Graphic Design has come a long way since the days of paint and canvas, and powerful graphics computers are becoming easier and easier to get a hold of. On top of this, broadband Internet access is making it increasingly possible to do your design work on the go, from any location, with a few excellent graphic design ios apps. Here are the most popular and highest rated graphic design apps that you can use:
Freeform is an essential tool for all graphics designers who need to work with vectors. Sometimes all you need is a little vector tool to mock up an idea on the move. Not only is it cheap, but it supports multi-touch gestures you’re used to using on a tablet PC. The days of drawing on napkins are over with Freeform on your tablet.
SketchPad HD is the replacement of bulky notebooks and clusters of pens, pencils, and drawing tools. It simulates a number of different papers and writing tools, as well as offers a keyboard for typing with an option to different fonts if you need clarity more than you need a freehand handwritten feel. Take notes, make sketches using a stylus, and scribble to your heart’s content.
PhotoPad by Zagg does everything for photo manipulation that you would want Adobe Photoshop to do, but it does it on your iPad. Use basic functions like rotation and cropping, or take advantage of advanced features like colour levels, gradient, opacity, contrast, and saturation. The best part is, it’s free.
Moodboard Pro is essentially a bulletin board, only it’s digital. Use it to pin up inspiring photos and fragments of text, sketch on it to plan out ideas, and organize your thoughts. Moodboard is the perfect application for keeping that inspiring ‘desk clutter’ feel without carrying your clutter with you.
Brushes App is your digital substitute for paint and canvas. It simulates a number of different brushes with a wide variety of colours, deep zoom, and multiple layers to work with. You can create entire digital illustrations and works of art and share them in the convenient file format they provide.
Color RGB is an extremely simple app design but can be very useful. Given its small size, low cost, and minor footprint, it’s easier to have it and not need it than the other way around. What does it do? It lets you pick a colour pixel and find the hex code value of it. Useful for transferring exact colours, translating colour into code, or vice versa. A great way to extend your choice of the full colour palette.
Layers Pro is about as robust a graphics program as you’ll find in the iPad app store. It manages drawings, layers, brushes, colours, and tools in much the same way as Photoshop does. In fact, it’s a very similar program, and it’s available for a very small fee. Definitely worth getting if you only need one program for everything.
Artist’s Touch is the best graphic design app for the iPad that works best for newbies and ‘untalented’ artists, according to their site. While it’s powerful for pros, it’s best used for people who just want an artsy painting without all the hassle of learning to paint. If you do want to watch tutorials of how to use some of the apps other functions then you have that option. All it does is take an existing photo and map it out and allow you to paint over it to your heart’s desire.
iDraw is less an app and more an entire graphics design suite. It offers all the full editing tools features you might expect from Adobe Illustrator. Vector graphics tools, different paper types, shape manipulation, and anything else you could want to help you create a logo design for example. The price tag reflects the functionality.
Autodesk SketchBook Mobile is the mobile version of SketchBook Pro and still retains all the features you know and love. It’s perfect for creating and enhancing sketches. Not to mention a slew of intuitive features and interactive elements, including a number of different brushes and strokes.
With these excellent graphic design software apps for the iPad and other tablet devices, you can get your work done anywhere in a flash. With ubiquitous access to broadband Internet, you can upload your work on the go no matter where you are. You’ll never be restricted to an office again. Anywhere could be your workspace.
