Graphic Design Apps: The Only 2 You Need

Nowadays, there’s no need to be a designer to have great images posted to your social media profiles and pages. Why? Because there are so many nifty graphic design apps that feed the non-designer with great ideas and a really simple experience.  

You don't have to buy Photoshop or Illustrator to make great graphics for use in social media. Click To Tweet

While we do most of our client work in these heavy-lifting programs – everything from website design to graphics creation for web or print, and logo design – we know that Photoshop and Illustrator are not always the best tools for our clients, who may just want to make simple marketing graphics.

Luckily, there are several graphic design apps on the market:

• PicMonkey
• InkScape
• BeFunky
• AddText
• roflbot
• Online Image Editor
• Glitter Photo

…shall I go on?

Well, I have two more – the two I use most often, and perhaps the only two you’ll ever need to use: Canva and Pablo.  First let’s talk similarities, and then we’ll break them down individually to show why they shine in their own corners and perhaps even compliment one another.

How are Canva and Pablo similar?

• They are both start-ups
• They can each be used for free
• They’re both under 3 years old
• They are both rapidly growing as tools
• They are both simpler versions of other tools
• They both allow for social sharing
• They both connect to royalty-free image sources
• They each have 5 letters in their names 🙂

How are Canva and Pablo different?

Despite their many similarity, Canva and Pablo also have differences.  To start things off, we’ll look at Canva

Cost:

• Basic: Free with option to purchase certain upgraded templates
• Canva for Work: $119.14/year or $12.95/month

The low-down:

Fairly simple interface that produces professional-looking images (well, usually!)

What Canva Says They Are:

Canva is an online graphic design platform. It offers free access to a wide assortment of design tools and options, as well as premium options for paying customers. For help, tweet @canva or fill one of these forms out.

Periodic Glitches:

All programs have occasional glitches or issues.  Here’ what we’ve noticed:

• If the text box doesn’t have extra space around the text within, when downloaded, some of the text falls onto the next line.
• Sometimes the menu that pops up to edit text falls outside the viewable screen, not allowing edits to be made.

The Whole Picture:

Want to know more?  Here’s a screencast video of Canva in action:

Unique Features of Canva:

1. Add team members to your account:
Want to add your staff or business partners to your account?  In Canva, it’s possible to colaborate on graphic design with other users.  This is a paid feature, but at only $119.40/year or $12.95/month it might be well worth it to collaborate within your organization.

2. Lots of Templates:
Not sure where to start on designs?  Canva has tons of free and low-cost templates from which you can jump start your designs.

3. A Ton of Fonts  
Canva includes a vast font library. If you have Canva for Work, then you can also use any of your own fonts.  Here are a few of the fonts that are available:

There are also font templates and designs to begin working from:

4. Tons of icons, shapes, lines, etc.
The sky’s the limit!  If you need an icon or abstract shape to perfect your graphic, Canva is sure to have it.

5. Grid lines so you’re sure everything will look centered
(or off-center if you prefer)

6. Canva allows you to choose any Hex Color Code
We talk a lot about the importance of staying on-brand as you work toward growing your online presence.  Canva’s color selection tool allows you to make sure you’re staying consitant in color selection and use.

Best uses for Canva:

So what do we recommend Canva for?  Here’s our top recommendations for how you can use Canva to grow your business online or in print:

1. Infographics

2. Flyers

3. Social Media & Blog Post Graphics

4. Social Media cover images

Are you thinking that you’ve found the perfect graphic design app for you?  Well hold on, because I’m about to introduce you to Pablo.

Cost:

Free!

The low-down:

Super simple with no fluff.

Why do non-creatives love it?

Few design choices and minimalistic design.

Why do creatives love it?

Super quick quote images so they can spend the rest of their time creating their more complicated graphics elsewhere.

What Pablo Says They Are:

The simplest way to create beautiful images that fit every social network perfectly.

Periodic Glitches:

Unpredictable bugs, usually taken care of within hours or days. In the past, these included an unintentional restriction against text editing and errors when trying to download an image. As a new tool, more will pop up! Tweet @buffer or email hello@buffer.com for help.

The Whole Picture:

Unique Features of Pablo:

1. No Sign-In Required
No login or password needed

2. Improvements Often Being Released
Search for Pablo features amongst this Trello board

3. Extension Allows for Sharing Images From Anywhere

4. Text Black or White

5. Image With or Without Contrast

6. Image With or Without Blur

7. Logo / Picture Overlay Resize Slider

8. Three Font Sizes

Best uses for Pablo:

Here are some of my favorite ways to use Pablo.  Give it a try, and I’m sure you’ll agree that Pablo is the perfect tool for creating…

1. Quote Images

2. Blog Post Titles

3. Header Images

4. An Image with a Logo

Canva vs. Pablo: What do you think?

Fairly robust vs. seriously simple graphic design apps. What do you think? Do you use Canva or Pablo? Or, do you have another must-have I didn’t highlight? Send over your ideas in the comments!