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What is a Design Editor?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

A design editor is generally any type of software program used in graphic design, website design, or any other type of visual artistic design. These programs are often used to create original illustrations and similar types of artwork, as well as create layouts and allow for the insertion of text and images in a way that is visually pleasing and unique. They may also include text editing options, allowing for great changes to be made to fonts or typefaces, and even the creation of original fonts by a typographer or graphic artist. A design editor can also be someone who performs this type of editing, using such software.

The most common uses of design editor programs are those needed by commercial artists, graphic designers, and people in similar fields. These programs will usually allow someone to create new artistic images, as well as edit, arrange, and place together existing or original images. This is typically done to create a final product that is ultimately greater than the sum of its parts. The use of a design editor program in creating visual synergy for a viewer is quite common to create website pages that are pleasing to view, while also delivering the information and content desired.

Woman doing a handstand with a computer
Woman doing a handstand with a computer

One of the most common applications of this type of design editor software is in the effective implementation of both text and graphics onto a single presentation. This can be done for an Internet website or for a piece of advertising that will exist in the real world. While many programs can allow someone to integrate text and visuals, a design editor program will often provide greater tools and more options for how these two types of information can be provided together. This often allows someone using one of these programs to create original content both in terms of the images and text itself, and also in how they are presented and relayed on the literal or virtual page.

A design editor may also be such a person who works with this type of software to edit the designs and layouts of web pages and printed media. These people may be graphic artists and designers, typographers, advertisers, or website designers who use editor software to create graphic representations of ideas. A design editor software program can consist of a single program that is remarkably inclusive or a suite of different software packages used in conjunction to create a final product.

Discussion Comments

amysamp

I love to play around with photographs, morphing them from photos to abstract art to quote photos and I do this using photo design editor software.

The software I finally went for was actually not a purchase I get to keep but rather a monthly fee to be a member of the website and get to use all of the photo edits that they offer as well as unlimited history of your photo work.

The best part is that you get to save the photo art to your computer as well so that you don't have to continue to be a member of the website or print all of your pictures to have them.

The way that I make abstract photo art from photographs is through the website's photo changers - such as "posterizing" a photo or "pixelating" a photo and you mix and match these edits and by the end you could have a blue tinted abstract photo when you started with a simple sunrise photo.

I could go on and on, but I will just say that I like the website's design editor software because they will update the site with new fun edits for your photos.

seag47

@StarJo - The align and distribute buttons are essential. I used to try to lay out my school’s yearbook in an old program that didn’t have them, and even though they looked good to me, whenever the yearbook came out, I could always see where certain photos were off center.

When my school got some money from the government, they spent a little and got a better design program. After that, making the yearbook got so much easier.

The improved program came with a lot more fonts than the old one. I totally redesigned the look of the next yearbook, and people commented on how cool it looked. I used a sans serif font for the student’s names, and I managed to work in a few script and display fonts for the sports, theater, and cheerleading pages.

StarJo

I use a design editing program to create a physician’s directory for the local hospital each year. This program makes putting together photos and information super easy.

I can even use the align function to make sure all the photos are lined up perfectly. I have tried just eyeballing it, but it’s always slightly off, no matter how close it looks.

The distribute function makes sure that all selected photos have equal space between them. This is also really helpful on pages with multiple photos in rows. I even use it for the text boxes out beside the photos that contain the doctors’ names and numbers.

orangey03

I work in advertising, and I have one program that serves as a text editor and another that is mostly for importing objects onto a page and incorporating text around them. With the text editor program, I can alter individual points on letters to make them look unique.

I can also add points and curves to letters, and I can create an entirely new look this way. I can duplicate the letter, place the copy behind the original but slightly off center, and create a certain number of steps between the two. This way, I can make a yellow letter fade to orange, or I can create a drop shadow effect

lighth0se33

I design the layout of pages at the newspaper where I work, and I use the design editing software that our graphic designers use. All of us are basically doing the same type of actions, such as placing text and pictures in documents.

However, I have to do one thing that the ad designers usually don’t. I have to make the text flow around the photo. The program has a feature called “text wrap.” When this is activated, the words will recognize the photo as an obstacle, and they will flow around it rather than running over the surface of it.

popcorn

There is some great free photo design editor software online if you are willing to sift through all of the freeware. For myself I am a hobbyist photographer and like to touch up my images. I am currently using GIMP to edit my photos and it is a pretty good free program with regular updates.

I think if you want to try a photo design editor you should start with the free programs first before investing in paid software. I know for myself that GIMP does everything I need it to.

Another bonus of freeware is that the computer savvy people that use it make plugins for it that do anything just about anything you can imagine.

lonelygod

I have been working with the HTML design editor Adobe Dreamweaver for years and I have to say that it is a great investment if you want to really create professional web pages. The downside is that professional products from Adobe can be quite expensive and require a fair amount of skill to use.

If you just want to make a simple web page you can find free web design editors online and use them to make a page. These free programs are much more simplified and often work on a drag and drop system. Not needing to know any coding can make a new web design go by much quicker.

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      Woman doing a handstand with a computer