This post is written for people who are looking for a graphic design alternative to Photoshop because they only edit graphics and photos from time to time and cannot justify the costs of licensing Photoshop or the associated learning curve. Many small businesses digital marketing efforts suffer due in part to their inability in editing images and graphics. The good news is that today there are numerous online Photoshop like graphic editing tools that are easy to use and get good results from.
Upping Your Graphics Design Game Will Increase Your Impact!
Today every business is in the publishing business whether they know it or not. A successful businesses today publish content online on a regular basis. If a picture (or graphic) is worth a thousand words, and you are not leveraging graphic images as part of your content marketing efforts, you are not getting maximum impact from your publishing efforts. Simply put, investing the time necessary to become proficient in the basics of graphics design will pay dividends by amplifying the impact of your digital publishing and communication efforts, and with so many high quality free and fremium graphic design tools at you disposal, there is simply no reason not to become proficient if your are serious about increasing the impact of your digital marketing efforts.
Browser-Based Graphics Editing Tools
I am going to focus on web-based graphic design tools that allow you to edit graphics in a web browser and don’t require the installation of software. All of these graphic design tools operate on the freemium model as mentioned earlier, meaning they offer paid plans that provide additional functionality. This post will focus exclusively on what you can accomplish with these tools without a paid subscription. Products are listed in no particular order 1: Canva.com – according to Jennifer Hoskins, Northern Virginia Realtor, “Canva is a must have in your marketing arsenal of online free graphics tools.” According to Jennifer, you can create your entire company brand from online to print. Turn out quick social media and website graphics in minutes. One of her favorite features is the ability to create print ready art-work.
2: PicMonkey.com – A free fantastic photo editing and enhancing tool. Mimics the most common tools used in Adobe Photoshop. Includes expanded fonts for a small fee and lots of fun graphics to add to photos or create your own social media graphics. Great for pic collages and auto post to social media. Downside, doesn’t allow you to save your work online, you must download to save any work.
3: Pixlr.com – Is a powerful image editing tool that is the most Photoshop like tool of the three. Designers who are familiar with photoshop and concepts like layers will quickly be able to leverage Pixlr Editor to create some really professional looking graphics. The learning curve for novices will be a bit longer but the payoff may be worth it in the long run depending on your needs. Pixlr also offers Pixlr Express which allows you to make quick fixes and add creative touches to images.
Choose your Tool(s) and Practice!
If your convinced that investing the time it takes to become proficient in graphic design will help you increase your digital publishing impact and your business you should invest the time in learning one or several of these tools. As is true with anything new there will be some frustration especially at the beginning, but if you stick with it you will soon be turning out amazing graphic designs that your friends and possibly competitors will become envious of.
WRITTEN BY
Rick Hogan, CEO & Co-Founder – Bleevit Interactive Rick possesses over 20 years of digital marketing experience and started Bleevit Interactive with the primary mission of helping local businesses succeed online. When he is not working he can often be found hiking Great Falls, Virginia with his Labradoodle Lily, or sailing the Chesapeake Bay. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve this post or otherwise want to give us a shout, send an email to hello@bleevit.com.
