Take a quick look around the room you’re in. Look for stuff like posters, magazine and book covers, even the t-shirt design on the person sitting nearby. That is graphic design. Graphic design is everywhere. There’s no way to escape it. Even right now, as you’re looking at the screen, you’re seeing all kinds of graphic design.

Put simply, graphic designers use computer software to create art. Whether you want to dive into graphic design as a career or whether you want to learn graphic design for fun, you can learn a lot on Youtube or by taking classes like multimedia design. The simplest graphic design programs are right at your fingertips, some for no cost to you.

Paid

With Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator, you have the ability to morph an image any way you desire, whether correcting a shadow over a group of friends or completely taking out that one “friend” that nobody likes (you know who you are). You can even take an entire mountain range out of the background. Want to stand on the tip of the Eiffel Tower and make it look super realistic? It’s all possible. Learning how to maneuver around the program with ease can be the trickiest part. Adobe requires a monthly subscription. 

If you’re anti-Adobe, you might want to check out Procreate for your iPad, which is a one-time purchase.

Free

Photopea is the copycat version of Photoshop. It is completely free to use for any of your graphic design needs. Krita is another great free program for digital painting. 

After you find a program you like and can afford, you can then invest in something like a drawing tablet, which can be really useful. Everyone can benefit from some graphic design skills because it can help you communicate with others, and it’s a great way to entertain yourself, too.