Best Poster Making and Brochure Design Software from Beginner to Expert

January 10, 2025

As the resident master of 2D spatial relationships at MayeCreate (aka print designer) these days, Monica is pretty strategic when selecting the program for a project. 

Over the past 25 years she’s learned the hard way how choosing the right program to start:

1. Saves time
2. Makes future projects easier
3. Produces a better design

So if you’re tasked with designing for your organization AND you find yourself doing things on repeat, taking longer than you’d like or are unhappy with the look of your designs maybe this latest episode will help. Monica is breaking down how she picks the right software for a project so hopefully you can too!

The right software is like the right tool for any job—it makes the process smoother, the results better, and dare I say the right software can even make designing your next poster or brochure FUN?!? 

The right software lets you do three things:

1. Get the work done efficiently
2. Maintain workflow and collaboration
3. Creates something that technically meets the purpose for which it’s designed

These three decision-making factors can make or break your design process and intended marketing piece. Let’s start with the first one: getting the work done efficiently.

1. Get the work done efficiently.

The right software allows you to focus on creativity by reducing overwhelm.

For beginners I vote you just use the software you are most comfortable in. If you’re new to design, using something you’re comfortable in allows you to work through the design without feeling intimidated.  

Most beginners I know use Canva.

It has a drag-and-drop interface, pre-made templates, and easy customization, so you can focus on creativity instead of figuring out how to use the software.

And now I’m going to throw you a curve ball.

Don’t overlook tools like Microsoft Word and Powerpoint or Google Docs and Slides. I have created many items in these programs over time and while they don’t offer quite the same “design” feeling of Canva, they are great programs to use if you feel comfortable using them. 

• They all export to PDF easily
• PowerPoint and Google Slides export to PNG (but it’s not print resolution) 
• They are easy to use for collaboration
• If your design will change often and it is always digital you can link to the file and have it force generate a PDF so people will always download the most recent copy. I use this for many of our downloadable resources.

Even an advanced designer can save time by using simple software for the right task.

I’ve been designing for over 25 years and I still use Canva to get ideas, or get things done in a time crunch by starting with a pre-made template. Sometimes I use Canva because I need to get a project done quickly and it doesn’t allow me to over customize my designs the way professional software like Adobe does. So I often use Canva to create quick short lived items but turn to the Adobe Suite to create evergreen brand marketing materials. 

Save time with the right tools for the job.

When a pretty template falls short.

I KNOW I just said earlier even advanced designers can save time using a basic software for some tasks – BUT – that doesn’t hold true for ALL tasks. Choosing the wrong software is a total time suck.

Example: If you’re designing a multi-page brochure it may be tempting to use Canva because the designs are REALLY pretty. But in the long run you may end up with a disjointed looking brochure because you can’t control text layout, spacing and size as efficiently in Canva as you can in Adobe InDesign.

Your Multi-Page Brochure Deserves InDesign

Adobe InDesign lets you save text and paragraph styles and apply them throughout your document. And on the same token – if you need to edit said style, like say change the color or font size or line height, you can do it in one place and it will apply throughout the document.

People get really frustrated with Canva for its lack of flexibility with bulleted list styling and list item spacing. You have more control over list styling in a Canva Doc than you do in a Cava Design file. 

(Here are a few videos with my Canva list spacing hacks:

Adjusting Spacing Between Multi-Line Bullet Points in Canva
Adjusting Spacing Between Multi-Line Numbered List Items in Canva)

On the flipside – that’s not a problem you’ll face using InDesign (you may have to watch a YouTube video or two to learn how to do it) but everything about your list is editable and the style can be saved and used on repeat throughout the document. So you don’t have to click and click and click to format things consistently. 

Don’t Overlook “Basic” Tools for Specific Problems

Intricate text formatting is also not a problem in the Google or Microsoft products…just sayin’. So while those Google and Microsoft software options may seem rudimentary, they can solve very specific problems for you!

Once you’ve found the right tool for your skill level and the job at hand, it’s time to think about how the software fits into your workflow. Can it keep up with how you like to design and collaborate with your team?

2. Maintain workflow and collaboration.

Where are you going to work?

If you need to work on your designs from any computer anywhere you’ll want a browser or cloud based software. So Canva, Microsoft and Google will all work. Adobe offers a cloud based design program called Adobe Express. It’s pretty much just Canva but from the Adobe brand family. 

Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop are powerful, sure, but need to be downloaded to your computer to run.

Can your computer handle it?

Any computer in our company can handle the basic software. 

But when we jump up to the professional Adobe software things get bogged down. If you have a big file and an old or low cost computer work is going to be sllllooooooowwwwww. Your files will crash and they don’t automatically save like in Canva or Google so you get to start all over again. (Ask me how I know.)

Are you making a little or a lot of things?

Canva makes it super easy with their pro accounts because you can set up a brand. That will group your brand fonts, colors and logos for easy access to drag and drop them easily into your designs.

It’s not as straightforward with Adobe products. It can be done but once again there’s a learning curve. And since my clients’ print design needs ebb and flow I end up doing quite a bit of set up for new designs.

Even though it sounds counterintuitive I have designed web ads in InDesign because I know the next three projects for the client are going to be print designs. Then I can set up the color pallet, text styles and source all the graphics I need to start. So my future designs go way faster because the basic set up is done.

Are you wanting to up your design game?

If you’re rolling into making a ton of marketing materials and you know you’re going to need more advanced customization don’t be afraid to invest the time learning how to use the Adobe products. Learning new software is an awesome and marketable skill. You just have to keep your mind open to learning how to make it look like you want it to look, not just designing what you know how to design.

How much collaboration needs to happen for your designs?

If you’re working on a team, choosing software with real-time collaboration helps streamline the review and feedback process. Every option I’ve mentioned allows for commenting and interaction about designs. But each of them is a little different. Consider the people you’re working with and make sure you choose a system that’s easy to use for them too.

I find it easier to comment using Google Docs or the Adobe feedback interface. But I haven’t used Canva for that purpose a ton. But good news is – most design software offer some kinds of collaboration options.

After considering which software compliments your workflow and your team, the next step is making sure your software can deliver designs that meet their intended purpose—whether it’s a simple digital piece or a polished, professional print project.

3.Creates something that technically meets the purpose for which it’s designed.

Creating Professional Level Results

The word “Professional” is a loaded design wrecking ball.
It’s 100% arbitrary. 

If you are a beginner designer – use a beginner software, like Canva, with templates to help you create more professional looking materials. If you go into pro-software you might end up with a messy, disorganized or overly simplistic brochure or poster because that’s all you can do in the software. Using the simpler software will improve your design outcomes for sure!

If you’re a professional designer and you KNOW what you want out of a design then the basic software is just a hindrance. I get mad because I want to mask an image to a unique shape or I want to change the curve on a shape, or fine-tune spacing in Canva and I can’t. 

That’s when I know I should have turned to the Adobe Suite to make that design happen. Sometimes I end up creating components in Adobe then exporting and importing into Canva to avoid re-doing an entire project. While other times (like a recent company Christmas Card) I have to start over from scratch to get it right both aesthetically and technically.

Design Purpose

Selecting the right software will make sure your brochure or poster is formatted appropriately for its intended use. If you’re creating a small digital piece, a basic tool will do the trick. But if you’re making something multi-page or for large-format printing you’ll need a professional tool to make sure the resolution and scalability meet industry standards.

For more advanced designs I am fully married to Adobe.

Use Adobe Indesign to layout brochures, bookers posters and ads. Pretty much anything printed should be laid out in this program.

Use Adobe Illustrator to create your vector illustrations and complex graphics. It’s also good for yard signs or large scalable signs or graphics.

Use Adobe Photoshop to edit photos. Adding simple text over photos or batch editing photos can be automated and streamlined with this program.

DON’T layout your poster or brochure in Photoshop.

Some people do…I think that’s bogus. It’s an image editor and editing text or vector graphics in it stinks. But if it’s the only thing you know how to use then use it I guess. You don’t need my permission!

DON’T layout text heavy designs in Illustrator or Photoshop.

Those are best left to InDesign. The text styling and control features I mentioned earlier will save you soooooo much heartache. Years ago one of our designers created a 97 page booklet without any text styles in illustrator. And when the client asked to change the font and the title color we had to edit EVERY instance individually…so I just rebuilt the darn thing in InDesign because, well, I wasn’t going to edit all the text by hand again the following week at the whim of the client.

DON’T design your Logo in Photoshop or InDesign

A logo is a flat graphic that needs to be extremely scalable and that’s best done in Illustrator. (More logo resources!) 

What are you designing?

• Event Promotion: Tools with pre-designed templates for quick turnaround, I like Canva for this. The other softwares feel like overkill. 
• Branding: Software offering advanced customization and branded elements. Illustrator is best for this. Canva offers an amazing variety of ideas to start though. And you can export from Canva and open in Illustrator and edit all of the elements like vector graphics.
• Professional Printing: Choose programs with precise layout options and high-resolution export capabilities like InDesign. You also need software that supports high-resolution exports and CMYK color settings. You can do some of this in Canva as well, just not as much.
• Digital Posters: Choose software with web-friendly exports (JPEG, PNG, PDFs). So pretty much anything!
• Super Scalable Graphics: Opt for vector-based tools like Illustrator for large-format printing.
• Simple Posters: Tools like Canva, Google Docs & Slides, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint work well for straightforward designs.
• Custom Graphics or Effects: Consider Photoshop or Illustrator for creating unique visuals. Canva does offer some effects just not as customizable.
• Multilayer Layouts: InDesign is ideal for intricate designs with text, images, and grids. Canva works well for smaller files. Google Slides and PowerPoint can do a lot as well.

Choosing the best design software for your brochures or posters doesn’t have to be a stressful decision. 

It’s all about matching your needs, skill level, and workflow with the tools that make the process easier (and maybe even a little fun!). Whether you’re cranking out a quick digital poster in Canva or diving into a detailed brochure with InDesign, the right tool can save you time, frustration, and a lot of unnecessary clicks. So, think about what you’re designing, who you’re working with, and how you’ll use it—and pick the software that checks the most boxes for your project. Happy designing!