Design is everything with content. When you're pushing out an aggressive marketing campaign it usually will involve a great amount of content. Our designer Kaylee White decided she wanted to share with you the best resources for designing new content. Let us know your thoughts by tweeting #SEOdesign
5. “
…Words are processed by our short-term
memory. Images, on the other hand, go
directly into long-term memory where
they are indelibly etched.
—Dr. Lynell Burmak,
Ph.D. Associate at the Thornburg Center for Professional Development
6. Why Visual Content Rules
• It is quick and easy to process
• It is an attention grabber
• It offers proof and tells a story
7. Want to create visual
content, but don’t have
any design software?
8. Check out these 29
FREE resources
that can help you create the visuals you need!
9. For Inspiration
Get the Wheels Turning
Dribbble
Comprised of the work of web designers, graphic designers, illustrators,
icon artists, typographers, logo designers, and other creatives, Dribble
offers a glimpse of these professionals’ pride and joy.
10. For Inspiration
Get the Wheels Turning
Creattica
Creattica is a gallery of great design that is submitted, voted upon, and
accepted as the best work. There is a ton of stuff on the site, so make the
search function your friend and get inspired!
11. Stock Images
Compfight
Compfight is an image search engine that utilizes flickr. It allows you to
search by license: Any license, Creative Commons, or Commercial.
12. Stock Images
Pixabay
Here all pictures are published under Creative Commons public domain
deed CC0, which means you can copy, modify, and distribute the work,
even for commercial purposes, without asking permission.
13. Stock Images
MorgueFile
Named with a term that derives from the newspaper business, MorgueFile
is an easy-to-use site that simply asks that you credit the photographer
when possible.
16. Imaging Tools
AwesomeScreenshot:
Capture & Annotate
A free Google Chrome extension, AwesomeScreenshot makes it easy to
take screen shots, mark them up, and blur sensitive information in one
simple interface.
17. Imaging Tools
Placeit
This site provides you with dozens of free, high-quality images featuring
electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops in realistic settings.
The best part is that Placeit allows you to easily place your own images in
the screens of the electronics. It is definitely worth checking out.
18. Image Editors
Pic Monkey
Pic Monkey is great for first-timers and veterans alike. The program
is simple and self-explanatory, making it easy to edit photos, make a
template collage, or design from scratch.
19. Image Editors
Pixlr
This free online program features three different photo editors, each
varying in complexity. Pixlr Editor has both functions and complexities
similar to Photoshop. Pixler Express is an easier version that is great for
quick fixes. Pixlr O-Matic features pre-made filters that you can easily
apply to your photos.
20. Image Editors
Gimp
Gimp is the most complex program out of the bunch. Download it onto
your computer and use it as a paint program, expert photo retouching
program, or a batch processing system. Add plug-ins and extensions to do
just about anything.
23. Fonts
Google Fonts
Google has developed this to make it easy to add creative fonts to your
websites and apps. The fonts are open source and can also be used in print
and on your computer.
24. Fonts
Font Squirrel
Here you can be sure to find hand-picked, high-quality, fonts that are free
for commercial use. Check out the trendy fonts or make a custom search
to find the one that is perfect for your project.
25. Fonts
Dafont
Dafont has thousands of fonts to pick from. Although it has plenty of great
fonts, be weary of the ones that should be reserved for scrapbooking.
Also, pay attention to the license before you download. Not all of these
fonts are for commercial use and several ask for a donation to the author.
26. Fonts
What The Font
Need help identifying a font? Just take a screen shot and throw it into
What The Font. This free online resource will help you uncover the identity
of the mystery font.
27. Colors
Pantone Color of the Year
Pantone, a color authority in the design world, shows you which colors are
in and predicts the stylish colors of the upcoming year. See what they have
to say about next year’s color trends.
28. Colors
Adobe Kuler
Pick a color and Adobe Kuler will give you several colors that match
analogously, monochromatically, and more. Pull colors from a photo or
check out some hot color palette trends. This site makes matching colors
easy and fun.
30. Patterns
Subtle Patterns
At subtlepatterns.com, preview and download hundreds of patterns that
are perfect for backgrounds. The patterns are repeatable which makes
them great for improving page load time.
32. Infographics
Piktochart
Pick from several different templates and start adding graphics, colors and
text to make your very own infographic. Then download, publish online, or
share.
33. Charts & Diagrams
XMind
Create a structure for collecting and organizing ideas with XMind, a mindmapping tool that makes it simple to get your ideas out on the table in
visually pleasing way.
34. Charts & Diagrams
Lucid Chart
Drag and drop shapes and text to create all kinds of diagrams from flow
charts to conceptual data models.
35. Charts & Diagrams
Chartgo
Need a chart? Chartgo can help you make simple bar, line, and pie charts
like no one’s business.
36. Presentations
SlideShare
With SlideShare, you can upload presentations and embed them on blogs
and websites or share them on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Add mp3
audio and turn your presentation into a webinar.
37. Presentations
Prezi
Make a presentation that lets your audience step into your world. With the
ability to zoom in and out of images, Prezi creates a learning atmosphere
that is engaging and fun.