So while it looks like this post has been floating around for a while, I thought I would chime in...
I've used a lot of PCB-design software over the last two years, I've largely settled on KICAD, it has a reasonable work-flow, and kinda the big advantage to it is that the symbols are not connected to the actual part. This is a good thing as it allows you to choose a diode in the schematic, but then it can be any of the dozen or more actual physical packages that need a board footprint. There's also a lot of how-to videos on youtube that help you get your feet wet. "Getting to blinky" is kinda the essential set of videos that helped me greatly.