So you want to spice up the visual aspect of your marketing and the graphics that your second cousin is churning out just aren't getting the job done. You're tired of uneven spacing, pixelated images, and information that's hidden behind seven different filters and what he or she calls a "postmodern design philosophy." You want something simple and budget-friendly that doesn't take a wealth of experience to operate. Luckily for you, there are numerous web-based graphic design tools available, many of which are free.

 The following, while not recommended to completely substitute for a professional graphic designer, can help draw attention to your company by helping you enhance the visual appeal of your brand:

Canva

Canva is a phenomenal tool for creating graphics to use on your social media platforms. Amongst the many templates Canva provides, the social media templates make optimizing the size of graphics for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest a breeze. With an extensive catalog of free, pre-made layouts, all it takes is customizing the text of the graphic to have a professional-looking design that will draw your social followers to your posts. Also available as a mobile app.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a free, web-based image editor that allows you to apply overlays, effects, and borders to photos. While Pixlr is great for editing photos, it's not as useful as Canva at making informative graphics for your audience to quickly get your message. Pixlr is popular with Instagram users and beginner photographers who are reluctant to dish out the necessary money for pricier image editing software. Also available as a mobile app.

PicMonkey

Like Pixlr, PicMonkey is primarily an image editing tool. It has the capabilities to do basic photo editing in a powerful and quick manner. PicMonkey also offers a premium version which will give you access to more fonts and tools.

Piktochart

Piktochart enables anyone to create quick and easy infographics. To help you get your message across, Piktochart offers templates, icons, and graphics that can help you easily customize your infographic with the information that's most relevant for your target audience. 

Be patient while working with these web-based graphic design tools, it might take some trial and error to get the hang of them; but when you do, the visual aspect of your marketing will transform from postmodern mumbo jumbo to simple, yet refined, professional-looking graphics that support your brand.

Looking for great mobile apps for graphic design? Check out this blog.

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