Not sure where to start with graphic designing? We curated a list of tools for you.

Graphic design is quickly becoming one of those in-demand skills that can be an asset across various industries and lines of work. For entrepreneurs, a grasp of basic graphic design skills can open up a wide array of opportunities, from memorable branding to more engaging promotional content. 

Whether it’s for work or just to take your social media game to another level, there must be instances where you wanted to create a cool poster, a quirky Instagram post or a funky edit of some pictures you took. But sometimes, we get held back by our Photoshop skills, or lack thereof. Well, worry no more about your graphic design skills, as we have collated a list of five free online resources to get you started on your design journey:

Arguably the most well-known tool on this list, Canva is a godsend for beginners to graphic design. Founded by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams on January 1, 2013, Canva crossed 750,000 users within the first year. Besides using the website version, you can also download its mobile and desktop applications which are synced with the online platform, making it easy to edit and publish across devices.

The versatile platform comes packed with hundreds of customizable templates available in various size formats, elements and fonts for free. You can use it to create mockups, social media posts, resumes and the like as well as resize images. The platform also launched a video editing software called Canva video in 2021. It is multiplayer software, allowing users to edit in the same scene-based editor without having to download, re-upload, etc. The software also offers a scene-focused interface with which users can break down their videos into easy-to-manage pieces. This allows for easy trimming of footage, managing multiple audio tracks and using in-editor video previews to check their work.

What’s cool and trendy can change rapidly in a dynamic industry like graphic design. It’s always good to keep abreast with the latest trends. This is why you need Httpster, a website collating cool design elements from other websites. 

Created by designers Dominic Whittle and Tom Fitzgerald, who used it as a filing system for sites they took inspiration from, the website is now in its third iteration. For budding graphic designers, going through other websites to learn about their layouts and typography can help you gauge what is popular design-wise and gain inspiration.

In 2020, the Smithsonian’s Open Access initiative made about 2.8 million images of wildlife, architecture, art, landscapes and more from the Smithsonian digital collection free of copyright restrictions. This gives people anywhere in the world the ability to download, transform and share these images for any purpose, free-of-cost and without further permission from the Smithsonian Museum. 

The initiative was launched by the Smithsonian Institution, which consists of 21 museums and libraries, research centers and galleries as well as the National Zoological Park in Washington.

You can use the images and data made public to 3D-print replicas of ancient artifacts (such as the Apollo 11 command module that took the first astronauts to the moon!) or turn a masterpiece into a brand-new meme format!

Krita is your best bet if you want a Photoshop-type resource without blasting a hole through your budget. It is a free, open-source graphics editing software used primarily for digital painting and 2D animation. The beta version of Krita was released for Android and Chrome OS users on May 23, 2020. Its current version is primarily designed for illustrators, concept artists, the VFX industry, etc. 

According to Krita’s usage statistics, as of September 2021, the platform saw anywhere from three to four million users on a monthly basis. The software is well-designed to accommodate the needs of illustrators as well, with a brush engine software (which helps create brushes of different textures), layer support, HDR support, transform tool, mirroring tools, drawing assistants and more. 

Blender is an open-source, industry-standard software that focuses primarily on 3D design and animation. Blender was initially developed as an in-house application by the Dutch animation studio NeoGeo by software developer and art director Ton Roosendaal. The first version of Blender was released in January 1995, making it one of the longest running software products on this list. The software is currently on its 3.2 version.

Blender can be used in production pipelines, game development, digital sculpting, video effects for film production, animation and more. With easy-to-learn tools and a smooth running interface, artists can use Blender to create 3D backgrounds and character designs, layouts, architectural models, etc. with ease. 

Developed and made open-source by French video game company Ubisoft, the Mixer add-on feature can be used to upgrade the convenience of collaborative work by allowing multiple Blender users to work on the same project in real-time.

These are only a few of the many free and easy-to-use tools out there if you’re just starting out in graphic design. There are even AI-powered design tools, such as Dall-E mini (which can create any illustrations based on keywords you feed it), for you to try out your design ideas! Once you manage to get the hang of these tools, you can explore some more advanced tools, such as Adobe Illustrator, to take your creativity and designs to the next level. We hope that with this information, you are all set to begin your journey!

Banner image courtesy of Unsplash.

Whether it be by posting a photo on Instagram or writing a blog post, we’re all adding more information to the internet. With over 4.62 billion people using social media, there are bound to be some bad eggs creating harmful or deceitful content. To make sure that users are exposed to as little bad content as possible, websites practice content moderation.

When it comes to coffee, what pops up in your mind may be a coffee machine that crackles or a coffee cup with your name on it. Regardless, to many of us, artificial intelligence (AI) is not even remotely related to coffee. As irrelevant as they may seem to each other, AI has infiltrated the global coffee supply chain and impressed us with its coffee selection, roasting and pouring abilities.

Do you love to travel? Are you always looking for new ways to see the world and explore new places? If so, then you may want to consider starting a travel blog. Not only is it a great way to share your adventures and experiences with the world, but you can earn some extra money from it!

At this point, most of our readers would be familiar with the concept of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). But for those who need a quick refresher, DAOs are internet communities set up on the blockchain with no central governing body and where members act in the interest of the group. You can invest in and become a member through purchasing their crypto tokens. Once you are a member, you have the governing power to vote on the decisions of the organization. In some places, like Wyoming and The Republic of the Marshall Islands, DAOs are recognized as legal entities.

For many millennia, what we wear is an important part of our lives. Evolving from simply protecting our bodies, clothes have become an indicator of culture, profession and even social standing; and lately, as a means of self-expression as well. As such, fashion touches everyone on the planet, quite literally, and we may even call it our second skin.

If you look at crypto communities online, be it on Twitter or Telegram or Reddit, you’ll find them to be largely made up of men. If asked to visualize the crypto community, everyone would picture a crypto bro (men who are singularly focused on cryptocurrency predictions) discussing which currency will go “to the moon” next. In fact, 94% of all cryptocurrency is owned by men, which means that women occupy only 6% of all crypto holdings.