What's the Best Program for Magazine Design? [We Tested 8]
Make sure you use the best magazine design solution and pick one from our list
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Key notes
- In this article, you will find various designing programs created to support you explore ideas regarding digital magazines.
- If you need to impress your audience by creating expert publications, specialized design software can help.
- We've compiled a list of the best software tools that you can use from all manner of developers.
- We also included both premium entries, as well as free tools, or tools that offer free trials.
High-quality magazine layout software is able to help you create the most impressive digital magazines with an amazingly designed layout.
By doing this, you will also be able to flaunt your thoughts in the most logical way so that your readers can get all the necessary information faster and more accurately.
We picked out six of the best tools for creating high-quality magazines with the most impressive layout, so make sure that you check out the sets of features before you make your final decision.
How do you make a magazine design?
To make a magazine, you will definitely need to use a specialized tool. These apps can help you create and publish digital materials, including PDFs, books, posters, or any other form of content interaction.
By using a creative tool you will design, set and organize your ideal magazine. You will be able to upload your own background and photos, add shapes and colors, add whatever text you think it’s suitable, and place elements to match your pages. This way, you will convert them into engaging and interactive online magazines.
Can I make my own digital magazine?
Like with most things, starting is the most problematic part, but when you figure it out, everything begins to fall into place and gets easier. This can also be the case with making your own E-magazine.
Once you have your idea for a creative project, choose to use online tools, such as Adobe Express, Canva, and many others to make it even easier for you.
These tools offer various personalized templates from which you can pick to help you create or upload your own background and images.
Moreover, they enable you to tell stories by customizing your fonts and colors and managing and updating your brand elements in one portal.
What’s the best program for magazine design?
Adobe Express – Over 300 magazine templates
Adobe Express, known formerly as Adobe Spark, is a great program to use when you want to create beautiful digital magazines.
Not only it offers over 300 editable magazine templates but it also lets you design your own magazine covers within seconds.
The templates cover all types of categories, such as kitchen diaries, streetwear publications, fashion magazines, and many other interests.
Moreover, you can use over 2000 unique fonts and add design elements like images, backgrounds, and icons to fulfill your magazine ideas successfully.
An impressive feature of Adobe Express is that you have the ability to share your magazine cover in a printed format or just post it online for your virtual audience.
Other key features include:
- Resize images instantly
- Thousands of templates and design assets
- Basic editing and photo effects
- Both web and mobile support
Adobe Express
Explore an excellent online design platform and create your own digital magazine.Adobe InDesign – SVG support
Adobe InDesign is your all-in-one magazine design software that helps you to create and publish other print and digital media materials, such as books, interactive eBooks, interactive PDFs, flyers, and posters.
InDesign offers plenty of preset layouts and typesetting options to create eye-gluing pages.
Adobe’s InDesign lets you insert audio, video, animations, and slideshows on the pages of your magazine to deliver a truly immersive experience.
Team collaboration is crucial both in print and online publishing.
Thanks to InDesign’s built-in collaboration tools, editors can quickly share feedback with junior writers, and all the editing history is kept safe for further analysis.
If you work on multiple projects, you can easily share fonts, graphics, and content across your projects for increased productivity and efficiency.
Other key features include:
- SVG import support for creating interactive graphics and animations
- Support for column rules and variable fonts
- Free video tutorials to polish your InDesign skills
- 7-day free trial
Adobe InDesign
If you need a software solution to create digital magazines, look no further! Adobe InDesign is your best choice!Canva – Text animations
Canva is your best-suited solution when it comes to digital magazine design software. This free online tool is multi-functional and has a wide range of designs and templates that will satisfy any requirement.
Whether you need a creative presentation or a magazine cover, Canva covers it all. You can create a variety of graphic products, including videos, social media posts, resumes, certificates, and all kinds of visuals.
Imagination and freedom of expression are the words that perfectly describe this software.
There are thousands of designs and graphic elements ideal for you to express the most creative ideas, or to expose your qualitative projects at work.
Moreover, you can create eye-catching designs using personalized backgrounds or comics-related text captions, and dozens of stickers to never bore the viewers. If you’re using this you can find everything to express your thoughts.
Additionally, take advantage of embedded apps to add different icons or illustrations that will endorse your final artwork into surprising the audience.
The software includes the following features:
- Text animations to give an extra visual impact to your pages
- Teamwork at its best, with collaborating options from any device
- Edit images however you want, adding text or stellar effects specific to magazines
- Content editing features like caption texts, backgrounds, stickers and icons, and many more
- Choose from a multitude of grid layouts and pictures combinations to impress the audience
Check out the functionalities offered by this online tool in order to give a boost to your creations. Also, you can download Canva on your desktop for free and use it as your editing software.
Canva
Still, browsing for the perfect tool designed for crafting? You found it, try the free version of Canva and see the results.Blurb – Great solution to serial content
Blurb allows you to turn your ideas into professionally-looking magazines. The software offers users the ability to create photo books, trade books, e-books, and also magazines.
The magazine content format provides a great solution to serial content. You can then create your photo books, papers, or even books with amazing tools suited for both beginners and advanced users.
Also, you can use bookwright functionalities to improve your book designs immediately. It’s desirable to customize your pages and use any templates to begin your story strong.
Moreover, magazine projects can be completely designed with Blurb and transmit creative pages to the public, using PDF Uploader to set up your final version.
On the same note, you’re not limited to a single type of format thus you can express your ideas without creative limitations when you want. Plus, the print and publish features offer the perfect chance to make it public.
With Blurb, you will be able to put all of your fabulous ideas in print with a newsstand-quality magazine that will be just great for serial content and high-volume printing projects
Lastly, no matter of topic you choose this flexible tool provides the needed instruments to handcraft the most qualitative products by far.
Take a look at the best features and functionalities that Blurb has to offer to its users:
- The software is packed with tools that are appropriate for every skill level
- Adobe InDesign and the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom plugins
- Print one copy at a time and more, according to your needs
- Choose from two print methods in order to find the best fit for your magazine
- You will be able to share a sneak peek of the final product with an embeddable preview on your website
- Opportunity to sell your magazines through the Blurb Bookstore easily
- Premium Magazines with high-end heavy covers
- Economy Magazines with lighter weight and lower print fidelity, and more
On the official website of Blurb, you will get the chance to look at some examples of magazines, and you can also learn more about the software’s features and functionalities, along with the tool’s pricing plans.
So, don’t waste any more time and head there to check out more details about Blurb.
Blurb
Powerful design features that help you create the most beautiful digital magazine.FlipHTML5 – Rich digital content
FlipHTML5 is one of the best options that are available these days online for creating the greatest magazines ever.
This practical software is your helping hand in terms of publishing digital work and transforming static PDFs into dynamic magazines that will take the stage.
First, you should know that it’s possible to design projects using various templates, plus customize them how you need them.
So there are available digital content elements that can improve your designs. For example, adding links and images, videos, annotations, or background music will assure your success.
Plus, make the best use of an online editor that helps you to add content to your books. More exactly, media elements like images, audio, and photos.
On the other hand, you have publishing options available such as HTML, ZIP, EXE, Email to, To FTP Server, Save as Plug-in, Upload Online
Just take a look at a few exciting features and functionalities that are included in this great tool:
- Transforming your static PDFs into interactive digital magazines in just a few seconds
- You will be able to complete the transformation on the tool’s desktop software, and you can also use the online platform as well
- Transform your PDFs into interactive digital magazines with page-flipping effects
- Various templates, background images, dynamic background scenes, and more
- Rich digital content including adding links, images, videos, buttons, background music, annotation, and more
- Supports cross-platform, and your readers will be able to read the magazine on their favorite devices
You can check out more important features that are packed in FlipHTML5 by visiting the tool’s official webpage.
QuarkXPress – Intuitive interface
QuarkXPress is one of the leading graphic design and page layout software for creative minds.
Thousands of people around the world are already using this tool, and they value performance and quality in their daily creation and production of magazines and more digital products as well.
The software is packed with lots of helpful features such as images, vectors, typography and text, adaptive layout conversion, text stroking and shading, various shape tools, gradients for frames, and many more.
Moreover, as a graphic publishing platform, you can create compelling visuals in digital or print versions and publish them to a wide audience.
You can likewise create Flash content such as video, sound, animation, and interactivity elements to visually attract any viewer that may become a fan.
Take a look at the key features and functionalities that this tool has to offer:
- Alternative for Adobe InDesign and other design apps, offering users the best publishing software for their digital products
- Remarkable update that comes with lots of practical innovations which include text shading, column clipping, text outlines, and layer mixing modes
- Multi-user capabilities by allowing more users to edit different zones on the same page of the magazine
- An intuitive user interface, supporting the drag-and-drop feature
- The design grids can be assigned to pages and boxes in order to allow unlimited baseline grids
You will be able to learn more about this software and its fascinating features and tools by heading over to QuarkXPress’ official website and taking a look around.
Find there the full features list of this fantastic software for creating the most fabulous magazines and more digital products.
Madmagz – Wide palette of templates
Madmagz is another handy option that you have available for creating online magazines.
Such software solution can offer to users a wide palette of templates for magazines, school newspapers, catalogs, flyers, you name it.
The main idea is that anyone can create exceptional magazines using interactive features, plus publish them in various formats like print, web, or PDF files.
More so, the readers will get the option to share your magazine on social media spaces like Twitter and Facebook, or share it on their personal pages or blogs.
You will get the chance to edit pages, and you will be the only person who is entitled to publish your magazine just the way you want to
Thus web magazines will be supported on multiple devices, including tablets, PCs, and smartphones as well.
Check out the most important features that are packed in this great software below:
- Templates created by professionals, and you can also ask for a custom template as well
- Invite contributors to write their pages in the template that you have chosen
- Add the table of contents, videos, links, sound, and more to make your readers enjoy their experience
- You will be able to replace the logo with the one that you choose and customize the address of the final product to make it completely yours
All you have to do is head over to Madmagz’s official website, place your order online, and the team will take care of the rest.
Therefore, you will be delivered high-quality newsstand and environmentally friendly printed versions of your magazine.
Joomag – Team collab tools
Joomag is one of the best tools for creating interactive content, for multi-channel distribution, performance, tracking, and more.
Using this software, you will definitely be able to create the magazine that you always wanted with the most impressive layout.
You can also choose between 300 stunning templates to help save time and maintain the magazine’s design consistency.
With Joomag, you will be able to create high-quality content for your magazine and then deploy it online across multiple channels.
Moreover, you can go beyond ordinary publishing and innovate content on each one of the magazine’s pages. Plus, the Crater Editor is created with innovative technology to offer publishers complete control over their digital content.
Just take a look at the best features and advantages that you will be able to enjoy while using this tool:
- Team collab tools, real-time editing features, content creation options, and inbuilt analytics will turn out extremely useful
- You can craft high-impact content with interactive online tools
- Upload a PDF file to its online platform and transform its static content into a rich interactive experience with the tool’s Crater Editor
- You will get the chance to design your publications with a full arsenal of interactive features and functionalities to bring your vision to life on each one of your magazine’s pages
Digital publications that are created with the help of this program are automatically repurposed for various formats.
This way readers from all over the world will get the chance to enjoy your works on their favorite device.
Check out more features and editing tools that are included in this great software on Joomag’s official website.
These are pout picks for the best six available tools for creating great magazines with amazing designs.
No matter which software you decide to use, we guarantee that you will be entirely satisfied with the results. Good luck and have fun!
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