Design Software
UI/UX, vector, raster design apps.
| Software | Description | Pricing | License | Tags | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Express | Quick Adobe design tool. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Freemium | Web · Adobe | Quick design | |
| Adobe Illustrator | Industry-standard vector graphics editor; available on iPad. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
$22.99/mo annual single-app | Paid | Industry Standard · Vector | Vector illustration, logos, layout |
| Adobe InDesign | Page layout and publishing for print and digital. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
$20.99/mo annual single-app | Paid | Industry Standard · Layout | Editorial layout and publishing |
| Adobe Photoshop | Industry-standard raster image editor and compositor; available on iPad. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Single App $22.99/mo; Photography Plan $19.99/mo | Paid | Industry Standard · Raster | Photo editing, matte painting, texture work |
| Affinity | Unified vector, photo, and layout app. Free, by Canva. | Free | Free (Canva) · Vector + Raster | Illustration, photo editing, page layout | |
| ArcBrush | Node-based non-destructive image editor for generating asset variants and export formats; optional credit-based AI features. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Freemium | Node-based · Non-destructive | Node-based batch image editing | |
| Clip Studio Paint | Industry-standard illustration and comics with animation timeline. See also: Software Reference → 2D & Animation Software |
Paid | Manga · Frame-by-Frame | Manga, illustration, frame-by-frame animation | |
| Eagle | Visual asset organizer. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Paid | Asset Organizer · Visual | Asset organization | |
| Figma | Collaborative UI/UX design with free tier. | Freemium | Collaborative · UI/UX | UI design, prototyping, design systems | |
| FontLab 8 | Professional font editor. | Paid | Font Editor · Pro | Type design, font editing | |
| GIMP | Free open-source image editor. | Open Source | Open Source · Photoshop-alt | Texture editing, photo manipulation | |
| Google Drawings | Free browser-based diagramming and simple vector tool. Collaborative. | Free | Browser · Collaborative | Quick diagrams, collaborative sketches | |
| Graphite | Open-source 2D vector and raster graphics editor with procedural node-based workflow. In active development. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Open Source | Procedural · Open Source | Procedural design, non-destructive vector | |
| Inkscape | Free open-source vector editor. | Open Source | Vector · SVG | SVG editing, illustration | |
| Krita | Free open-source digital painting app from KDE; v5.3 and v6.0 shipped March 2026. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools, Software Reference → 2D & Animation Software |
Open Source | Free OSS · Painting | Digital painting, concept art | |
| Lunacy | Free graphic design app from Icons8. Native Sketch file support, built-in icons/illustrations/photos, AI tools. | Free | Sketch-alt · Free | UI design, Sketch file editing on Win/Linux | |
| Microsoft Paint | Built-in Windows raster editor. Now ships with layers, transparency, and Cocreator AI. | Free | Windows-native · Lightweight | Quick raster edits, mockups | |
| Modyfi | Browser-based creative suite. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Freemium | Browser Suite · Creative | Creative suite in browser | |
| Origami Studio | Free interaction design and prototyping tool by Meta. Patch-based logic, Figma import. | Free | Prototyping · Meta | Interaction prototyping, motion specs | |
| Paint.NET | Free Windows raster editor with layers, plugins, and unlimited undo. Sits between Microsoft Paint and Photoshop. | Free | Windows-native · Layers | Quick raster edits, texture tweaks, photo touch-ups | |
| Penpot | Open-source design platform. Native SVG/CSS/HTML output. Cloud-hosted or self-host. Figma alternative. | Open Source | Open Source · Figma-alt | Open-source collaborative UI/UX design | |
| Picsart | Photo and video editor with AI tools. Web, mobile, and desktop. | Freemium | AI Tools · Mobile | Quick edits, social content, AI photo tools | |
| Pixelmator | Full-featured image editing app for the Mac. | Paid | Mac-native · Image Editor | Mac image editing | |
| PixiEditor | Universal 2D graphics editor. Procedural graphics w/ node graph, image editing, vectors, pixel art, animations. | Open Source | Unified · Node-based | Unified 2D editor | |
| PowerPoint | Microsoft presentation app. Used as a quick-draft motion/layout tool for storyboards and diagrams. | Paid | Presentations · Microsoft | Presentations, quick layout/storyboards | |
| Procreate | IPad painting app. Procreate Dreams for animation. See also: Software Reference → 2D & Animation Software |
Paid | iPad-native · Storyboarding | Mobile illustration, storyboards | |
| ProtoPie | High-fidelity interaction prototyping for apps and connected devices. | Freemium | Prototyping · Interaction | Interaction prototyping | |
| Sketch | Mac-native UI/UX design tool with web previews and collaboration. See also: Art, Design & Visual Storytelling → Design Tools |
Standard $12/editor/mo; Mac one-time $120/seat | Paid | UI/UX · Mac-native | UI/UX design on Mac |
| Unicorn Studio | Browser-based interactive scene and motion design for the web. No-code, exports to embed. | Freemium | Web Motion · No-code | Interactive web hero scenes, motion-driven landing pages | |
| Vectorpea | Free browser-based vector editor by Photopea team. Opens AI/SVG/PDF/EPS/CDR. | Free | Browser · Illustrator-alt | Quick vector editing in-browser |
Related:
- Affinity Help Center. Official tutorials, guides, getting started.
- Figma Community. Free templates, plugins, UI kits.
- PhotoGIMP. Patch for GIMP that mimics Photoshop UI, shortcuts, and tool layout.