Last updated: July 2, 2021

Even the most stellarly written articles need an equally engaging image to get shared these days. With so much text being produced everywhere you look, visuals are starting to become a valuable currency that you can’t afford to ignore. That being said, many of us freak out at the mere thought of using design software. I get it — we’ve all been there.

Dear non-designer friend: my point with this article is not to show you how professional designers use highly technical tools to create imagery. It also isn’t my goal to share tools that will make your brand look silly, inexperienced or sloppy. I’m not here to scare you, and yet you’ll find that — as a result of using these tools — your brand will portray a level of professionalism that you never thought possible. Great news: it is. 

It’s so possible these days, that I’ll make sure to update this list of apps continuously. New visual branding tools are coming out every single day, and the features these talented teams are adding will blow you away.

Here you go:

1. Canva

Canva’s user-friendly features allow you to create much more than social media graphics: think presentations, flyers, brochures and many other kinds of business essentials.

2. Brandr

Looking for a design tool that works well on mobile devices? Brandr, created by the team behind Studio, is a full-featured option.

3. Adobe Post

Sometimes you need Photoshop’s capabilities but also need to be able to pull off social graphics on the go. That’s when Adobe’s free mobile app, Adobe Post, saves the day with inspiring filters, text styles and layouts.

4. DesignFeed

Relatively new to the scene, DesignFeed offers an impressive set of features at no cost. Automatically resized social graphics are definitely a useful addition.

5. Visage

Visage is different from every other tool here in that it offers interesting data visualization widgets like pie, line, and area charts.

6. PicMonkey

Easy to use and highly intuitive, PicMonkey is one of the more established apps on this list.

7. Pablo

Created by the team at Buffer, a social media management app, Pablo integrates seamlessly with their scheduling flow.

8. Venngage

Infographics giving you headaches? Venngage created a WYSIWYG tool to create them in minutes.

9. ReciteThis

Inspirational quotes are everywhere these days. Add some to your social media mix with ReciteThis.

10. Placeit

Placeit makes mockup images a breeze. If you’re trying to share your mobile or desktop app, this tool allows you to overlay modern devices in a matter of seconds.

11. Snappa

Similar to DesignFeed, Snappa is also new in this space and offers a free plan that makes trying it out a no-brainer.

12. Piktochart

Another Infographic design tool for non-designers that provides dozens of handy templates to start with.

13. Desygner