Journalism: Creative Tools

Open source font foundry

GIMP is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes.

This web based image editor comes with standard graphic design tools such as different brushes, shapes, and cloning tools. The interface was designed with Photoshop in mind and offers and intuitive floating toolbar. You can upload documents from your computer to edit them online with this tool.
Sumo Paint is free as an online image editor that requires Adobe Flash Player.

Inkscape is a sophisticated high quality vector graphics software which allows you to create a great variety of graphics: illustrations, logos, diagrams, maps, flyers, posters and many more. It comes with extensive drawing tools just as capable as those of Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW or Xara Xtreme

CMYK colors, spot colors and ICC profiles are part of the robust and reliable color management in Scribus which lets you control color display and conversion. The neat features include vector drawing tools, import and export for many file types, or emulation of color blindness to check your color choices. For going to print, Scribus offers reliable and professional PDF creation with a wide range of PDF export options.

The pack includes several applications, out of which Draw will prove useful for creating vector graphics and flowcharts. You can easily insert graphics and diagrams, and the tool is a good choice for technical drawings, brochures, posters and other straightforward print products. Draw includes the means to manipulate pictures and images in many ways and is able to handle an impressive range of image and document formats, including high quality PDF export for print. For improving your design, templates are available for download.

Creates page layouts or vector illustrations, edit photos, or create 3D text and logos. It already comes with nearly a thousand built-in fonts and endless vector cliparts for you to use and on which to base your design. A popular feature is the possibility to create stunning 3D text graphics by inputting text and choosing a 3D template. Basic photo editing is certainly no problem for Fatpaint, but advanced photo editing, vector drawing or working with multiple layers or pages are definitely the strong points of the application, making it a powerful DTP tool. Ad-based in free form.

Canva includes stock photography, vector art and illustrations for you to use, or you can upload your own. It is possible to edit your photos with preset filters or advanced photo editing tools. Enhance your design with icons, shapes and elements and choose among hundreds of available fonts.
Canva and its basic features are free while advanced and enterprise features are available as subscription models.

Color scheme designer

YouTube Video made by The Futur