visuals Archives

16 of the best websites to find quality stock photos

The right visuals for your brand speak volumes, and stock photos can play a part in that.

But design and visual content is the biggest challenge for about 24 percent of content marketers.

Using the right website to search for and discover quality stock photos can help. Stock photos are created by photographers that are available for use by others.

Many stock photos are free from copyright restrictions or licensed under the creative commons public domain, so you can copy, modify and distribute them without asking for permission, even for commercial purposes. But some stock photos do require attribution, so make sure that you keep an eye out for any usage restrictions or requirements.

Check out our five tips to select stock photos that aren’t obvious stock photos (or cheesy, in other words).

The following are 16 of the best websites that you can use to find quality stock photos. (And most of these are free to use.)

Shutterstock

One of the more well-known stock photo websites, Shutterstock offers more than 250 million high-quality, licensed images. It also adds about 200,000 more images daily. But Shutterstock is more than just photos. It also has vector images, editorial pieces, music, videos and more.

Shutterstock is available through such applications as PowerPoint, and you can also create social media posts with built-in editing tools.

Monthly plans start at $29 per month and increase in price as the number of monthly downloads increases. Pre-paid photo packs also are available if a full subscription does make sense for your business. A free trial is available as well.

StockSnap.io

StockSnap.io has thousands of stock photos organized into different categories for easy access, as well as a search function to dig deeper.

The website adds hundreds of images on a daily basis.

It shows each photo’s views, like and downloads so that you can get a sense of how commonly used any particular image is (so that you can ultimately use images that are not so popular and feel unique to your brand). This is a free website for you to use.

Pexels

Access hundreds of thousands of free stock photos for any need on Pexels. Images are hand-picked from user uploads, as well as other sources. The intent is to offer the best of the best.

Its stock photos are tagged, which makes them easily searchable. You also have a variety of sizing options when downloading, including custom sizing.

Unsplash

Unsplash is unique in the sense that you’ll likely find stock photos there that you won’t find elsewhere.

All images are free for you to use however you like without attribution because contributing photographers are essentially donating them to Unsplash for open usage.

The website releases 10 new stock photos every 10 days.

Getty Images

You may have already heard of Getty Images, which is a high-profile website with more than 200 million image, video and music assets (and more) that can be used for advertising, graphic design, print and online.

Once you find a stock photo you want, you’ll see multiple sizing options that vary in price. A single image can cost as much as $499, depending on the size.

Getty Images also offers a variety of tools, content and services for you to explore. If you’re interested in more than one-off image purchases or photo packs, you can request a demo from their team.

Pixabay

Pixabay offers more than 1.6 million stock photos for you to choose from. The website is easy to use, and you can filter based on image type as well.

It also offers free video content for you to use and is entirely free.

Foodiesfeed

If your brand centers around food in any way, you’ll want to check out Foodiesfeed. It features detailed food images.

Foodiesfeed has more than 1,300 stock photos that can be filtered by food types and other tag characteristics. You’ll also see related images as you view an image to help you discover more. This is a free website to use.

New Old Stock

New Old Stock features old, vintage photos that are pulled from the public archive via Flickr Commons. This is a great website to peruse if you’re looking for throwback stock photos that can bring a sense of nostalgia to your content.

It’s also a free website to use.

Death to Stock

Death to Stock bucks against how complicated it can be to find the right stock photos by offering a photo library membership that has curated images.

The website subscription costs $12 per month for small businesses, $21 per month for agencies and $399 per year for partners. Death to Stock features more than 3,500 photos, as well as hours of video footage that can be used.

Vecteezy

You can access millions of free, high-quality stock photos through Vecteezy. You also will find vectors, illustrations and 4K stock videos.

Most of the resources are free to download, but Vecteezy also offers premium resources through a subscription that starts at $9 per month.

Reshot

Reshot gives you access to icons and vector illustrations that you can use in various projects. You can even download the format you need, including SVG, PNG and more.

Everything is free to use on Reshot.

NegativeSpace

A great feature of NegativeSpace is the ability to filter stock photos by color, which can be very helpful. Otherwise, the website offers new and free images every week for personal or commercial usage.

You also can sign up for NegativeSpace’s email list to get the latest stock photos delivered to your inbox. This is a free website to use.

Kaboompics

Kaboompics has stock photos and features that are great for lifestyle and interior design brands. It features more than 12,000 free images than can be downloaded in several different size options.

In addition, you can download a color palette that complements your selected stock photo, and you can view images that match the photoshoot and download those related images as well. This is a free website that you can use.

StockUnlimited

Looking for a huge selection of stock photos? StockUnlimited has more than 1 million stock photos, vectors, icons and even fonts and templates with their subscription plan.

The website offers more than two dozen categories that include wildlife and beauty, among others. StockUnlimited adds thousands of new images every week.

The subscription costs $19 per month, $79 per year or $169 for three years. There also is a Download Pack plan, where you can download a particular number of assets for a fee.

Picography

Picography prides itself on well-organized free stock photos. You can browse the most popular search terms of the day, enter your own search query or explore the variety of categories available.

This website is entirely free to use.

Fancycrave

If your brand is seeking visuals that are more on the artistic, emotional side, consider Fancycrave. You can browse by category, whether its their free or paid stock photo options.

Fancycrave also offers a robust blog that typically features tips and advice on a range of topics that could assist your next project.

You can use the free section of the website, but if you want more, the $9.99 per month subscription gets you instant access to 41 premium collections and more than 2,250 stock photos, with more than 50 new photos added monthly.

In conclusion

The beauty of stock photo websites (the free ones in particular) is that you can explore without any sort of commitment until you identify the best sites for you. It’s important to bookmark what you like the best but also know that you don’t have to use just one.

As you begin to explore these stock photo websites, consider optimizing the digital marketing process that you’re using those images in. This includes email marketing, landing pages, as well as automation, audience segmentation and enhanced targeting capabilities, to name a few. DailyStory can help. Schedule your free demo with us today.

5 tips to select stock photos that aren’t cheesy

Stock photos can be incredibly helpful in your digital marketing efforts, but are the stock images you’re using look like obvious stock photos?

Your visuals matter. When people hear information, they’re likely to remember only 10 percent of that information three days later, but if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65 percent of it three days later.

In addition, posts with images get 650 percent more engagement than posts with only text, and tweets with photography receive 18 percent greater clicks, 89 percent more favorites and 150 percent more retweets.

However, design and visual content is the biggest challenge for about 24 percent of content marketers.

Enter stock photos. Stock images are generic, previously created photos, illustrations and icons that are licensed for specific uses. Some are free, while others cost a fee or are part of a paid subscription plan.

Their use can save you time and effort, but it’s critical that you’re selecting the right stock photos for your digital marketing efforts. There’s a real danger of obvious stock photos appearing cheesy and inauthentic, which can turn off potential customers.

The following are five tips to select stock photos that aren’t cheesy.

Keep the context top of mind

Before you even begin searching for a stock photo to use, fully understand exactly what you’re going to use that image for. Consider:

Are you using it in digital or print?
What surrounding colors are involved?
What shape or orientation would work best?

Knowing exactly what you’re looking before you get started will save you a lot of wasted effort.

Get a little abstract

Subtle images can go a long way. You don’t have to be super literal when searching for the perfect stock photo.

So, think outside the box. Going more abstract can be a great way to find a visual that will feel more unique while complementing the surrounding content it’s being used in.

Avoid cheesy smiles

Simply put, some of the most identifiable stock photos are those of super happy businesspeople interacting in posed ways, especially when they’re photoshopped onto a somewhat blank background.

And they’re not just identifiable because of their contrived aesthetic. They’re also extremely overused.

Oftentimes, going with more natural poses and realistic postures will feel more authentic, especially if there are at least two people interacting with each other.

Try to avoid a severe lack of personality, the use of way-too-literal tropes and wide-angle shots that are distant from the subjects in the frame. Inauthentic-appearing stock photos often have these characteristics.

Use your judgment. If you see an image that technically works but hits you as feeling fake, keep looking.

Look to direct the viewer’s eye

It’s all about positioning. Consider a magazine article layout, where the image fills the entire page, but the text aligns to the left, while a person (or animal or object) is to the right.

Bonus points if that person in this example is looking toward or pointing to the article text.

You can apply this idea to any stock photo usage, whether it’s text on a social media image or something else. It’s all about directing your viewer’s eye.

Keep experimenting

Remember that there is no science behind selecting the perfect stock photo for your brand. Continue experimenting with different images. Be sure to measure your results so that you know what types of images are working and which are not.

Just keep your brand identity and target audience in mind.

In conclusion

Stock photos have definitely earned a bad reputation over the years, but a lot of that reputation results from marketers and others not knowing how to find stock photos that are unique and authentic-looking. Truthfully, stock photos can be just as genuine and impactful. You just need to invest the time in your search to find the right ones for your brand.

While you’re thinking about visuals, check out these six ways that visuals can increase email conversions.

As you begin to search for more authentic stock photos, consider optimizing the digital marketing process that you’re using them in, such as automation, audience segmentation and enhanced email marketing capabilities, to name a few. DailyStory can help. Schedule your free demo with us today.

8 best practices for using GIFs in your marketing

When your goal involves being as eye-catching and engaging as possible, it’s tough not to consider using GIFs in your branded marketing.

The human brain processes images about 60,000 times faster than words.

GIFs are a type of image file format (Graphics Interchange Format) that can store multiple image files and present them sequentially, creating an animated effect.

GIFs were created in 1987 when software developer Steve Wilhite was trying to use animated images that didn’t have an extremely large file size. GIFs use an infinite loop that autoplays upon loading and are compatible with different operating systems and browsers. High-quality GIFs look nearly identical to videos.

In other words, GIFs are far more interesting to the eye than static images and add movement to your content. If they’re right for your industry and used well, they can help you stand out from your competitors.

The following are eight GIF best practices for your digital marketing efforts.

Best practice #1: Get creative with how to use GIFs

There are endless ways you can use GIFs in your digital marketing. Here are some examples:

Express emotions and personality. If your brand personality leans toward the fun or wacky, GIFs are a great way to showcase that.
Tell stories. GIFs can be very effective when used for storytelling.
Explain processes or show products. Launching a new product? Consider showing it off in a high-energy GIF. Is there a process that could be easier to understand through the animation of a GIF? Loop the steps in an easy-to-understand presentation.
Animate your data. Your audience may appreciate the visual appeal of watching your charts and graphs come to life.
Replace video. This comes in handy especially when file size is a factor or the medium otherwise can’t directly embed video in an efficient way (such as email).
Highlight your call-to-action. GIFs can complement your CTAs, where the goal is to draw attention.
Launch your own branded GIF channel on GIPHY. The platform could expand your reach to new audiences.

Truly, most of your digital marketing content could incorporate a GIF in some way. You’re mostly just limited by your imagination.

Best practice #2: Get organized with a content calendar

Because there are so many ways you can use GIFs, it’s best to get organized.

But in general, a content calendar will help you strategically plan not just when and where to use GIFs in your digital marketing but also what the GIF content itself should be. This can help you plan content for all occasions.

You also can include a section to bookmark any brainstorming ideas as they arise. The key is that you begin incorporating GIFs as part of your ongoing strategy.

Check out our eight tips to create an effective content calendar.

Best practice #3: Aim for subtle branding in your GIFs

Of course, when creating a GIF, you’re going to want to incorporate your branding into it. That branding can include a watermark, product placement, colors, fonts and so on.

But strive to keep the branding light as a best practice. Focus on entertainment first and brand placement second.

This recommendation goes back to the way many use GIFs, which is to enhance digital conversations. If your branding is over the top, your GIF is that much less likely to have a second ongoing life with internet users. By incorporating your branding in a subtle way and prioritizing entertainment, your GIF makes more sense in common uses. And even though the branding may be subtle (like a small, gray watermark, for example), you’ll increase your reach by not overpowering the GIF’s message.

Of course, this does not apply to any product-specific GIFs you may want to create. Remember, it all comes down to the goal of your GIF. You want to feature a product in an eye-catching way? Do so. But if you want your GIF to be widely used, consider subtle branding options.

Best practice #4: Use text to make it a meme

Memes and GIFs are both informal and fun and can offer commentary on pop culture as well as express emotions. A meme is an image that portrays a particular concept or idea that then usually spreads through online social platforms. Text is often overlaid onto the image to convey that intended message.

By adding meme-like text to your GIF, you greatly enhance your content’s potential for going viral or at least reaching more users.

Keep in mind that GIF engines also look to see if there is text within your GIF. This helps them understand what your GIF is about, which can help the discoverability of your GIF.

Best practice #5: Explore GIF stickers for social media reach

Interested in your reach via Instagram Stories and Snapchat Stories? Consider GIF stickers. They’re what Instagram and Snapchat users can place on their Stories.

By uploading your GIFs into your GIF search engine of choice, they will be available for consumers.

This approach helps leverage users into brand ambassadors.

Best practice #6: Leverage emotion with reaction GIFs

A primary purpose of GIFs is to express emotions, so many of the most popular GIFs are reaction GIFs. This refers to when GIFs are used as a response that showcases an emotion.

Sharing a GIF where a person is jumping up and down and clapping is more expressive than simply typing: “Excited!”

Of course, if your product or service ties into human emotion (such as “hungry” for a restaurant), you’ll want to create GIFs for the emotions that your product or service directly solves. If this isn’t the case, focus on content for popular reactions and emotions in general.

Best practice #7: Conduct keyword research

Keywords are an important element to any successful SEO strategy or pay-per-click campaign, but did you know that they matter for GIF strategy, too?

So, keyword research is critical to getting your GIFs seen by your target audience. A best practice. Consider the purpose and goals of your GIFs. This will help you narrow down which keywords you want to use. Then, you can make your content for specific keywords for a better chance to rank in searches.

Check out these 11 free SEO keyword research tools to help you.

Best practice #8: Timing matters

GIFs are short but not too short. Ideally, you want to get your message across in between 2 and 6 seconds as another best practice.

If you go shorter than 2 seconds, your GIF will be more like a strobe effect. If you go longer than 6 seconds, you risk losing the attention of your viewers.

Make sure that your GIFs loop cleanly as well. You’ll want a clear start and finish, but pay attention to how the last frame of your GIF transitions back to the first frame. Best practice: Aim to be as seamless as possible.

In conclusion

GIFs can be a powerful addition to your digital marketing strategy. Make sure to have a plan first before you venture into their use and creation.

To help you create your own, check out these 11 free GIF-maker tools.

As you’re exploring your potential GIF strategy, consider optimizing your digital marketing process, which includes automation, audience segmentation and enhanced email marketing capabilities, to name a few. DailyStory can help. Schedule your free demo with us today.

11 of the best free GIF-maker tools

GIFs have only increased in popularity across the internet.

In fact, they’re used by about 21 percent of all the websites. In addition, about 63 percent of Americans are GIF users, and one in five Americans can’t get enough of them.

GIFs are typically a short piece of muted footage that include some text (often as a punchline of sorts). Consider them between a photo and a video, where they require less time to load and view than videos but can be more expressive and engaging than photos.

This is because:

Users can express their emotional responses quickly while chatting in texts, comment threads, etc.
A sense of identity can be expressed through the pop culture references used.
It’s all about the world’s meme culture online.

Thinking about making your own custom GIFs? The following are 11 of the best free GIF-maker tools that you can consider using in your own digital marketing.

MakeaGIF

Offering numerous different ways to create GIFs, MakeaGIF is both flexible and free. Options include creating a GIF from:

Uploaded Photos
Uploaded Videos
YouTube URLs
Facebook video URLs
Your webcam

You also can upload existing GIFs into MakeaGIF. These options give you the power to be as creative as you want to be.

This tool also has a library of available, ready-made GIFs for you to use, and you can share your GIFs with others in the library as well.

Filmora

Filmora can help you make both GIFs and videos. While free, the real bonus of this tool is that you can download your creations without a watermark.

All you have to do is upload whatever images or videos you want to use in your GIF creation. Then, create your text caption. You can download your preferred file format when you’re done.

Filmora includes detailed, thorough instructions on its website to help you every step of the way.

Picasion

Looking to be able to import from such platforms as Picasa and Flicker? Picasion might be the free GIF-maker tool for you. It also supports four languages:

English
Spanish
Portuguese
Russian

You also can adjust the size of your images in Picasion, as well as download your completed GIF with no watermark.

Screen to GIF

Screen to GIF is specific to Windows and allows users to record activities through web cameras, screens and more that can then be used to create GIFs.

This free tool is available for Windows 7 and later versions of the operating system.

While it is specific to Windows, Screen to GIF does have a powerful editor with a full set of built-in editing tools. Plus, it supports more than 18 different languages. When you download it, it automatically detects the language of your operating system.

Kapwing

With no download required, Kapwing allows you to edit images, videos and GIFs with various effects, transitions and titles. This free GIF-maker allows you to share your created GIF directly to your preferred social media platform.

You can start with a blank canvas or upload files directly into Kapwing to then edit.

GIF Maker

GIF Maker does more than help you create GIFs. This free tool offers the ability to make animated buttons and banners as well that you can then use in your emails, documents or websites.

GIF Maker offers a wizard tool to make your animating fast and easy, as well as a built-in image editor with a full set of editing tools. Plus, it supports different graphic formats, such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PSD, WMF, AVI and more.

ImgPlay’s GIF Maker

Only available for iPhones, ImgPlay’s free GIF Maker best feature is its ability to create different canvas sizes. This means that you can appropriately optimize based on the platform you want to share on.

Once created, you can directly share your GIF to Twitter, Instagram, Messenger and iMessage.

GIF Maker – GIF Editor

On the flip side of an iPhone-only GIF-maker tool is an Android-only tool. GIF Maker – GIF Editor is available for free in the Google Play store. A top feature is that you can upload up to 200 images at one time.

It also has hundreds of available stickers to use as you like, as well as a manager section where you can access all of the GIFs you’ve created and edit them anytime.

While this app is free, it does have in-app purchases available.

ezGIF

The free GIF-maker ezGIF can seem odd since all its features technically reside on separate webpages on its website, but it’s still easy enough to use.

You can crop images, resize your GIF, flip or rotate your GIF, alter the speed, add text and much more. It also gives you the ability to use grayscale, sepia, and monochrome effects.

Of course, being able to download without a watermark is a bonus.

GIFPAL

GIFPAL definitely makes GIF creation easy. The free tool automatically plays your GIF as you’re editing so that you can observe the effect of your changes in real time.

It also allows you to rearrange your images, reverse the frames, change the quality of the images, overlay filters, adjust animation speed and more. You also can download with no watermarks. Just beware that GIFPAL is missing a text tool.

GIFMaker.me

Last but not least, GIFMaker.me is a free tool that can actually combine multiple GIFs into one. You can make a GIF from up to 300 PNG, GIF or JPG files.

The live preview shows you how your GIF is turning out as you’re working on it, and the controls make it easy to alter its speed, choose how many loops (even if infinite loops) and more. In addition, you can overlay audio from a YouTube video.

You can’t upload video files to use in your GIF, however, and the site won’t store your GIF for later editing.

In conclusion

If you’re not already using them, GIFs could be exactly what is missing from your digital marketing strategy. Of course, if making your own is not an option right now, there are many websites where you can find engaging pre-made GIFs to use, including:

Giphy
Google image search (just click on Search tools and select “Animated” under the “Type” option after you start an initial image search)
Tumblr
Imgur

As you’re creating your first GIFs, consider optimizing your digital marketing process, which includes automation, audience segmentation and enhanced email marketing capabilities, to name a few. DailyStory can help. Schedule your free demo with us today.

6 ways visuals can increase your email conversions

WIth many marketers investing time and energy into engaging subject lines, visuals can be just as important to boosting your email conversion rates.

The right email visuals can help you stand out from your competition and encourage your recipients to click.

And email matters. Four out of five marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing. For every dollar invested in email marketing, brands can earn about $36 on average in return.

Of course, consumers spend an average of 10 seconds reading brand emails, so your visuals can make or break a conversion.

The following are six ways you can use visuals to increase your email conversions.

Leverage visuals to brand consistently

Branding is critically important for all businesses. When done well, it creates a sense of trust and familiarity among consumers. You’ll also be perceived as more professional.

A brand consists of:

Visuals, such as colors, logo, images, font, etc.
Tone of voice
Content
Online presence, such as website, social accounts, etc.
Influencer and other types of partnerships

Visuals are definitely at the top of that list. Use them to brand yourself in your emails like you would on any other digital medium.

Refer to your brand style guide to stay consistent throughout. Don’t have one? Check out our five tips to create a brand style guide for your business.

GIFs can add personality to your email

An animated GIF embedded in your email can grab attention, add personality and boost click-through and conversion rates (if used appropriately).

In fact, GIFs have been shown to increase email conversion rates by about 103 percent.

Creating your own customized GIF is likely easier than you might think. There are many free GIF-making tools available online, where you don’t have to know any coding to be successful.

You can:

Offer a how-to explainer via GIF.
Share an animated infographic.
Provide a brief product demonstration.

Just make sure your GIFs are fun but also true to your branding. You’ll also want to keep your GIF file size at about 1 MB and within 600 pixels in width.

Incorporate images into your call-to-actions

It’s likely that your call-to-action buttons within your emails are fairly simple, possibly even text-only. You’ll want to experiment with using images as part of your CTAs.

Imaged-based CTAs in emails report a higher conversion rate than simple text links. This is because they can be more compelling to email recipients and are nearly impossible to miss.

Of course, as you start to experiment, you can begin with a button approach, where the background color contrasts with your email background color and the color of your text.

Learn more about color psychology in digital marketing.

Be sure to not go overboard. Overly aggressive CTAs won’t increase click-through rates.

Dive deeper into image-based CTAs.

Seize opportunities to use infographics

Infographics add more credibility, so they definitely have a potential place in your emails.

They’re an opportunity to educate your audience, which shows the value of your brand that can help you stand out from your competition.

Check out these 11 free graphic design tools that even the biggest non-designer can use.

Tread carefully with stock photos

Stock photos can be a great help when you’re creating visuals for your branded emails.

However, they can be a double-edged sword: They either look professional, or they look generic and inauthentic.

About 35 percent of marketers say they use stock photos more than any other type of visual content, so if this is the case for your brand, you’re definitely not alone.

Simply take extra care to only select images that look genuine and natural. If it feels artificial to you, it’ll feel artificial to consumers.

Add videos to your emails

Did you know that videos can potentially boost your email click-through rates by about 500 percent?

It’s true. However, you want to make sure you’re using videos correctly within the structure of your email because many email clients will not allow recipients to play your videos inside of emails.

Oftentimes, linking an image with a play button on it to a YouTube video is the best practice.

See our how-to guide for embedding videos into your emails.

Videos give you the opportunity to share:

Behind-the-scenes footage
Personalized video messages
Tutorials

If you’re still unsure, check out any of these eight email marketing courses online to level up your skills.

While you’re exploring how to use visuals to boost your email conversion rates, consider supercharging your digital marketing process. DailyStory features automation, dynamic audience segmentation and more. Schedule your free demo with us today.

11 free graphic design tools for the non-designer

Visuals are everything when it comes to digital marketing these days.

That applies to everything, from the design of your website to the images you use on your brand’s social media channels.

Consistent brand presentation across all platforms increases revenue by up to 23 percent.

Of course, the cost of graphic design is a concern for many small businesses. More than 50 percent source their design work in-house or do it themselves.

But just because you might be looking to save money on your graphic designing doesn’t mean that you can’t still reap the rewards of great design. The following are 11 free graphic design tools for the non-designer (i.e. the beginner).

Canva

One of the most popular design tools, Canva typically ranks toward the top of many lists when it comes to design.

The available templates not only are a great source of inspiration for any beginning designer, but can make an entire project that much faster and the results that much better. Canva also features an image library where some images are free to use and others require a paid subscription.

You’ll likely also appreciate the automatic color suggestion feature that can suggest colors based on images within the design. That means you can match your brand color with ease and use complimentary colors from an image that pulls together your overall design.

Canva has an app as well for on-the-go designing.

Granted, the free version of Canva can be limiting depending on how much you want to create (and to what degree you want to customize and share), but this application is being used more and more because of its easy-to-use interface and powerful features.

DesignWizard

DesignWizard resembles Canva in a lot of ways, except it includes all of its available design features in its free version.

Where the free version can limit you is when you would like to export your work. “Pay-as-you-go image and video downloads” is listed on the Pricing page.

Nonetheless, the application offers more than 10,000 free templates and a library with more than 1.2 million images, videos, illustrations and graphics.

Piktochart

Specifically looking for an application that will make infographic design easy? Consider Piktochart.

This application can act as a fair replacement for more premiere (and expensive) software, like Adobe InDesign. There are hundreds of templates, icons and graphics to choose from.

The free version does give you a lot of options to explore. One downside is that downloads from the free version will include the Piktochart watermark on them.

Pixlr

Both browser-based and offering an app, Pixlr is a free image editor that helps you edit your photos with hundreds of overlays, effects and borders.

It’s been referred to as a decent replacement for Adobe Photoshop (when considering the cost). But this application tends to have more power when it comes to photo editing than true graphic designing.

Colorcinch

Pegged as a “creative tool so easy a toddler could use it,” Colorcinch is a design platform that’s easy to use with no experience.

It includes free graphics and templates, various effects, the ability to cartoonize your image and all the essential photo-editing tools.

There is a free version available, with premium features included with a subscription.

Adobe Spark

Considered the free alternative to the more premium (and expensive) Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Spark is worth checking out.

The application comes with a fair amount of free templates. These can be particularly helpful if you’re looking to create posters or videos for ad campaigns.

Spark also supports integration with other Adobe products, which can be helpful if a project becomes more complex.

Krita

Depending on the design project, paint elements could be needed. Fortunately, Krita is a free, open-source painting program intended for artists.

Its user interface is entirely customizable with an advanced toolset.

The features available in Krita can help add an extra impact to your design efforts, so don’t be afraid to try it out, even if it is a little more advanced.

Vectr

Vectr is a graphic design software that offers the ability to design in your web browser or download a free desktop app.

It is a great choice for presentations, logos, cards, markups and even 2D graphics since it prides itself on helping you create simple and clean vector graphics.

Vectr also has various fonts, shadows and filters, along with live collaborations and synchronization features. This means that you can share your work and collaborate with your team if needed.

Inkscape

A great alternative to Adobe Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw, Inkscape is an open-source graphic tool where you can create logos, illustrations and graphics.

It’s user friendly with a clear, easy-to-use interface and some advanced features, such as:

Alpha transparency support
Markers
Clones
Embedded bitmaps

Google Chart

Need to convert your data into a more eye-catching visual? Google Chart could be a solution.

The application helps you create graphs and charts that can be easily embedded into a webpage or spreadsheet.

All charts are totally customizable as well.

Infogram

Another tool that can help with infographic design is Infogram. Not only can you design infographics for free, but you can upload pictures and videos as well.

The templates Infogram provides can help inspire you to better engage your audience. The application also offers features to animate and make your charts and/or graphics interactive.

In conclusion

It doesn’t matter what tool (or tools) you ultimately decide to use for your graphic design projects. Just be sure to try a handful to make sure you end up with the application that best serves your preferences and needs.

Visuals are more important than ever. However, you’ll be surprised at how quickly any of these tools can make you look like a pro.

Not stopping at simple graphic design? Check out our list of 18 video-editing apps you should be aware of, and see our eight tips for finding your brand voice.

After leveling up your graphic design game, consider your digital marketing process. Visuals lose their impact if they’re not reaching the right people at the right time. Schedule your free demo of DailyStory today.