Today's Graphic Designers are moving more from traditional methods of design (pen & paper) and are opting for a far more advanced system which relies on computers and specially adapted software that creates flashy graphics, edits pictures and manipulates text. Although using "graphic art software" may be more effective at producing quality artwork and graphics, it is however a far more complicated process and does require a good knowledge of a number of software packages.
Here is a list of some of the leading graphic design packages out there on the market today:
Adobe Photoshop Software
Photoshop is a software package that is currently the markets leading program for bitmap and image manipulation, it is used by professional or amateur photographers, graphic designers and web designers. Although originally designed to edit images for paper-based printing, Photoshop can also be used for a wide range of other professional and amateur purposes. Recently Adobe has released its newest version of Photoshop (16th April 2007) which is marketed as Photoshop CS3. The CS stands for creative suite and the number 3 signifies that this is the third edition of Photoshop to be released since the company re-branded itself.
Adobe Illustrator Design Software
Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. It incorporates Industry-standard drawing tools, flexible colour controls, and professional type controls to help you create sophisticated artwork for virtually any medium. This product also enables the user to produce extraordinary graphics for print, web and interactive, and mobile and motion designs.
Adobe In-design
In-design is primarily used by large publishing houses to produce the kinds of complex page layouts required by magazines, newspapers, catalogues, and similar printed materials. It is one of two products (the other being QuarkXpress) that dominate that market at the moment. It has powerful features for creating richer, more complex documents; and reliably outputs pages to multiple media. With its sophisticated design features and enhanced productivity tools for streamlining repetitive tasks.
QuarkXpress Graphic Design Software
This software is also a page layout application which originally was designed for Mac operating systems; however this software has recently been adapted to work on windows operating systems. The most recent version is 7.2, and includes American English, International English, and Passport editions.
There are many other programs out there on the market for use in graphic design industry, and all have their strengths and weaknesses. So always make sure you research possible design packages before you buy to make sure it is the right one for you, as these design applications do not come cheap.