“Where’d you get that image from?”
You’d be surprised how often I hear this question! For over 10 years working as a marketer and designer, I’ve learnt to become extremely resourceful at finding decent visuals on limited budgets (read zero budget). It’s a challenge, and these days I find myself having to alter 99% of the online resources I use (unless I create my own from scratch), but it’s necessary to ensure you and your work looks good! 😎
Always on the lookout for helpful resources
Now effective design isn’t just about finding a great image, it’s much (much much much) more complicated that than. So please understand, this list isn’t to discount designers who have the skill to create considered and beautiful designs at neck-breaking speed, but really for everyone else.
So, to help rid the world of clip art filled PowerPoint presentations, and pixelated social media posts, I present my curated list of helpful resources I think any non-designer can use to help zhuzh up their next presentation, social media post, or whatever.
Get out of here clippy!!!!
Free Images
Images are the lifeblood of any effective communication. Instead of relying on large swathes of paragraphs, low-quality clip art, or that ‘one pic I took with my phone’, I recommend using one of the following sites and select fewer, larger, and much more high-quality images instead.
1. Unsplash
If free image websites were people I would say “Unsplash? That’s my guy right there 🤜🏽🤛🏽”. Seriously, don’t look past Unsplash – the quality of images is unparalleled for free images. The best part about Unsplash is the images are curated and authentic – so don’t expect “stock” like photos here. If you want real and authentic images- this is the spot. Don’t forget to include attribution as a way to say ‘thanks’ to the incredible artists who provide images to the site. unsplash.com
2. Pexels
Pexels is a pretty good alternative to Unsplash as the images are a mixture of authentic and more of the the “stocky” variety. Quality is hit and miss, but they do also have free video clips, so keep this one bookmarked. Also if you need to find a larger range of images for your search, this may yield some good results. Make sure you include attribution and share the love. pexels.com
3. Pixabay
Pixabay has been around for ages and claims to have over 1.9 million images and resources. The quality is a bit hit and miss (maybe more miss in my opinion) so expect to get a few random (and NSFW) results, but well worth a quick look if the above two didn’t get you the result you’re after. pixabay.com
(Advanced) Free Fonts
While Arial and Times New Romans are both well and fine, there may be times when you want to add a bit more character to your words. Changing fonts is an effective way to provide more context to your content. Please note- playing around with fonts is a delicate proposition and shouldn’t be taken lightly (I’m looking at you Comic Sans….) So please use with caution and consult a qualified graphic designer before proceeding. Seriously! 🤓
4. Font Squirrel
There are A LOT of free typefaces (fonts) in the wild (what up dafont!), so how do you wade through the ordinary to find the best? Well, Font Squirrel claims to have done the hard work for you and provides only the best free fonts. In my opinion, it’s not too bad if you need a quick freebie and you’re unsure about your ability to pick a good one. fontsquirrel.com
5. Google Fonts
Speaking of A LOT of free typefaces (fonts)- Google Fonts is kinda epic in terms of the pure number of free fonts available! I’ve included this one for two reasons:
- The search parameters are good! You can search by thickness, slant, width along with several different categories which should help you narrow your search down to what you need.
- You can use these fonts online – so if you need consistency across media Google Fonts can provide you with the OFT/TTF and all the online files to load into websites as well. (Don’t understand this? All good- talk to a Graphic Designer before you go down this path!)
(Advanced) Free Photoshop and Vector Resources
If you have access to Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator (or alternative free apps) you may want to dip into more complex resources. I do not recommend playing around with these files unless you have experience with Photoshop and some level of Design training (please!!!), but here are two resources you might want to check out if you’re game.
6. Flaticon
My goodness, Flaticon, you have helped me out about a billion and one times! Iconography (icons) is one of the most common graphical elements used in just about every type of communication you’ll see. If you need an icon for anything, a service, an activity, a label – 1,000% you will find one here. Lots of good options for downloading your icons as well, including changing the colour, size and choosing the format. flaticon.com
7. Freepik
Freepik is kinda insane really and I questioned even putting it on this list for a number of reasons. But this post is about resources for people who aren’t designers, so Freepik kinda fits the bill perfectly. The sheer amount of free photoshop (PSD) and vector files available here is wild- but the crazy part is that a lot of the resources are pretty much ‘done and dusted’ as far as “finished design” solutions are concerned. For example- need a “Halloween sale” sign? Search for it and you’ll probably get a ton of posters that are fully editable and (almost) ready to print. Now the quality, originality and overall designs are very pedestrian but if you need a complete quick design you can probably find one here. freepik.com
Conclusion
I hope you find this list useful, I would like to note however that regardless of any of the resources you use above- I would implore you to work with a graphic designer for your next project if you can. Not only are they adept communicators, but they also have the experience and expertise to distil your messages into concise and effective communications quickly and effectively. Don’t go bravely into the night without a trusty guide!
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