We all know the importance of having a great online presence, but now with so many websites and apps out there it’s easy to get lost in all the online “noise.”
The good news is you can break through the clutter with standout design, and there are so many inexpensive ways to create unique images and looks that will make your site pop. Here are some of our favorite tools for designing on a dime.
- Try Canva. Www.canva.com is a new, free online tool that we love! You can create anything from online graphics to posters to business cards using their library of graphics and fonts. They make it easy to turn a blank canvas into something awesome. It’s easy to be bogged down with complicated software like Photoshop or Illustrator, but Canva has simplified graphic design in a way that makes it really fun.
- Good photography goes a long way. One of the most important parts of your online marketing is photography. You definitely don’t have to hire a professional (although we’d never argue against it), but there are simple things you can do to make your pictures pop. Using the rule of thirds and making sure you have good lighting can make a huge difference in the quality of your photos. After all, sharing photos is one of the most popular activities on social media, so it’s best to provide great photos!
- Use Designspiration. Www.designspiration.net is a great place to help you find and share design ideas. You can create an account and save your favorite illustrations, typography, graphics, and anything that inspires you so that you can reference it later. Another cool feature of this site is that you can pick up to five specific colors and Designspiration will filter its archive so that you can see how other people have used those colors in their own designs.
- Find a standout color palette. Www.colourlovers.com is an online resource that offers over a million different color palettes and all of their details. Using the right colors in your designs is important because they can actually effect how people think of your brand. You don’t want to turn people off by having colors that clash or send the wrong message, and COLOURlovers offers you a way to find palettes that just work together. (Hint: this is a great tool to use when you’re about to create something on Canva.)
- Just say “no” to clipart. Yes, it’s free, but it’s a thing of the past. Clipart has a way of making a website look generic and outdated, which is the opposite of what you want visitors to think of when they come to your site.
Getting inspired and finding easy, free online tools can really change designing graphics from a daunting task into something fun and rewarding. You don’t have to be an artist or a designer to be able to create something awesome for you site, but trying out these five things can help you feel like a pro!