Gravit Designer is a full-featured vector graphics editor that provides professional design capabilities with an easy-to-use interface. Built on web technologies and following an open-source model, Gravit positions itself as the accessible vector alternative to complex premium tools like Adobe Illustrator.
The browser-based editor launched back in 2013, the brainchild of developer Philipp Johner who aimed to offer designers a viable vector graphic app that eliminated common pain points (no dependencies, cross-device compatibility).
Over time, Gravit Designer has grown into a popular design ecosystem for everyone from hobbyists to working professionals. Let’s dive into what it offers!
Article Highlights
Gravit Designer – Overview of Core Features
So what can you achieve with Gravit Designer? Here are some of the versatile vector editor’s most notable capabilities:
Vector Graphic Creation
Intuitive tools to create resolution-independent scalable graphics. Design everything from icons to intricate illustrations that never lose quality.
3000+ Fonts & 100,000+ Icons
An ever-growing native library of beautiful typography and useful icons at your full disposal for your designs.
Responsive Reference Grid
Quickly establish a visual grid system to align elements for responsive designs that seamlessly adapt across all mediums.
Accessible Affinity Tools
Intricate shape tools with Boolean operations, powerful pen and node editing tools, and precision bezier curve manipulation provide in-depth control.
Layer Management
Complex designs stay organized through an intuitive layer panel that lets designers control stacking order, opacity, blending, etc.
With these core features and more, Gravit provides a production-ready design environment. Yet one that remains remarkably more approachable than most vector design platforms.
Who Can Benefit From Using Gravit Designer?
Thanks to its blend of power and accessibility, Gravit serves a wide spectrum of creators looking to incorporate vector design:
Professional Designers
A viable free alternative to paid tools that provides comparable core vector capabilities that working creatives depend on. A great addition to their workflow.
Students & Educators
Perfect for design students and teachers requiring a free vector editing program that balances complexity and ease-of-use while retaining commercial-grade output potential.
Marketing & Business Teams
Marketers, advertisers, brand managers, and more can create logos, icons, product images, and a variety of professional assets natively using Gravit. Reduces reliance on exensive outsourced design.
Developers & Tech Companies
Gravit integrates directly with code through Gravit JS and Graviton. This allows developers to automate design generation giving them greater direct control.
Thanks to the tool’s versatility, all levels stand to benefit. Hobbyists can explore vector design while professionals can partial replace premium tools they’ve relied on.
Why Consider Using Gravit Designer?
Gravit bucks much of the conventional vector graphic editor norms. But change can be good. Here’s why it may be the fresher alternative worth adopting:
Free & Open Source
The platform follows an open-source model with the core editor offered entirely free. This accessibility aims to empower more creators to engage with vector design typically locked behind paywalls. Updates continually improve upon the existing toolset through community feedback initiatives.
Cloud & Offline Access
Work on designs anytime, anywhere thanks to cloud sync and offline functionality. Start projects on one device and pick up right where you left off on another.
Actively Developed
As an open-source platform, new features and optimizations launch frequently to expand capabilities. Recent additions include the new Boolean operations, enhanced grid systems, and node manipulation tools.
For many, the zero-barrier entry, convenience factor, and community-oriented development model give Gravit the edge over traditional premium vector editing tools.
Gravit Designer Product Tiers
Gravit Designer follows a freemium model with incremental upgrades through various pricing plans. Let’s overview what each tier entails:
Free
The core vector editing features covered earlier come bundled entirely free with unlimited graphic exports. Perfect for hobbyists, early design exploration, and students.
Personal Plan
Adds advanced capabilities like single click publishing, unlocked image exports, removed watermarks, and premium fonts & icons for affordable $5/month access.
Team Plan
Team plan tailored towards studios, enterprises, and working groups needing additional cross-team functionalities like shared team cloud folders and asset management. Starts at $9 per editor/month.
Enterprise
Fully customized Gravit deployment tailored at an enterprise level for immense organizational design needs. Get in touch with their sales team directly for details.
While starting out using the forever free version may be best, reasonably priced paid plans offer more advanced capabilities when needed.
Now that we’ve covered the product basics, let’s overview some pro power user tips…
Gravit Designer Pro Tips
Take your Gravit vector design skills to the next level with these pro tips:
Keyboard Driven Workflow
Learning the various keyboard shortcuts will greatly enhance efficiency. Minimize disruptive cursor movements.
Styles System Mastery
Effectively utilize Gravit’s styles system of managing fills, borders, effects, etc for quick coherent design changes.
Automation Rule Creation
Set up automation rules based on triggers to change properties like opacity, position, blend mode and more. Streamline repetitive actions.
Integrate With Developers
Export elements directly into code snippets through the built-in Graviton plugin for greater design/dev collaboration.
Shape Boolean Operations
Combine, subtract, intersect and more with shapes to achieve precise vector effects with the new boolean operation capabilities.
Learning these pro techniques opens the doors to expert-grade vector mastery rivaling traditional industry standards.
And with the open-source community continually improving Gravit Designer, expect plenty more power user features in future updates!
The Future of Gravit Designer
Since its launch just over 10 years ago, Gravit Designer has rapidly evolved into a viable free vector graphic design alternative catering to everyone from hobbyists to working professionals.
And given the open source nature of ongoing development initiatives, the feature set will only continue expanding.
Some key areas of innovation on Gravit’s public roadmap include:
- More advanced illustration and animation tools
- Expanded plugin integrations
- Added support for collaborative workflows
- Custom scripting capabilities
Led by founder Philipp Johner, expect Gravit Designer to continue pushing boundaries when it comes to accessible design-centric technologies.
So in summary, whether you’re an absolute beginner seeking an intuitive entry point into vector graphic design or a working creative weighing alternatives to expensive industry-standard tools, Gravit Designer presents an incredibly capable free option worth trying out.
The product vision centers around empowering creators through design democratization. And their continual improvements towards a friendlier yet increasingly powerful editing environment stays true to that goal.
Go give this ambitious open-source vector graphics editor a test drive over at **GravitDesigner.io **today!