Graphic design software and hardware for beginners - need suggestions

[china mom]

My daughter as expressed an interest in attending a college for Art and Design... a $50K a year college . The problem is, although she likes art and computers, she has only taken one art class and has shown no real aptitude. We have come up with a compromise that she strt out at community college and once she gts her associates degree, she can go to any school that she can get into.

Our local college has literally only one art class though.

I am thinking that for Christmas, I could get her some software that will allow her to explore graphic design Something like Adobe Illustrator. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for software for a hopeful future graphic designer?

She has an iPad and a macbook. Is there a tablet other than iPad that would be a god fit? I was thinking maybe the Surface Pro.

 

[princesscinderella]

Canva is another graphic design online program that a lot of people use to create graphic designs for social media posts and other graphic needs. They have free version and other more powerful paid ones. Its also a bit more user friendly than Adobe.

 

[china mom]

Canva is another graphic design online program that a lot of people use to create graphic designs for social media posts and other graphic needs. They have free version and other more powerful paid ones. Its also a bit more user friendly than Adobe.

Thank you. I will put that on the list.

 

[firefly_ris]

Get an Adobe subscription for Illustrator and Photoshop -- and take some online courses to get an intro and feel for it. There are several on Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=adobe illustrator

I've done some of their courses on other topics. LinkedIn Learning (formerly known as Lynda.com) is another resource.

Or Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/adobe-illustrator-training/

 

[Imzadi]

Many of the software programs have free tutorials on YouTube.

Also, there are probably dedicated Facebook groups for the software programs or for professional and amateur graphic artists or graphic art students. Facebook groups for various arts or crafts are NOT like what people think of as a Facebook group. The majority of really good groups are well moderated, so only what the group is actually about gets allowed in, and only people there for that are allowed to stay. No politics, no religion, no selling (unless the group specifically states people can sell,) no bashing each other or their art, and no spam.

Third, if DD is really intent on learning graphic design, she may want to enroll in online graphic design courses at the Parsons School of Design in NYC, also now known as The New School for other types of classes. (They go back and forth with the name. When I went for grad school classes after doing my undergrad at NYU, it was known as Parsons.) There is even a famous "Parsons table" back in the 70s -80s that became popular due to Parsons.

Scroll down and you'll see the "Graphic and Digital Design" section:

https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/online-programs-courses/

 

[NotUrsula]

My DD is a HS junior on this path. IME, good Colleges of Design are quite difficult to get accepted into, even if you are already part of the university. You absolutely need to have an extensive portfolio for admission, and it sounds like your DD doesn't have one at this point.

Have her stick with her Apple devices; as most designers prefer them. Procreate on her iPad is a good start, and once she has the basics down, you can subscribe to the Adobe Creative Suite, which will be something she would be expected to have basic proficiency with by the time she finishes high school. (The student discount plan is $20/month at the moment, but I wouldn't start paying it until she's mastered Procreate.) You can also encourage online learning and books to get grounded in the important concepts; things such as "What are layers and how are they used?" You didn't say how old she is, but if she is a HS junior or younger, sending her away to a design-centric university camp in the summertime would be a really good way to let her get immersed in the subject before she gets too invested in the idea as a plan for 4-5 years of school. It might cost you a couple of thousand dollars, but that's well-spent if she decides after a couple of weeks of immersion that the work doesn't suit her after all.

Doing the community college route is certainly an option that saves money, but it isn't always the best route if the school isn't able to ground the student in the coursework they will need after transfer. Also, be aware that if you're counting on scholarship money, transfers almost never get offered any. I'm not saying it isn't a workable idea, but try not to focus too tightly just on the tuition savings, but on the long-term scenario leading to graduation.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

As someone who works in this industry, I would STRONGLY suggest your daughter become adept at the Adobe Suite of tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, and Premiere. If she wants to do sounds, she should learn Audition. FORTUNATELY, Adobe publishes a huge series of books called "Classroom in a Book" which guides the learner through little projects that helps them learn the software. Sometimes the books can be found online. Canva is good and I'd also suggest that she learn Flourish which is an infographic creator. Very good tool to have.

Also, finally, if your daughter wants to truly master this space, have her look at the website: journalists toolbox. There are a ton of resources for content creators there.