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Digital Projects Guide

Graphic Design Basics

Graphic design is all about combining images, text, and color to share information in a clear, creative, and visually compelling way. No matter if you’re designing an infographic to present your research, creating a poster for a class project, or exploring other visual assignments, strong design skills can help your ideas stand out and connect with your audience.

This page will introduce you to the basics of graphic design, from layout and typography to color choices and visual storytelling. 

Online Tools and Software

Tool/Software Description Compatibility Cost More Information
Canva Drag-and-drop graphic design platform with templates for posters, infographics, flyers, social media posts, and more

Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android

Free to start. Some features require a paid subscription.

How to Use Canva: A Beginner’s Guide

Canva: A step-by-step guide to designing from scratch

Express (Adobe) Aimed at everyday users, this cloud-based design platform lets you create documents, graphics, videos, and other digital assets

Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android

Sign into Adobe Creative Cloud with your UDC email and password to use this software for free

Learn Adobe Express

Adobe Express User Guide

Google Drawings

Choose from a wide variety of shapes to create diagrams and charts

Google account required

Windows, macOS

Free. Google account required. Using Google Drawings
Illustrator (Adobe) Vector graphics editor and design software used to create a wide range of illustrations, logos, and other graphics

Windows, macOS, iPadOS

Sign into Adobe Creative Cloud with your UDC email and password to use this software for free

Learn Adobe Illustrator

Get to know Illustrator

InDesign (Adobe)

Publishing software used for creating and designing page layouts for print and digital publications

Download required

Windows, macOS

Sign into Adobe Creative Cloud with your UDC email and password to download this software for free

Learn Adobe InDesign

Get started with InDesign

Photoshop (Adobe) Popular image creation, graphic design and photo editing software that allows users to create, edit, and manage digital images, with features like layers, brushes, and filters

Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android

Sign into Adobe Creative Cloud with your UDC email and password to use this software for free Learn Photoshop

Add Multimedia Content

Use the Find Multimedia Resources page to discover images, graphics, and other multimedia content to include in your graphic design.

Books about Graphic Design