About the author:This guest article was written by Emma Best from Laptopical - a guide to the latest laptop reviews and laptop related news. You can also follow her on Twitter.

I've been using my MacBook Pro since a while now and I must say: I really love it. The most common app(s) that designers use has to be Adobe Photoshop (Or the full suite). The app(s) are great, but there is a downside: The price tag. Photoshop CS4 costs $699, CS4 extended is $999 and the full Creative Suite starts at an stunning $1799. For many people this is just a little bit too much to 'play around with'.

Mac apps stop responding. Luckily, there are also many free applications out there that can do the same kind of job that Photoshop could do for you. This article rounds up the best 15 free Mac Programs for Graphic Designers. Some of these applications can even do stuff that can't be achieved using Photoshop, or are much more simple to use.

Keep your wallet in your pocket, since all these programs will cost you nothing.

GIMP

Here are 5 of the best Graphic Design apps for iOS! If you have been on this blog much, you know, I love posters. I’m usually into gig posters, but any decent looking poster can attract my interest. This app makes it incredibly easy to make great looking posters very quickly. Phoster is a great tool. Adobe Spark offers a range of poster templates and layouts that you can use to create your own custom posters. In the Adobe Spark Post app, you’ll have a range of size options to choose from. Choose a canvas size for printed posters or for posting on social media channels. You can also enter in. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 Team (Surface Hub), HoloLens. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Poster Maker & Poster Designer.

The most popular of all free photo editing software, GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, and is highly-supported and frequently updated. Comparative to Photoshop, users can perform basic tasks such as photo retouching, color correction, and image size, or more complicated tasks like image composition and creation. GIMP has a scripting interface for advance users, as well as plugins, extensions, and filters.

Seashore

If you want GIMP, but don't have X11, then Seashore is the appropriate software for you. Based on GIMP, it has nearly all the settings and functions of the more advanced program without the higher requirements.

Inkspace

An excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw, Inkscape is a free vector graphics program supporting standard SVG format, as well as XML and CSS standards. This program can do everything you'll need in a vector graphics program - tracing, path operations, direct XML editing, etc. Import and export formats include all the common image types, including JPEG, PNG, and TIFF.

Front End Digital Media Workshop

Don't waste time manually resizing individual photos for your various projects. Front End Digital Media is a batch conversion app for images (as well as video and audio), and allows you to mass resize, resample, split, join, and up/down sample JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PSD, and PICT image files.

Image Tricks

The biggest appeal for the Image Tricks app is the ability to apply dozens of different filters to over 20 different image formats. The finished photos can then be exported as either TIFF, JPEG, or PNG.

Comipro Plus

If you create cartoons of any type, Comipro Plus is an excellent app. Designed in Japanese but usable to English speakers, this program helps create modern-looking comics, including editing and adding word bubbles.

Google SketchUp

Different from a normal vector graphics program, Google's SketchUp allows you to not only create a design, but view it in 3D. It is easier to use than more complicated 3D software, such as AutoCAD, and is free.

Colorate

Colorate is used to change and manipulate the colors in a photo. The Library generates a color swatch based on the photo, then allow you to add a new color pallete, either blending the current one, creating a custom one, or randomizing a completely new pallete.

Goldberg

This program is best used for those times when you're viewing your photos, and notice that a color is slightly off, or a side needs cropped a bit more. Instead of firing up a full photo editing application, you can simply make minor adjustments, including color correction, blurs, noise, and embossing.

NIH Image

If you need to animate one of your photos or designs, this program is for you. It's compatible with a wide array of programs, and in addition to animating images, it can also perform minor tweaks to contrast, sharpening, smoothing, filters, and more. It also analyzes particles, angles, and paths.

Scratch

This program is so simple, it can be used also immediately with no prior instruction. It is used for creating small games, interactive art, and animated stories, and is primarily marketed to children. Despite it's juvenile market, it is an excellent tool for putting together quick interactive banners and images without the learning curve.

DAZ Studio

If you're in need of realistic 3D models, DAZ Studio is an easy-to-learn 3D program for creating 3D objects, including people, animals, and objects (buildings, cars, etc). DAZ Studio is easier to use than other 3D animation tools, and is perfect for creating surrealistic and 3D art.

Bryce

Built to run with the aforementioned DAZ Studio software, Bryce is used to create real-looking landscapes using photos of real landscapes. Take a picture of your yard, a forest, some mountains, or other landscapes, import it into Bryce, and then add all the elements needed to turn it into a new world.

ArchiCAD

If you need a 3D design tool with more power and features than Google SketchUp, ArchiCAD is the right program to you. Similar to AutoCAD in both function and name, this program allows users to design their sketches and ideas into a realistic 3D render.

JAlbum

Every graphic designer requires an efficient way to keep all their photos and images organized. JAlbum is the ultimate photo organizer, as it not only allows you to organize your photos and folders using simple drag-and-drop functionality, but it also creates thumbnails and HTML pages of your photos for easy online publishing. The HTML pages to publish can be made to either export a gallery or a slide show. In addition, there's support for IPTC and EXIF data, lossless editing, image filters, style sheets, and an integrated FTP client.

Bonus: Pixelmator

I've added Pixelmator myself to this list, as Emma didn't include this app to her top 15 list. I really love to use Pixelmator myself and I don't think it should be missing from this amazing list.

Pixelmator, the beautifully designed, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editor for Mac OS X has everything you need to create, edit and enhance your images.

Bonus: Blender

Just like Pixelmator, I've added Blender myself to this list, as Emma didn't include this app to her top 15 list. Blender is a great open source app for 3d content.

Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.

Are there more Mac Apps that you, as a graphic designer, love to use that is missing from the list above? Please share!

This guest article was provided to you by Emma Best from Laptopical.


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Best Poster Design App For Mac

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Designing a poster from scratch is not easy work if one has to do it with outdated software. Some of the latest poster maker software programs are powerful but extremely cumbersome for regular use, especially for beginners.

Related:

So we have compiled a list of user friendly Poster Making Software which will help your creative juices flow in an unhindered way. Create your masterpieces with the simplest of these tools some of which are also completely free.

1. Poster Designer

Graphic Design Apps For Mac

Create Posters, Banners And Ads With The Simplest Freeware. The Poster Designer comes with complete set of tools and instructions which make it a cakewalk to design complicated posters with rich elements within a span of a few minutes.

  • The software is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows 7.
  • Several popular image formats are compatible with this software which includes JPEG, JPG, PNG and BMP.

2. Canva’s Poster Maker

Drag and Drop Poster Maker To Make Your Day. The unique feature of this poster maker is its drag and drop feature which enables you to create awesome posters even without formal training or years of expertise.

Best
  • You can choose from thousands of professionally designed layouts and about a million amazing images.
  • You can customize all your images, colors and fonts to create a groundbreaking design in 5 minutes with Canva.

3. RoynaSoft Poster Designer

Visually Appealing Posters In Few Minutes. This is an extremely simple home edition of professional grade post editing and creator software which can be used to create personal posters, banners and signs.

  • It enables you to work on multiple image formats like JPG, JPEG, BMP and PNG.
  • Each and every bit of detail is customizable with RoynaSoft Poster Designer.
  • You can check out the limited version of this software for Windows right here.

4. Poster Genius

Manage Your Images, Text, Tables And Fonts With This Genius Tool. Create unique designs by starting off with ingenious templates which this new poster design software has to offer.

  • This software guides you through each and every step while allowing you to focus on minute details by separating the contents of the posters.

5. PosterMyWall

PosterMyWall is a brilliantly designed poster making software which allows you to make photo calendars, collages, albums and innovative posters for absolutely free.

  • You can choose from the plethora of free poster background images which can then be edited to become a part of your work of art.
  • You can also opt for paid upgrades to add a touch of finesse to all your creations with PosterMyWall.

5. ArcSoft

The Art Of Making An Eye Grabbing Poster. ArcSoft is a freeware for Windows and Mac users whose main goal is to guide beginners in the path of creation of their masterpiece.

  • Each download is accompanied by free instructions which can be followed by any newbie interested in the art of poster making.
  • The supported file formats range from JPG to BMP and each and every element including brightness, hue, contrast, font, text can be adjusted.

6. PosteRazor

The Sharpest Tool For Creating Wonderful Designs Within Minutes. The fastest freeware for all Windows users which supports almost all existing image formats provided the images are of sufficiently high quality.

  • It comes with a 5- step user instruction to make it easier for the beginners.
  • The final result is saved in PDF format making it accessible on almost all existing gadgets.

8. WrapCandy

9. Posteriza

Best Poster Design App For Mac Download

10. Picasa

11. PhotoSketch9

12. PhotoFiltre

13. InkScape

14. Fotor

15. Befunky

Best Poster Design App For Macbook

16. ArtSkill


Best Poster Design App For Mac Free

Even for experts it is imperative to have powerful software to lean on when creating important poster work. These few software programs not only hasten the process, they also make the entire result flawless and professional.

Best Graphic Design Apps Mac

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