How to Graphic Design for Free
(Original Article: How to Graphic Design for Free)
Key Points:
Need to know how to graphic design for free without spending an arm and a leg on a Freelancer or expensive software like Adobe?
One important reason to learn graphic design whether you’re a business owner, blogger, or writer is because?94% of consumers?will leave a website with poor graphic design.
If you’re trying to sell a product or service, you want your website design, content, and graphics to look just as professional as you are.
With that said, let’s jump into the basics of how to graphic design for free, some pointers on color, and everything else you need to know moving forward!
Don’t stop now, keep reading!
What is Graphic Design and How is It Useful to Bloggers?
By definition graphic design is the skill or art of combining text and images in advertisements, magazines, blogs, or books.?According to the?American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)?graphic design is the practice of planning and then projecting concepts and ideas. These concepts are then turned into experiences with visual and textual content.
So basically, graphic design helps you to convey messages to your audience in a visually creative way.
With that said, how can graphic design be useful to bloggers? When you?create a blog,?website, or any other content online. You need to incorporate images into your content, whether you are?creating a blog?or social post.
How is it useful in business?
Graphic design helps businesses gain higher virtual visibility which can lead to an increase in sales and conversion rates.?Interesting and engaging visuals effect the communication of concepts and ideas. Basically, higher visibility not only boosts sales but also increases credibility which tells Google and other search engines that your content is valid.
Let’s use these two pictures as an example: any?SEO-friendly content?and other website based content will have images added into their?blog posts.
It may look something like this:
Or maybe something like this:
93% of all our communication?is visual. Additionally, consistent presentation of a brand with the help of design can boost sales by 33%. That means that if you are trying to boost your brand, product, etc., you need to incorporate engaging images.
In fact, recent studies suggest that nearly?85% of people learn by seeing, and these are people who would prefer to be known things to understand information easier.
So, based on the niche of your content, you should include data based statistics, infographics, or images that match the theme of your content.
For example, the first image above shows a business laptop with displayed statistics. The image has keyword rich alt-text and is relevant to the topic. However, it doesn’t engage a user or hold valid information.
Based on your content, you should decide which type of imagery you need for your content.
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How to Begin Graphic Design?
One of the best ways to gain design experience without a degree is to begin watching tutorials, read articles, and?begin freelancing.?Once you understand the software that is generally used, you will begin to develop a strong sense of the process and you can use different platforms to promote yourself as a graphic designer.
However, if you’re just beginning to develop your blog and you’re not sure where to start, this article is for you!
There are five principles of design:
These principles help to create a great graphic design. They may also help to display a stable, organized, and consistent impact or message. By following these principles, designers and website owners alike can solve visual and conceptual problems as a part of their creating process.
For a design piece to be successful, you need to understand how these key principles work.
Understand typographic basics
Typography is the usage of formatted or arranged layouts in text that plays a vital role in graphic design. Type includes fonts, point sizes, line-spacing, letter-spacing, kerning, and typefaces.
Type can be created by hand or even digitally, however, it’s worth noting that different types of specializations within typography.
These specializations include:
As you learn to navigate your way around design, you’ll soon begin to understand the differences between these similar yet very different pieces of typography and how it plays an important role in graphic design.
Free Tools and Programs for Graphic Design
There are tons of free tools and programs you can use right now to help you grasp at least some understanding of graphic design. Canva is my personal favorite, simply because it has a windows app, templates, and built-in features and help you stay symmetrical and balanced.
Not only can Canva be used to create stunning graphics for website content, but you create professional logos, book covers, banners, cards, and so much more!
Additionally, here is my list of free tools you can download right now to help you get started:
That Sums it Up!
Graphic design and SEO content can be difficult, so if you don’t want to figure it all out on your own,?contact me today! I got you!