What free program should I use to design a poster?

I’d recommend DrawIt Lite, that’s vector-based graphics program (typically well-suited for page layout and design projects). It’s fully featured, easy to pickup, and powerful. There’s a Pro version available that’s $40 but if you’re looking to do a few simple projects the Lite version should suffice.

Two other programs that are predominantly raster-based (which means they’re better at dealing in photos and working with images rather than layouts) but very highly regarded are Acorn ($50) and Pixelmator ($59) but I didn’t suggest them because DrawIt is better suited for design projects and they have free trials but not an actually free version.

An exhaustively well-written comparative review of the three programs is available here. A good read even if you’re not interested in the programs themselves but about how 3 programs can approach the same function in radically different ways.

You can also look at this About.com listing of free graphics software for the Mac but I doubt you’d find something better than the above.

Inkscape http://www.inkscape.org/

+1 for Inkscape.

Cool. Is inkscape free?

It is open source which means it’s free.

If you’d rather use Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, you can download free (full-featured, thirty day) trials at those links. I find that easier than installing Inkscape, which requires something called X11. But it’s been two days—is Inkscape working? Is it easy to use?

Haven’t started the project yet. I believe I already have X11.

How do you feel about DrawIt Lite?

Inkscape is in beta (v. 046) so it’s not considered ‘complete’. The screenshots make it look fairly usable but it seems like something that would need sometime to get used to…

The problem with the Adobe trials is that I think they’ll have a watermark on output and other limitations. The trial is purely for testing program functionality and I don’t think can do actual output.

@artificialard – Gmail’s in beta too ;-)

Seriously though, there’s nothing in Inkscape makes you think it’s beta except for the label. It’s stable and feature-rich. Of course, you need to get used to it like you need to get used to any new application, but Inkscape’s interface is one of the most logical ones I’ve ever used (it’s one of the biggest advantages IMHO).

@Vincentt Good point. But comparing it to DrawIt Lite which is a Mac-only app I found that DrawIt was a lot easier to pickup, was more intuitive, and had a broader comprehensive set of features (some basic bitmap features, a neat undo history, etc.)

Inkscape is definitely more advanced in vector drawing but it seemed more complex to me, more palettes, features hidden in menus, etc.

Still since they’re both free you can just try both and use the one that works for you!

You could always work with paper and a writing device (pen, pencil, marker, crayon). Your efforts could be improved with a straight edge / ruler and a cutting tool.