Design on the cheap with open source software

So, you would like to be a designer. Ouch, it's going to cost you some dollars. Or does it have to.

Unfortunately, we don’t all have endless reserves of cash to spend on powerful computers and industry leading software. An alternative solution can be to acquire pirated software. But you know that every time legitimate software is copied a puppy gets run over, right? A more morally sound solution can be to delve into the geeky waters of open source software.

The open source movement is a community of dedicated geeks and nerds who develop alternative versions of commercial software, with all the features, bells and whistles, and distribute it for free (or donations). Personally, I’m a firm believer in you get what you pay for, but when you’re not paying anything you can’t really lose. So lets take a closer look at some open source design software.

The GNU Image Manipulation Program (The GIMP)

The GIMP is one of the most famous open source applications, and is considered by many as the open source alternative to Photoshop.

The down side is that the GIMP is pretty ugly - functional more than glossy - and the user interface isn’t the most intuitive. But if you can get over the bad looks, you’ll find a great personality. It offers many of the features and tools of Photoshop and can certainly hold up its own as a decent alternative.

The GIMP is available for PC, Mac and Linux, and can be downloaded from the GIMP website.

Gimpshop

Gimpshop is based on the GIMP application, but replicates as far as it can the feel of Photoshop by replacing the user interface. As the GIMP doesn’t have all the features of Photoshop it is not an exact like for like, but if you are comfortable with Photoshop but scared by the look of the GIMP, Gimpshop might be worth a try.

Gimpshop is available for PC, Mac and Linux, and can be downloaded from the Gimpshop website.

Pixelmator

Edit: Pixelmator is not actually open source. It will retail at $59 (US). The listing is shown here as it is still in interesting option for designers on a budget.

Pixelmator is currently in development but due for release later this year. It’s a Mac only affair, but worthy of mention because the preview screenshots look stunning. It promises many of the features of Photoshop and it looks very similar indeed. As it’s not been released yet, I can’t comment how it compares, but because I know designers are a superficial bunch who love good looks above all else, I know this will cause a stir when it’s released.

Pixelmator will be available for the Mac later this year. Further details are available from the Pixelmator website.

Inkscape

Inkscape is a vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Adobe Illustrator. Currently many of Inkscape’s functions are operated with keyboard shortcuts rather than contextual mouse-operated menus. This is great if you can learn all the functions but for a newcomer it’s a steep learning curve. Inkscape still lacks a few features that a professional designer might need, especially when preparing artwork for print. However, Inkscape is still at version 0.46 - it is very much a work in progress and is showing a lot of promise.

Inkscape is available for PC, Mac and Linux, and can be downloaded from the Inkscape website.