Here is a list of the best resources for everything graphic design. These are tools we use at Graphicadi, and recommend to all our Graphicadi friends. (Some of these links are affiliate links. If you use them, thank you in advance for supporting us!)
Software
Adobe Photoshop
As you (obviously) know, Photoshop is the industry standard for photo manipulation and graphic design. You might be running an old version from “back in the day”, and are wondering if it’s worth taking the leap into a Creative Cloud subscription? The answer is yes! Totally worth it, and there are several plans available depending on what you need. Download a 30-day trial of Photoshop right here.
Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator is a vector-based image editor, allowing you to create crisp logos and illustrations. It’s also an excellent tool for vinyl cutting on a Cricut or Sillohette. Download a 30-day trial of Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator is also included in the Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription. (bundled with ALL of the Adobe products.)
Canva
If you’re a blogger or social media manager, you need tools that will
help you create graphics QUICKLY, EASILY, and look beautiful! Canva is
cloud-based design solution with plenty of pre-made templates you can
tweak. Start with a free account. Has mobile app too! Start using Canva.
Download for Android
Download for iPhone
Graphics/Assets
Envatomarket (GraphicRiver)
Envato is a huge marketplace for all sorts of things, including graphics, templates, icons, fonts, and more. Save time by starting your projects with expert designed assets.
Creative Market
Creative Market is another place where you can find premium graphics, templates, fonts, and more. Why reinvent the wheel when you can access all these amazing assets at reasonable prices? You can even earn money by signing up for an account and selling your own assets.
Fonts
DaFont
So many awesome fonts on Dafont. Well organized, easy-to-use interface, and many of them are completely free.
Font Squirrel
Ever see some text, and are trying to figure out what font was used? That’s where the fontsquirrel “matcherator” comes in. Upload an image, and this surprisingly accurate tool can help identify mystery fonts. You can also find plenty of fonts on here as well.
Tom Chalky
Oh Tom Chalky, how we love you. Do yourself a favor and just browse the site to experience some truly pleasing handcrafted font design. Tom Chalky sells expertly designed fonts, in addition to textures and brushes. (Not affiliated, just love, love LOVE!)
Adobe Fonts
How surprised were we when we discovered that as a creative cloud member, we get access to the Adobe font collection! (All this time, we had no idea, lol.) Our favorite part is the expertly curated and matched font collections. No longer doubt which fonts pair well. You know what looks good. 😉 😉
Free Stock Photo Sites
List of 30+ stock photo sites to find free photos to use on your blog, design work and templates.
Web Hosting
As a graphic designer, you need to have your own website to show off your services. There are a number of different options available, but we will narrow it down to a few options, balancing cost, ease of use, and flexibility.
Wix
What’s great about website builders like Wix, or Squarespace, is that all of the designs, templates, features, and add-ons that you use to build your website are tightly controlled and managed by the company. This means that you never have to worry about incompatible plugins, security threats, bugs, device compatibility, or design inconsistency. Everything just works, and looks great. We love Wix especially, because the editor is so easy to use, and the templates you start out with save a time of time getting started. The only downside to using an “all-in-one” service like Wix, is it costs more money, and if you’re a total computer geek who loves to fully customize everything, you might find the platform limiting. Start building for free, then premium plans start at $11/mo. (You’re going to want a premium plan in order to get a custom domain!)
Bluehost
Bluehost is a very popular web host that offers 1-click WordPress installation, and includes a free domain name for the first year, all for $3.95/mo. It’s really hard to beat that. WordPress is a free, open-source website builder platform used by millions of websites. There are thousands of themes and plugins that can completely customize the look of your site. It takes a little more work to manage a WordPress site, (Graphicadi uses WordPress), but you get complete control and flexibility over your website. Sign up for Bluehost to build your website.
WPX Hosting
If you’re looking for the best performance and delivery of your site around the world, you’ll want to use WPX hosting. Like Bluehost, they offer 1-click WordPress install, but they offer superior customer support, and many more important features such as security and Cloud CDN service. Graphicadi is hosted on WPX, in order to deliver the best experience to our users.
