Most of you are too busy
monitoring Google's latest
algorithm updates, examining
web analytics, and building
links and content to stay up to
date on the design world.
Usually, creative people who
excel at design aren't very
good at the left-brain thinking
required to succeed in the
highly-technical search engine
optimization industry. Likewise, very few people
with the analytical mindset required for search
engine optimization would do well in the free-
spirited design industry.
Unfortunately, in the real world, you're often
expected to do exactly that. And while most
people understand that it would be ludicrous to
expect their doctor to also troubleshoot their
plumbing, they don't seem to understand why
they shouldn't expect the person responsible for
their SEO to also handle their design needs from
time to time.
So you're often forced to design things for your
clients from time to time. Or sometimes, you just
need to whip up something for yourself instead of
trying to find someone who can deliver what you
need on Fiverr.
Since you probably won't start sporting a black
turtleneck and talking about crop marks, press
checks, or CMYK colors anytime soon, it seems
silly to shell out thousands of dollars on software
you'll only use occasionally, so I've compiled a
list of design resources for non-designers.
The resources in this list are every bit as powerful
as any of the professional-grade software, but
they are free. (Some do offer premium versions
with more options.) The only downside is that it
might be a little bit tougher to find tutorials for
some of these programs compared to the industry
standard software like Adobe Photoshop or
Illustrator.
Image editing
Image Editing.
We all need to edit and create images from time
to time, but if you only do it occasionally,
software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
works out to be pretty expensive. Fortunately,
there are several feature-rich image editing
programs available.
Gimp - Anything you can do with Photoshop can
be done with Gimp, and it runs on Windows, Mac,
and Linux. The learning curve can be steep, but
it's worth the time.
Pixlr - If you're used to Photoshop, this program
has a very similar interface, and it even opens
native .psd files with the original layers intact.
Canva - The drag-and-drop interface of this web-
based design program make graphic design quick
and simple, plus it comes with a library of over
one million professional stock images.
Inkscape - Easily create illustrations, logos,
technical drawings, and vector images with this
free alternative to Illustrator.
SVG Editor - If you're obsessed about website
speed, you probably love SVGs (scalable vector
graphics) and this handy tool from Google make
it easy to create and edit them.
3 D
OK, so you're not going to compete with Pixar
anytime soon, but 3D capabilities do come in
handy for designing mockups of books and DVDs,
creating characters, and even complete
photorealistic animations.
Online 3d Package - This tool lets you quickly and
easily create photorealistic mockups of books,
boxes, DVDs, and CDs.
Blender - If you occasionally need to create 3D
renderings but can't justify spending big bucks for
professional-grade software that you'll only use a
few times, Blender is the perfect (and free)
alternative.
Web design
Web Design.
Designing a website requires a blend of creative
and technical skills. Fortunately, there are plenty
of tools available to efficiently complete both.
From the pretty parts, to the nuts and bolts, to
the little details, here is everything you'll need:
Palette generator - Upload an image and this tool
will generate the perfect color palette to
compliment it that you can download as a CSS
file.
Subtle Paterns - Creating seamless backgrounds
can be a pain, so instead of starting from scratch,
just download from over 400 high-quality
seamless background images, including textures
and patterns.
Web page editors
Whether you're building a website from scratch
with a WYSIWYG editor or fine-tuning the code on
an existing website with an HTML editor, web
design software will probably get a lot of use in
your hands. If you have the technical chops to
hand code your websites, that's ideal, but if not,
or if you just don't want to, here are several
options:
Kompozer - With a WYSIWYG editor in one tab
and raw HTML in the other, on-the-fly editing
with built-in FTP, Kompozer will make creating
and editing web page a breeze.
Google Webdesigner - Build HTML5-based
designs and motion graphics that can run on any
device without writing any code! (If you want to
get your hands dirty, you can edit all HTML and
CSS by hand.
Expression Web - Microsoft offers another free
web page editor which has made significant
improvements since that abomination called
Frontpage.
Favicon Generator - A truly polished website
needs consistent branding throughout, and that
means all the little details, including a favicon—
that tiny little image that sits in the tab or
bookmarks. Just upload an image file, such as
your logo, and this handy tool will spit out the
.ico files you need.
Web Developer Toolbar - This browser toolbar is
available for Firefox and Chrome , and helps you
troubleshoot your website and even test it at
various screen sizes.
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Writing by Pintu
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
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