Which Software Should You Use To Design Vinyl Decals?
Alternatives to Cricut Design Space…
In this post I thought I would go over a few of the different options you have when it comes to design programs that you can use to design decals, both paid for and free!
Watch the video version here…
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I am not affiliated in any way with any of these design programmes, so cannot take any responsibility for anything that happens should you decide to download/use one of them.
…or take a look below…
Design Space
Even though Cricut design space has had some good updates recently, it’s still not at a point where I would comfortably create all of my designs for decals in it, because it is still lacking in quite a few features. So it is great to start out with, especially when you’re just getting used to your machine, but for anything other than very simple designs or if you’re just crafting as a hobbie, I personally wouldn’t recommend it.
Silhouette Studio
I do also have Silhouette studio, just the basic version, and that is a lot better than design space, with a lot more features, but I just find it a bit slow and clunky compared to others I’ve used so I prefer to use other programs and just import files into each software to cut. But it might work perfectly well for what you need it for as it does have a tonne of different features for creating and manipulating shapes and words.
If you do want to stick with Silhouette Studio, and want to upgrade to the Designer Edition or Business Edition for a few more features (like uploading SVG files), then Swing Design have some great discounts here…
So here are some alternatives…
Sure Cuts A Lot
Then there is also Sure Cuts A Lot which is specifically for designing things to be used on a cutting machine, and also apparently lets you cut directly on a Silhouette Cameo, but to me it looked a bit dated and basic so I didn’t want to do a full feature on it as for the cost of it you would probably do just as well going for Silhouette Studio, but please let me know if I’m wrong and you’re a fan!
So for options that don’t directly link to your cutting machine, take a look at these ones below. Just make sure you’re using something that lets you save design files in either a png, svg or jpeg, or whatever else your cutting machine requires, so that you can upload them into the cutting software once they’re done.
Adobe CC (Photoshop & Illustrator)
So I personally use Photoshop and Illustrator - it is on the more pricey side but I share a subscription with my husband so it’s not too bad, and I’ve been using it for years so it’s what I’m most comfortable with. You can also get good student discounts, and they have various sales throughout the year. They also do a 7 day free trial if you want to try it out…
It is also probably what you would want to learn if down the road you think you might want to get into creating designs for clients professionally or on a larger scale as it is the industry-standard design software.
If you want an example of how you would create designs on Photoshop to then upload to cut on a Cricut or Silhouette, check out my video below:
You can of course also use the free version, but if you’re using it to create png files and you want them to be transparent or want to add your own commercially licensed fonts then you will have to pay. Apparently you can use their fonts to sell if you pay for pro as well, although it is a bit of a grey area so I would double check the specific font, who owns it and if there is any information that says otherwise, just to be sure before you do.
For lots of Canva tips check out my video…
Another great option that I have been loving recently is Kittl! It has similar features to Canva, but it also has a lot more options for editing which gives you more flexibility for creating designs. You can sign up for free but to access everything you do need to pay for a pro subscription.
Picmonkey is another popular choice. I don’t use it but it looks to me like it’s also trying to compete with Canva with templates and the ability to animate graphics, but it does also look like it has other features too that will help you have an all round good design experience no matter what you want to do on it.
You can get a free 7 day trial anyway, so it’s worth checking out and having a play with if you’re in the market for new design software.
Get your free trial here…
Inkscape
Inkscape is free, and I see a lot of Cricut users recommending this. It’s a vector based software like illustrator, and is great for creating your own unique SVGs.
Gimp
Gimp is then the free software that is most like photoshop, which is ideal for editing photos but you can also create your designs in it too.
This is a good video I found about the differences between photoshop and gimp if you want to check that out!
Photopea
Photopea is a great software to start out on due to the fact it is very similar to Photoshop, it is available within a browser rather than as a download, and it is completely free if you can put up with ads (or $3.33 per month if not).
Unlike Photoshop it can actually export SVG files as well which is a great feature for using it alongside your cutting machine.
The downside to it being on a browser however is that if you have patchy internet you may be unable to use it to its full potential, and as far as I can see you only have access to their fonts, although there are a lot on there!
Procreate (For iPad)
Then of course there is Procreate if you own an iPad. Check out my post about cutting on a Cricut using Procreate here for more information on that…
If You’re Using A Phone…
Then if you’re using a phone, design space might be your quickest and easiest option, rather than having to save and upload files or pictures, however you could also use Canva or photoshop express, or find another design based app to use to do this.
Check out my tutorial below for cutting on your Cricut using an iPhone if you’re just starting out…
Let me know in the comments if you have any other recommendations as I’m sure there are lots more, or if you have any questions!