In this post, we’ll look at the best software to help you become an interdisciplinary designer. 

At Nollie we believe you are more creative than you realize (lucky you!) and we want to show you how to harness your creativity to develop interdisciplinary skills, like many of the best designers in history.

We do this by demonstrating our 12 Principles of Interdisciplinary Design framework. Each principle is a skill you can master and will help you build a bigger picture of the Design world and improve your skills as a Designer.

These are the software that I use and would recommend in your interdisciplinary journey. To see exactly what tools I use, you can check out the Nollie Workshop, which has all our tools and software listed.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is the juggernaut of the design industry. For several decades, Adobe has been the go-to software for designers around the world. There are countless tutorials online as so many people use the software. 

It is used in almost every design studio, which is why if you’re new to design, having an understanding of the software will provide more opportunities for your design career. Companies often look for designers with experience using Adobe products.

The long list of apps that come with an Adobe subscription makes it easier than ever to pick up interdisciplinary skills.

Not only do you get over 20 different powerful apps, You also get access to Adobe Portfolio and Adobe Fonts for free. Adobe Portfolio is a free portfolio website where you can post your work. Adobe Fonts is a huge font library which can be used in a variety of creative projects.

Though Adobe may seem quite expensive at first. The fact that a subscription comes with over 20 different apps, and it’s powerful capabilities when compared to it’s competitors makes the price worth it.

If you can’t afford it for now, you can buy a subscription to the apps you need most. If that’s still unaffordable for you we have linked a list of alternatives to these apps.

Below are some of the best apps that come with an Adobe subscription.

Photoshop

Photoshop is a tool that’s used to manipulate digital images. It does this by adjusting the pixels in the file, which are the small dots that make up your computer screen. 

Photoshop has become so popular as a design tool that it even has it’s own verb. Which goes to show you how much it is used within the industry!

Photoshop can be used for a variety of different design work, like digital illustration, photography, mock-ups, and user interfaces. Because you can manipulate images, there are so many possibilities for what you can do visually.

Photoshop is a hugely popular tool within the design community, and one of the best software apps in the Creative Cloud package.

Illustrator

Illustrator is used to create Vector work. Instead of using pixels, like Photoshop, vectors use math as a way to determine the spaces between points, meaning objects can be scaled up or down with absolutely no loss of quality. 

Vectors allow for designers to precisely manipulate shapes, lines and colors, making them perfect for creating complex designs and illustrations. Vectors are used for creating logos, packaging, fashion patterns, game sprites, infographics and much more.

Because of its versatility, Illustrator is used in Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Architecture, Games Design and Packaging. Making it an amazing tool for helping you build up your interdisciplinary skills.

InDesign

InDesign is used for the creation of printed media, like portfolios, books, magazines, posters and flyers. If you’re making any printed promotional material, InDesign is the tool to use!

As a designer, you should really be putting effort into your portfolio, InDesign gives you a professional looking portfolio that you can send to agencies, clients and employers.

Another great use for InDesign is creating highly effective branded reading materials to your client, like questions about the project, onboarding, lookbooks and more.

PremierePro

PremierePro is Adobe’s app for Filming and Editing. You can use PremierePro to create dynamic films and animations, making engaging content that captures the audience’s attention.

If you want to boost your personal brand, you can use PremierePro to create tutorials or educational content to showcase your expertise.

Video is becoming the fastest way to consume content online, and PremierePro allows you to create movie style quality films.

Also if your in the content creation game, Adobe also offers PremiereRush which is for video editing, that can be sent directly to your social media.

AfterEffects

AfterEffects is Adobe’s Motion Graphics and Animation software app that allows you to bring your work to life with animation. It allows you to create characters and rig them up easily and create dynamic motion graphics.

Creating engaging animations helps to capture attention better than stationary visuals and is one of the 12 Principles of Interdisciplinary Design. Adding some animation elements to your work will make it more engaging and get your point across easier.

AfterEffects allows for Motion Graphics, demonstrating digital prototypes, creating marketing materials and even visual effects!

Adobe Express

Create visual templates for FREE that can be easily altered and sent out across your social media from Adobe Express. 

Adobe Express was made as a competitor to Canva. The fact that they offer this software for free without a full creative cloud subscription shows how powerful these other apps are when compared to Canva.

While I don’t hate on Canva, this app allows you to do the same as Canva whilst intoducing you to other tools that pop up in other Adobe apps. 

Firefly

Firefly is Adobe’s response to the rise AI image generation. What separates it from it’s competitors like Dall-E or Midjourney, is that it is integrated into their other software!

So for example, if your making something in Photoshop and can’t find an image you need to add to your scene, you can simply put the prompt in.

Artificially Intelligent images, while controversial, are here to stay. By integrating Firefly into their products, it at least gives you some control over the output rather than just relying on prompts.

We’ll be looking more into A.I. and it’s impact in the design world in some upcoming posts, so sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date!

Other Adobe Apps

Animate

Adobe Animate is a software that allows you to create traditional frame-by-frame style animations

Audition

If you want to get into podcasting you can use Adobe Audition to edit your audio.

Acrobat

Make quick and easy changes to important documents like electronic signatures, PDF compression, and text editing using Adobe Acrobat.

Lightroom

Quickly alter and reformat large batches of photographs in Adobe Lightroom.

Adobe Creative Cloud Discounts

Look we get it. Forking out for Adobe Creative Cloud may seem like a big expense, especially if you’re just starting out. Adobe is the industry standard, and you’ll see it in any agency, studio or inhouse team which is why it’s vital to have in your skillset.

If you’re still a student, you can get a hefty 65% discount on an Adobe subscription. If not, and still wondering if you can get a discount, don’t worry…

Because me and the guys at Adobe are friends, they send me a list of offers and discounts for their software which I can send to you. Sign up to our newsletter to be kept up to date with any discounts and offers. 

If you can’t afford Adobe right now, you can look into our list of alternatives.

Fusion360

My interdisciplinary journey started when I first started working in a Makerspace. Since then I use 3D printing for prototypes and little projects I can make for around the house or the studio. To make 3D models to print, I need good CAD software.

Fusion360 is a great tool for 3D CAD projects. If I need to 3D Print something, I can use Fusion360 to make up my model before exporting it to my 3D Printer.

I trained in Solidworks, and find Fusion360 a great cost-effective alternative.

Figma

Figma is a great tool for creating UX/UI and Web Design projects and its FREE! Figma has become the largest tool for creating digital interface sitemaps. 

Figma has been widely adopted by the design community, even overthrowing Adobe’s XD which takes some doing! It just goes to show why Figma is on this list over Adobe XD.

If you’re making apps, digital interfaces and web design, Figma is by far the best tool you can use.

We’re planning a new website redesign and it will be built using Figma. 

Conclusion

At Nollie Design, we want to give you the tools to grow your interdisciplinary design skills. By using the software listed above, you’ll have more tools to work on a variety of different design projects.

The software listed are considered the industry standard, and are the ones I would personally recommend. If you want to become a professional interdisciplinary designer, these apps are the ones I would recommend learning.

At Nollie, we believe that designers should grow their creative skillset and develop interdisciplinary learning. We do this by sharing the 12 Principles of Interdisciplinary Design.