As a small business owner, you only have so many hours in the day. That’s why you probably outsource accounting/payroll and other operational tasks. The same goes for graphic design. Maybe you took a graphic design college a while back but are quite rusty. Or maybe you wouldn’t know the first thing about graphic design if your life depended on it. (No judgment here.)
The reality is that at some point you’ll likely need a graphic designer to make your brand stand out. This means you’re faced with a few options: hire a professional or try to leverage technology to come up with creative that’s professional and on-brand. That’s where graphic design tools come into the picture.
What are graphic design tools?
Today, professionals have a variety of analog and digital graphic design tools at their disposal. While pen and paper can help you bring a concept to fruition, you’re limited in what you can do with the result. Conversely, software applications like Adobe’s Creative Cloud enable users to create, edit, store and manage their designs that translate into such visual elements as photos, images, videos, presentations, and brochures. These programs have limitations, however, in that they can be costly and require baseline knowledge to use them and create designs that are presentable (and professional).
The barrier to entry for online graphic design services is far less, however. Several companies offer web-based graphic design services that democratize the graphic design process. There are low-cost and even free options that empower the user to compose, edit and share images — all with the click of a mouse. These solutions are perfect for non-designers as well as experienced creatives occasionally looking for a quick way to create images for various contexts ranging from social media posts to direct mail campaigns.
“AdCreative made it easy for me to connect my Google Ads and Facebook accounts and automatically generate perfectly-sized content that looked amazing and drew attention…in minutes” – Whitney, Owner of a Hair Salon
*This graphic above was made on Adcreative.ai along with 40 other options.
What graphic design software is best?
However, not all graphic design apps are created equally. Some are more intuitive than others and some have more bells and whistles than other options. If you’re looking for Canva alternatives, you’ve come to the right place. AdCreative.ai meets you where you are, creatively and technologically speaking. The learning curve is undaunting and the app plays well with others. For instance, AdCreative makes it easy for me to connect Google Ads and Facebook accounts. This means you can automatically generate perfectly-sized content that looks amazing and draws attention. Talk about a win-win in today’s noisy world!
What software do most graphic designers use?
As mentioned above, the Adobe Suite is the gold standard in graphic design today. The American software juggernaut supports 20 desktop apps as part of its Creative Cloud service. To understand why this is the case, you have to go back in time before personal computers were universally adopted. It was in the 1990s that the company made several strategic moves to acquire a whole host of products that were considered to be in direct competition. By combining multiple programs under the Adobe umbrella, the company began to stake its claim as the behemoth of the digital publishing world. Today, that’s still the case. For instance— per the company— 90% of creative professionals use Adobe Photoshop.
What are the best design apps to create social media graphics in 2022?
However, the Adobe creative suite isn’t the best solution for business owners, who are often strapped for resources like time and money. The best graphic design tool addresses both pain points. For instance, AdCreative.ai leverages the power of artificial intelligence to generate creatives that convert, so you can save time and money. Your marketing budget can go further.
Plus, the scalable nature of the platform makes it ideal for occasional or heavy use. Seamless designs, platform integrations, and their collaborative nature come together to make a winning combination for the modern business owner or agency.
Sign up for a free trial today of AdCreative.ai and start your creative journey in minutes.
