Browse and download Graphics & Design apps on your Mac from the Mac App Store. The Mac App Store has a wide selection of Graphics & Design apps for your Mac. Home to mascot Otis Owl and nearly 1,100 full-time students, this college has enrolled folks from over 20 different countries. Otis offers just four Master of Fine Arts degrees including programs in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Public Practice, and Writing. Program Features. The MFA in Graphic Design program is made up of four semesters.
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'.
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
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.
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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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iMac has the power! ⚔️iMore is made up of Mac experts from all over the globe. We live and breath Apple products, from the iPhone to iPad to iMac, and we've gone through pretty much every product to give you the best recommendations. Here's what we think is the best iMac for graphic design.
The iMac is Apple's professional-level desktop computer that is often used in the creative community because it's great for graphic design, music creation, podcasting, writing, video editing, and much more. It's one of the best options for graphic design, whether you're just a beginner or a pro, and while it's a bit on the pricey side (not as much as the iMac Pro though), it'll be a worthwhile investment for your graphic designing career.
Our pick27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display 2019
The iMac for everyone
Apple Graphic Design Software
The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display provides the best picture and color quality you can get for a Mac, and this is incredibly important when it comes to graphic design. Plus, having at least 16GB of RAM means the iMac should be able to handle anything you need to run, and a 512GB SSD is a good amount of storage to start with (you can choose more if need be), and it's super fast.
Who should buy the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display
Anyone looking to do graphic design, whether as a beginner, a student, or even a professional, should definitely be looking at the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display with at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage. This is also the computer for those who want an extremely powerful machine that is capable of tackling anything and don't mind losing portability, as this is designed to be permanently at a desk.
Is it a good time to buy this iMac?
Absolutely! Apple just refreshed the entire iMac line (sans the iMac Pro) in early 2019, so you're getting the latest and greatest specs for the 27-inch iMac right now.
Reasons to buy
Reasons not to buy
The 27-inch iMac is perfect for graphic designers
If you're looking for a machine that will be a permanent fixture in your home office for basic graphic designing, then you really can't go wrong with the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display. In fact, it might even be more than you need for most tasks, but it should be able to handle whatever you manage to throw at it beautifully and without any issue.
Apple silently updated the iMac line in early 2019 with brand new Intel Coffee Lake processors and fresh AMD graphics, so you are getting the latest and greatest right now with these iMac offerings. In fact, these new specs are so good that the iMac is just slightly less fast than the 2017 iMac Pro.
Best Graphic Design App For Mac
The 27-inch line starts off with a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor that can be turbo boosted to 4.1GHz, so this is definitely a workhorse. Whether you are just doing some basic graphic design work in Adobe Creative Suite or even some video editing in Final Cut Pro, the new iMac should be able to handle it flawlessly.
The 2019 27-inch iMac is just slightly less fast than the iMac Pro, so it should be able to handle anything you throw at it flawlessly.
While it's up to you on picking out which processor and graphics card for your iMac, we do highly recommend going with at least 16GB of RAM. The base model 27-inch iMac is upgradeable up to 32GB, whereas the mid-level and top-tier models are upgradeable to 64GB RAM. We like to go with 16GB as the minimum for all-around performance, and you can configure the RAM higher to fit with your graphic designing needs. If you're doing more basic stuff, then perhaps 32GB would be fine. But if you plan on working with more resource-intensive programs, then you should go with a model that is capable of 64GB of RAM.
As for storage, we'd also recommend at least a 512GB SSD. Flash storage means your computer will be up and running faster, and data transfer speeds are quicker than with traditional hard drives. With 512GB of space, it should be enough for the minimum, considering how cheap external hard drives are these days. But if you prefer to keep all of your files around locally versus in cloud storage or external hard drives, then you should look into getting a 1TB drive, either Fusion (traditional hard disk and SSD) or just SSD (this will be pricey).
When it comes to the display, the Retina 5K display from Apple is one of the best in the market. It has 5120x2880 screen resolution, provides one billion colors and 500 nits of brightness. It also uses the wider P3 color gamut for better color accuracy. This is because it uses red-green phosphor LEDs that equally represent red, green, and blue rather than white LEDs. This means images on the screen appear even more vivid and reveal greater detail with balance and precision. You just don't get the same effect with other displays, making this perfect for those working with graphic design.
Whether you're just a student looking to get into graphic design, or if you're doing graphic design work at the beginner or professional level, a 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display will be more than enough for most in the industry.
Alternatives to the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display
Is the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display not quite what you were looking for? Here are some other alternatives to consider.
Runner-up![]() iMac Pro
More power, more power!
If you need even more power than what the regular iMacs currently offer, then you should get an iMac Pro. You can get up to 18 cores in the iMac Pro, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, 128GB RAM, 4TB SSD storage, and more. However, such powerful performance does not come cheap.
The iMac Pro is definitely the best iMac for graphic designing (and pretty much everything else, including VR), but it's a bit out of reach for many people due to the price. Even though it's a little over a year old (late 2017 release), it still beats out the new iMacs just slightly. If you're looking for the Mac that can do it all, and you have the cash to spare, then the iMac Pro is a great choice.
Graphic Design Tool For MacPortable pick15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
Graphic design on the go
The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar comes with an i7 or i9 processor, as well as 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD, and 16GB RAM. It should be more than enough for all of your graphic designing needs while you're out-and-about. Plus, the Touch Bar is a cool, useful feature.
Graphic Design Software For Mac
If you need a machine that's portable to take with you for your graphic design work, then you can't go wrong with the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. The 15-inch screen is a decent size to work with, and it's Retina with True Tone technology. The MacBook Pro should be able to handle most of your tasks without issue, and it comes with 16GB of RAM.
Bottom line
The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display is still our top pick for most graphic designers for a few reasons. The best reason is that it has just been updated, so you are getting the latest and greatest processors and specs. If you go with at least 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, you should have a machine that is lightning fast and handles programs like Adobe Creative Suite seamlessly. The display is one of the best around with precise and accurate color depiction and image detail, making it perfect for graphic design work.
It also starts off at a reasonable price for what it does, and if you don't have space for a 27-inch display, there is also a 21.5-inch model that also costs less. If you need even more power and have the money, then go with the iMac Pro. For portability, pick up a 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Our pick27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display 2019
The iMac for everyone
The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display provides the best picture and color quality you can get for a Mac, and this is incredibly important when it comes to graphic design. Plus, having at least 16GB of RAM means the iMac should be able to handle anything you need to run, and a 512GB SSD is a good amount of storage to start with (you can choose more if need be), and it's super fast.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Christine Chan is a Windows-turned-Mac fan for over a decade now. Her first Mac was a white polycarbonate MacBook back in 2008, and she's been using Macs ever since. She knows a thing or two about the Mac and what they're used for.
Rene Ritchie Rene Ritchie has been covering the personal technology industry for a decade. An outspoken analyst and critic, he writes at iMore.com/vector, podcasts at applepodcasts.com/vector, and you can find his show at youtube.com/vector. Follow him @reneritchie on Twitter and Instagram.
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Kinda like this but better
Graphic Design App For Mac FreeDon't like Apple's Magic Keyboard? Try these alternativesGraphic Design App For Macbook Air
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