3 User-Friendly Graphic Design Tools

By: Johana M. Caba, M.A. 

As I discussed in my previous Graphic Design blog post, there are many tools that Small Business owners, bloggers and other creators can use for their graphic design needs. Individuals that are new to graphic design might not know about the best software to use or how to use it. We know that the Adobe Creative Cloud is great for these purposes with all of their tools, but beginners might not know how to use them. In my opinion, the 3 best graphic design tools that are user friendly and have free online versions to use are Canva, Over and Adobe Spark. Others might have different opinions, but these are the top 3 that I've tried. I hope you find these helpful and comment your thoughts below: 

1. Canva: I always rave about Canva on Twitter and in person. If anyone asks me about my favorite graphic design tool, I will always tell them that it is Canva. This is an extremely user friendly platform with pre-designed graphics that can make it much easier for you to design anything. From posters, to flyers, to social media graphics and blog banners, Canva has pre-designed layouts ready to use. They do have a Pro version which gives the user more tools to use at a very low cost per month. And, one of the best parts about Canva is that they are always adding new features and more layouts. I highly recommend! 
2. Over: This is a new app that I've been trying out lately. I downloaded it for photo editing and tried it out for a blog that I was writing. Click the link to read about the best photo editing apps and tips for the perfect Instagram Stories. Over also has pre-designed layouts with lots of tips for beginners. They even share tutorials on the app and share helpful ideas for fresh and enticing graphics. This app also has a Pro version with more tools to use at a low price. Compared to Canva, although they do have many similarities, the free version offered by Over does not compare to all of the free features available on Canva. 
3. Adobe Spark: Adobe Creative Cloud offers a lot of different software options for graphic design. These include InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Although for the most part these are paid, Adobe Spark is free. All you need is to sign up and create an account for access to their pre-designed layouts. In my opinion, Spark is a great tool to use. My favorite part about Spark is the video editing feature which allows you to add titles, captions, logos, and background music. You do not need to know anything about video editing to use this feature because it is very easy to use. They also share tips and blogs on their website about designing graphics for beginners and graphic design tips for small businesses. Like Canva, this is another tool that I highly recommend!