My Favorite Free Resources For Any Graphic Designer
Holding knowledge behind a paywall or one’s own ego is, quite simply, the dumbest thing in the world. Sharing resources — especially design resources — makes good graphic design more accessible by people who are a) new to design, or b) just simply need a quick graphic they can design themselves. There is not a right and wrong way to design; only effective and ineffective ways. Resources only serve to make designs more effective.
I’ll put one or two paid ones in each section, but these are my favorite resources for any designer. I’ve omitted sites with good assets but iffy security (Dafont, Unblast, etc), but I am definitely not immune to gambling when it comes to finding the perfect stuff on my own time. If you’ve spent some time immersed in graphic design already, you might know plenty of these. But regardless, I’ve used many of them for years — from when I was a novice, to now, as a slightly less novice VCD student.
Free Assets
Pexels & Unsplash
Some of the best royalty free, professional photography that’s directly at your fingertips. You can use these images in personal and commercial projects alike. Some images also list the embedded camera lens settings, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
Freepik, Vecteezy, & Free Adobe Stock
High-quality photos and vectors. You can pay for a larger library on all three of these sites, but even just the free stuff is plenty. Always remember to check the licenses of the specific assets you’re downloading, and if they’re applicable to the project you intend to use them on. Most of the free content on Freepik and Vecteezy requires attribution.
Mockup Cloud (Free)
A 7+ page library of beautiful, realistic PSD mockups for your projects and portfolios. If you need a business card template, a wall sign, a tote bag, or something else, it’s probably available on Mockup Cloud.
Mockup Cloud (Paid)
For a one-time $130 payment, you get thousands of PSD mockups for your projects in dozens of styles. Entirely customizable scene setups. 30 GB’s worth of business stationery in a dozen different moods. Coffee cups. Bus stop signs. Everything! Absolutely worth the payment.
Worthwhile Applications
Autodesk Sketchbook
Sketchpad alternative to Procreate, if you’re someone who likes to sketch digitally. Quick, easy to use, and absolutely free. I like to draw as a hobby and I’m married to this app.
Canva
Design program available as an app and a website. Dozens of beautiful templates, easy access to free assets, and operates entirely in-browser. I hate it when designers turn up their nose over Canva. It makes good design so much easier for people who aren’t designers, or businesses who can’t afford an in-house designer. It also makes life a lot easier if they decide to take this content and hire a professional graphic designer later. I don’t worry about “having my job stolen” because of all this, honestly. I think it’s awesome.
Affinity Photo, Designer, & Publisher
One-time-purchase ($70 each) alternatives to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign. Although not perfectly, the Affinity Suite can also generate .ai and .psd files. Definitely a solid choice if you’re a solo freelancer, hobbyist, or you’re simply looking for Adobe-level capabilities without the monthly expense.
For Your Website Knowledge
Carrd
Simple landing/portfolio pages. Offers a free plan, but for $20 a year, you get large upload capacity, widgets, 10 landing pages with no watermark, and more. It is sorely underestimated as a simple portfolio site.
Behance
Explore professional projects, find free fonts and other assets, and upload your own work. One of the best places to go for inspiration. I wouldn’t only house your work on Behance, but considering its “compartmentalize everything into project tabs” structure, it is an excellent place to start. That’s exactly what I did before I built my website.
Namecheap
Select from thousands of unique domain names for your portfolio, as cheap as $1 for the first year. You can also add on extra speed and security features for a small upcharge.
Codecademy
Offers free online lessons to get you started with programming languages of your choice. If you want to build websites, you can start to learn here at your own pace.
Codepen
In-browser code editor for exploring/learning HTML & CSS. Great place to start if you just need a simple space to edit small amounts of code and view your changes in real time.
I’m always on the lookout for more resources and I’m always happy to share them. Here’s to many more years of designing and learning!
