The title of this article is a little misleading, but if you follow my rabbit trail you’ll discover an easier, lighter tool for graphic design than the typical Photoshop or Illustrator route the professionals use. If you are familiar with either of those programs, Adobe XD will be a breeze for you. I’ve been finding it is my preferred way to produce digital and print designs.

To be clear, Adobe XD is a prototyping tool for apps and websites. Any professional would tell you there are more professional tools (like Illustrator or Photoshop), but a tool like Adobe XD can be used to crush social media, web, printed materials, and so much more.

Let me share some reasons why it’s right for you.

1. It’s FREE – you don’t have to be a paid subscriber to Adobe to get it. Download it here, I think it’s awesome! Better features come with Adobe Creative Cloud members but you don’t have to be one to use most of its functionality.
2. It’s LIGHT – the program is way less heavy on your pc/mac’s processing power, and the saved files are dramatically lighter. I’ve been finding file sizes almost 100 times smaller than what I’ve been producing through Photoshop.
3. It’s SIMPLE – the learning curve, while still there, isn’t as sharp for beginners.
4. It’s SMART – files can be set up to contain hundreds of artboards connected to master components. One design can be automatically placed in hundreds of formats.
5. It’s ADOBE – continually innovative, works well with the entire Adobe Suite/Cloud, and there are a TON of tutorials.

I’m taking it further. Incredible resources are on the way through Adobe XD. Resources for churches in the form of missions touch displays and smart design packs. The Ultimate Missionary Resource Pack will be a game-changer for marketing materials, for both print and digital proposes. I’m really excited about the next year of resources all being built and are editable in Adobe XD.

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