Graphic Design Tools of the trade

The bare necessities of life for a graphic designer

One thing that's clear about graphic design is that you do need a decent computer that has a good hard drive, processor, and memory. Nowadays, most people get either a Macbook or an iMac. I myself use an ASUS laptop and have had this thing for a few years now. Honestly, it all comes down to preference and what you are looking for in your computer. If you don't really know, then you can always either ask people or look it up on Google and search something like, "what's a decent computer for graphic design," or something like that. Just remember to get something within your budget because a computer is only a third of what you will need to do your design work.

Programs

Just right above is the company that offers the best programs for graphic design, Adobe. If you are trying to get into this field you need to know about Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver. Primarily, I will be giving tips on Adobe programs in this blog. Here's a good tip before investing in a computer, find out how much Adobe Programs cost first before you purchase a computer because they are expensive and may even cost more then the computer itself overall. Love them or hate them, nobody else is on the same level as Adobe. They have expanded so much that I couldn't even see anyone else topping them and it has been that way for years. What McDonald's is to the fast food industry is how Adobe is to design firms all over the world. Go ahead and try some of their free 30 day trials now and see for yourself.

Freewares

One thing about freewares is that they are free. These are good to practice with and for doing freelance work with from time to time when you are working with small business owners and such. However, they simply aren't as polished as Adobe programs and don't contain half the amount of features or capabilities that Adobe already has been doing for years.

At mashable.com they have a list of free graphic design programs to download and use. Right below are some of the ones that I have personally used and were familiar with.








Pixlr - now this one is a new one and I actually like it. What is different about this one from the others is that you do not have to download anything to use it. Its online and you can even use it on your mobile device! Now that's pretty cool!

Memory Storage Device

Now some people will tell you to get jump drives, sd cards, or even CD's to back up your files and store them, but in my opinion, external hard drives are the way to go. Having more memory is crucial period, and the capacity that an external hard drive has is just unbelievable. If you want a decent one, it will probably run you no less than forty or fifty dollars though.

Recap

So just remember, before you do anything else get these essentials first.

• Computer (desktop or laptop)
• Graphic Design Software
• Memory Storage Device