as efficient and customer-focused as possible. In short, you will be successful in UX if you allow your true passion and curiosity to flow through your work.
Then you will need to have a good understanding of UX terminology and processes. This is where UX design courses come into play. Our tutorial will give you a deeper understanding of what actually happens in the UX design process. They will cover the technical aspects of UX and will also hone your basic knowledge of design principles.
Once you're comfortable with the basics, it's time to practice as much as possible. Most UX designers are passionate about projects or working to expand their portfolio. They offer their services to professional volunteer organizations that don't necessarily have the bandwidth to include a designer in their plans. Some even use their time to submit their unsolicited designs to the websites of multi-billion dollar companies. Any additional practice will give you the maximum experience in learning new UX tools and procedures. In UX, practice leads to excellence, so keep working, fail, and try again to develop your skills and expand your portfolio.
Designers are by nature analytical but at the same time creative. They can see things in designs that no one else can see. They are sociable, perceptive and interested in how to improve the situation.
The power of Figma as a design tool
Figma is a cloud-based design tool. We'll explain how Figma simplifies the design process and is more efficient than other programs in helping designers and teams work together effectively.
Figma works on any platform
Figma runs on any operating system that runs a web browser. Figma can be used with Macs, Windows PCs, Linux and even Chromebooks. It is a one-of-a-kind design tool that does this.
In many organizations, designers use Macs and developers use Windows PCs. Figma helps bring these groups together. In Figma, there is no need for a mediator to make design work available to everyone.
Collaboration in Figma is simple and familiar
Because Figma is browser-based, teams can collaborate like Google Docs. People viewing and editing the file appear as circular avatars at the top of the app. Each person also has a named cursor, so it's easy to keep track of who is doing what. Clicking on another user's avatar will scale what they are currently viewing.
Collaborating on files in real time helps mitigate design drift, which is defined as misinterpretation or deviation from a consistent design. Design drift usually occurs when an idea is born and quickly implemented in the course of a project. Unfortunately, this often leads to deviations from the established design, causing friction and rework.
Using Figma, a project manager can check what a team is developing in real time by simply opening a shared file. If the designer somehow misinterprets the short description or user story, this feature allows the project manager to step in, adjust course, and save countless hours that would otherwise be wasted.
Note: Some designers do not like to be spied on when they work, so it is up to the designer to explain the benefits. In general, most designers quickly see value in such a feature and are easily adaptable to working in a shared environment.
Figma uses Slack for team communication
Figma uses Slack as a communication channel. When a Figma feed is created in Slack, any comments or design changes made in Figma are "passed on" to the team. This feature is critical when designing in real time because changes to the Figma file will update every other instance that the file is embedded in (potential headache for developers). Changes to the layout, guaranteed or not, are checked immediately and the feedback channel works.
Figma sharing is uncomplicated and flexible
Figma also allows you to share based on permissions any file, page, or frame (called an artboard in other design tools). When a link is created to share a frame on a page, the person clicking that link will open a version of Figma in a browser and the zoomed-in view of the frame is loaded.
This form of selective sharing, from file to frame, allows designers, product owners, and developers to share exactly what is needed in bug tracking tools and community software.
Figma is great for design feedback
Figma supports in-app commenting in both design and prototype mode, and the comment thread is tracked in Slack and / or email. There is no need to publish PNG files or make constant updates to get feedback from the team using third-party tools.
During project analysis, team designers can discuss their work on the big screen, write comments, and fix issues - all in Figma.
Handoff to developers made easy with Figma
Figma displays snippets of code on any selected frame or object in CSS, iOS, or Android formats that developers can use when viewing the design file. Design components can be checked by any developer in any file they can view. There is no need to use a third party tool to get information.
Figma project files are in one place – online
Since Figma is an online application, it manages the organization of files by displaying projects and their files in a special view. Figma also maintains multiple pages per file, so teams can organize their projects logically.
Figma team libraries are ideal for design systems
Design systems have become a necessity for many companies, and there is a need for components (symbols in Illustrator) that can be reused, scaled, and “tokenized” for use in template libraries available to UX designers and front-end developers.
The often-used phrase "single source of truth" fits here - after creating the Figma team library, anyone with access to the project can use component instances in their projects and be sure they are working with the latest versions.
Figma's approach to component libraries is simple and easy to manage. Designers can create files full of components, or use components on a page to organize a template library. Every frame on a Figma page becomes an organizational section in the team library.
What is Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe Illustrator is an application that is used to create logos, text styles, presentations in sequential order and numerical images, posters as it is a vector program, so images can be created regardless of size, Adobe Illustrator is the first software to implement this element and which turned out to be widely known in the field of graphic design, can be described as a product that was already the main application created for graphic designers. It was first launched in 1987.
Adobe Illustrator can be defined as software that was previously the only software designed for graphic designers. It was first developed in 1987 along with a fully functional Windows program. Initially, he gave complex commands for tracing and processing text with color separation functions.
Understanding
Adobe Illustrator is suitable for beginners as they can learn this software in an easier way. When you buy Adobe, they provide notes and guides that walk you through all the features. Here are a few tricks to understand:
In the beginning, when you start using it, just keep writing what makes you interact with this software and it is a very simple task that makes you learn.
When you dive deeply into the creation of fonts and some basic designs, do not use colors; instead use a "fill of white" and black shades. This allows you to focus on your art.
After you start using the Pen tool, you will need to operate your mouse to perfectly draw shapes such as a circle, ellipse, rectangle, etc.
Start pouring colors later to improve your skills and learn new commands.
How does Adobe Illustrator make your work easier?
It is a tool that consists of versatile commands such as the Pen tool, swatches, grid tool, image tracing, and more. These commands make drawing faster and easier.
What can you do with Adobe Illustrator?
You can design mostly banners, as these are vector images with pixel control. Adobe Illustrator creates small numeric and alphabetical images that are not limited to specific sizes. Wedding and invitation cards are created with this software. The images that are used consistently on various websites, especially e-commerce websites, are entirely created using this software.
How does Adobe Illustrator work?
This software provides you with a user-friendly interface. If you work in a team, it will make your job easier if you want to train a new employee. By becoming an expert, you will understand how easy it is to operate and how to do it.
Advantages
Working with this software makes your work more comfortable as it has many benefits.
• It has several ready-made tools that give you a variety of shapes.
• You can make a banner of any size, from a small dot to a large one.
• Importing, editing and modifying images can be done on the same platform.
• Convenient if it is used concurrently with another Adobe product.
What skills are required?
You don't need to have any special skills to be an expert, as experience will teach you in the shortest amount of time. However, some photographic skills will be an added advantage if you have them. Plus, if you're good at sketching, you'll quickly become a pro.
Why would you use this?
Adobe Illustrator is a program that has been in operation for over 30 years and covers 100% of all teams. Adobe has a lot of experience in this area and this software is used by almost all professionals, making it easier for you to learn. It can save you money if you buy a license for Illustrator and other Adobe products.
Sphere
All companies need an expert on this software as it is a key marketing element. Everyone wants to make their logo and product more attractive, and then there is a need for a graphic designer in large e-commerce projects.
Why do you need this?
This software consists of all commands, as it saves you time when using multiple programs at the same time. You can convert images to any format, as almost all formats are included in the latest version. Adobe Illustrator will help you get the job done faster as it is widely used everywhere and for the company they find expert candidates everywhere.
Who is the Right Audience for Learning Adobe Illustrator Technologies?
People who make big logos and banners, graphics for websites and sometimes in photographic activities. Those candidates who are in all of these activities are best suited for training.
How will this technology help you in your career?
You must have good experience with this software, then you can get a good paid job. This is mostly qualified work, so you need to show your talent. Also, how quickly you develop your skills and how beautiful the graphics you get depends on which path to success you take.