Creating polished, professional marketing materials doesn’t have to mean investing in expensive software or hiring a designer for every project. There are plenty of free design resources and tools that can help small business owners create better social media graphics, find high-quality photography, and keep their visual marketing looking cohesive.
As a brand and web designer, I’ve gathered a few of my favorite free resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs below. Whether you need stock photography, social media image sizes, photo editing tools, or an easy way to create simple graphics, these resources are a great place to start.
Social media platforms are constantly changing their recommended image dimensions, so it can be frustrating to keep track of the correct sizes for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and more. Sprout Social's social media image size guide is a helpful reference to bookmark whenever you're creating new graphics.
These websites are great resources for free, high quality photography:
Death to Stock — sends monthly emails containing free photos
Dupe – editorial feeling photography
Gratisography — unique and whimsical photos
Kaboompics — useful for lifestyle, interiors, and cohesive photo collections
Nappy — diverse stock photography
Pexels — broad selection of free stock photography
Unsplash — particularly good for polished, editorial-feeling imagery
Adobe Lightroom is my favorite way to quickly edit photos on my phone. I often use either the "profiles" or "presets" feature as a starting point, and then make a few additional manual adjustments as needed.
Adobe Express is an online tool that's great for video editing and designing simple graphics for social media or other digital formats. They have a free plan with some powerful features.
Fonts can often be overlooked, but they are one of the most important visual components of a polished design. Google Fonts has an extensive library of free fonts. I also like this curation of free fonts by Typewolf.
Free design tools and resources can make it much easier to keep up with the visual demands of running a business. But if your logo, colors, fonts, photography, and graphics all feel disconnected, even the best tools won't necessarily make your marketing feel cohesive.
A strong brand identity gives you a visual foundation to work from, so the marketing materials you create yourself can still feel recognizable, polished, and consistent.
If you're ready to create a more cohesive visual identity for your business, [link to your branding services] is a great place to start.
Download a free worksheet to guide you through the initial stages of building your business and brand strategy.
