Are you wondering about the best graphic design platform for your needs? It can get a little confusing, eh? Well, we are going to break it all down for you from Canva graphic design to Crello to Youzign, and even some important keys to graphic design. You’ll see the ins and outs of these platforms and which is best for you and your project. And if it’s all still overwhelming, well, check out our Bunny graphic design services. Graphic design is too important to not do it right.
A Bit about Graphic Design
If you’re new to this, you may even be wondering what exactly is graphic design? Here’s a great definition from the Interaction Design Foundation: graphic design is the visual content that we use to communicate messages. It incorporates elements like typography, layout, composition, font, images, color, and emotion. Emotion? That’s where the magic lies. When a viewer connects with the graphic design, the message can hit home. And when it comes to marketing, that’s the goal.
Purpose
Graphic design is not only used in marketing, though. We often think about graphic design for marketing and advertising, but it’s also important in other industries and for other purposes. It’s huge for entertainment, publishing, aesthetics, packaging, and even in the environment around us.
- Think about that coffee shop you love. Is there a menu on a chalkboard written in a great font? Maybe there are some other signs or features subtly placed, a warm brick wall that beckons comfort, the treats displayed on a three-tier tray next to the full bakery case?
- Do you love receiving packages that are packed with an aesthetic vibe? Does the design on the box reflect the product, maybe the owner has included a cute sticker or postcard?
- What about your favorite book? Did you buy it because of the cover?
- Don’t forget the video game you spend hours playing. Do you love what it looks like, the images it has, and the vibe it projects?
All graphic design. Good graphic design will call us to look farther, to spend time there, and to invest some emotion. And with the great platforms available, you can create some stop-and-take notice graphic design to meet your needs, whether it’s for your Instagram page or your website or the flyers you share with your community.
But where do you start? Do these artists just go from scratch? No, they probably use some sort of design platform, and that’s what we are going to look at now.
The Big Graphic Design Platforms
You’ll hear of various graphic design platforms, and we’ve broken down them into our top three to give you some basics. Hopefully, this breakdown can help you decide on a platform, and if not, we can still help!
Canva Graphic Design
Canva is an online design platform and publishing tool so that anyone can create designs for a multitude of purposes. Whether you are working on your own or with a team, it’s easy to use, easy to collaborate, and easy to publish. From your social media posts to presentations to videos and marketing, and print material, you can create it all with Canva.
- Ease of use – Because Canva has lots of templates and images, it’s not a bad beginner’s platform. You can also grow with it and get more detailed and technical as you learn.
- Budget – Canva has different pricing levels depending on what you need so you can find the plan that bests suits you.
- What do you need – You only need current versions of your browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge) and enable Javascript. For iPad or iPhones, you need an operating system of iOS 12 or higher and at least 150MB of free memory space. For an android OS, you need 5.0 or higher.
With all the options and its user-friendly platform, people love Canva. It’s cost-efficient and is easy to share and collaborate on. You’ll love what you can create on this design platform.
Crello
With Crello, you can create stunning designs in minutes. Think social media posts for all the platforms, ads, posters, flyers, brochures, logos, and more. It’s a beautiful thing when you can easily tie all these things together, too, and have cohesiveness with your logos, posts, and more. Crello makes it easy to create static and animated designs. Aesthetics are all important these days, and when you can create just the graphic design you want and that will attract your audience, you’ll be set!
- Ease of use – With a full library of designs, photos, backgrounds, and more, plus all sorts of valuable tutorials, you’ll be able to create outstanding graphic designs even without that graphic design degree. You can edit templates or create your own designs.
- Budget – Crello is budget-friendly with two plans, Starter and Pro. You can always switch your plan, too, if you think the other would be better for you.
- What do you need – Crello works with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge with the latest updates. For iPhone and IPad devices, you’ll need at least iOS 11.4 and a minimum of 100mb of free space along with the Crello app. The Android application requires a minimum of 100mb of free space.
Crello is great for moderately and minimally skilled designers. If you’ve got the time and the wherewithal to design your own graphics, Crello is a great choice
Youzign
Youzign is your all-in-one graphics design platform. You can create all the visuals you need, and it’s easy. If you need something to design a book cover or social media posts – you can do it with Youzign. It’s intuitive, and it’s easy to do things like remove background clutter or change a background, and Youzign has a library full of images to use.
- Ease of use – This is one of the more beginner-friendly platforms out there for graphic design. Users love the ease of use and the ability to create great-looking graphics without experience. Small businesses and freelancers love it.
- Budget – Like the other platforms, there are some various ways to cut costs with Youzign, whether with plans or discounts.
- What do you need – Youzign runs on windows, android, iPhone, iPad, and Macs.
This is an easy platform to use for your graphic design. You don’t need a degree to figure out the way to awesome visuals and graphics with the help of this platform.
Give any of these platforms a try – you may be partial to one or just may want to go for the less expensive one. Make sure you have a little time to invest in playing around with the platforms to see what you can do.
What if you just don’t want to do it yourself?
Maybe you know you could create your own graphic design, by you just don’t want to. We know there are many other facets of your business that you may rather be working on, and though some of these platforms are even free, your time is valuable. That’s when you might think about hiring a freelance graphic designer or a service like our own Bunny Studio.
Sure, you may be able to put together something that looks great, but our pros and other freelancers do know things like typography, trending color palettes, and fundamentals. It doesn’t hurt to learn a bit yourself, though, but in the meantime, maybe get a pro to work on your graphic design. We have vetted all of our freelancers and know their backgrounds and experience. It’s not a bad thing to have a graphic designer work on your professional graphics while you learn. So maybe take a look at Canva graphic designs and play around with it, but have a pro work on your business designs. If nothing else, it’s fun!
Skills of Graphic Designers
If you’ve decided to hire someone, look for an expert who has created designs in your field and the type of design you want. Check out references or client reviews and take a look at some work if you can. This can give you insight into their style because they may be fabulous designers, but if their vibe isn’t yours, it’s not a fit.
A graphic designer should have a great sense of design, including layout, sizes, colors, and dynamics, plus attention to detail. They should have a knack for creation for seeing the client’s vision. Also, they should be aware of current trends, especially in your field. Their work should be efficient enough to meet your timeline, but deliberate and invested so that it looks fabulous.
If you think you have these skills and are super excited about playing around with Canva graphic design or another platform, maybe graphic design is in your future. You could even work towards becoming a graphic designer yourself!
The Bottom Line on Canva Graphic Design and Other Platforms
When it comes to graphic design for yourself or your small business, give Canva graphic design or Crello, Youzign, or even one of the other platforms a try. You may find one that speaks to you and you find easy to work with. You may even find a new passion here! A good basic understanding of graphics will help, and we have a great book list to check out if you’d like further reading.
If you’d rather not bother working on your marketing graphics, give us a chat at Bunny Studio. You can hire a designer with us who can deliver just the graphics you need. Remember, this can touch on social media, marketing, presentations, brochures, your website…wherever you envision graphic design and visual aesthetics, we can deliver. Hop on over to our design page and submit your project.
Good luck with your new design endeavor! As Maya Angelou said, You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
