Good ad/flier/graphic design software for mac?

Yes, inDesign is available for the Mac.

If youre looking for something simpler to use, or perhaps don’t have a lot of knowledge about inDesign, Pages, which is part of the iWork package, can do a lot of nice, basic layout and simple desktop publishing.

Aside from the learning curve, it’s also a lot cheaper.

InDesign is super expensive. I would get Pages. You can download a thirty day trial here. Here is a sample of one of the many templates. image

edit :: fixed second link.

My first question would be, are you looking to be a graphic designer? If not, go ahead and use Pages. If so, read on:

I recommend Adobe Illustrator for ad and flier design over Adobe InDesign. InDesign is used more for publications, while Illustrator is used for single spreads, logos, and digital illustrations. I don’t know a lot about Pages, but if it doesn’t use vector art it’s not worth your time or money because lines won’t be as crisp and clear when it goes to press. Gotta go with the industry standard if you’re going to work professionally, it’s the standard for a reason. It’s a lot of money, but you get what you pay for. You may want to look into getting the full Creative Suite Package, it’s much cheaper per program.

Nope, not at all looking to be a graphic designer….just trying to get a personal ad in a free local magazine. But thanks for the info!

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It´s what i personally use and till now don´t have any complaints.

Indesign is a very good layout design application. Photoshop is not intended at all for layout design, it is for “photo” adjustment and editing. Illustrator is not for layout design either it is for Illustration! Indesign is a professional grade tool, and is priced accordingly. There should be cheaper tools if you only need it once.

@grntwlkr sorry to disappoint you but Illustrator is used almost for everything in graphic design, not just only illustration.

@nunoAfonso I repeat, illustrator is not for LAYOUT. It is a design tool for creating vector graphics. This is why it doesn’t have a multiple page setup like Indesign. As a graphic designer I use illustrator everyday but never for layout. I use Photoshop every day but never for layout. A professional designer would not use illustrator for layout or Indesign for illustration.

@grntwlkr I do see your point. But designers should be able to adapt and look for new techniques don´t you agree? I personally use photoshop for layout and even for some web design and it works great. There are some great known designers who also use it too and by doing so, Adobe Photoshop has been evolving ever since to become an all do program, mostly thanks to the feedback sent by the community to Adobe. I agree with you when you say that photoshop and Illustrator are NOT programs destined to LAYOUT design, BUT with the proper knowledge and skills it can be used with that purpose.

@grntwlkr Illustrator does have multiple pages with CS4. People have been using it for layout previous to CS4 and asked for that feature.

@Mitchell_Lewis the multiple artboards is not a multiple page feature. I agree you could (and people do) use these products to design layouts, but could and should are a different story. There are too many reasons to list.