7 Simple Graphic Design Tools to Create Engaging Instagram Content

Let's be honest.

What catches your attention more?

Is it a block of text, a striking image, or a design? 

Even on Twitter (a text-first social media platform), tweets with images receive 141% more retweets. No wonder Instagram is popular among all ages thanks to its image-first framework.

Taking magnificent photos and creating awesome designs should be your primary job if you're in charge of social media for your brand. You can quickly boost your visibility on Instagram if you use suitable graphics and content. 

However, you must ensure that you have the necessary resources to create eye-catching images, which you can do with a free online photo editor.

Besides, the best part is you needn't spend thousands of dollars to create your social media posts. You'd rather use one of the free software design tools we've got for you in this list.

Instagram has billions of users, which means that you can reach hundreds of potential customers. Promoting your brand on Instagram does not require a significant expenditure when compared to other marketing strategies.

You can attract new leads to your business using Instagram Stories. In addition, you can increase your user acquisition by impressing your users through Instagram.

Unless you choose a paid marketing strategy on Instagram, you do not have to pay to sell your items and services. Instagram paid ads or influencers are two options for paid advertising on the platform. The benefit of using Instagram for paid advertising is that you can choose your own budget. As a result, Instagram is both cost-effective and beneficial for your business.

Furthermore, Instagram is used by more than 25 million businesses worldwide. More than 200 million people view at least one business profile every day. So, grow your follower base using Instagram growth services and learn how to advertise on Instagram to get your business high up.

Okay, let us get to it now.

You want to create an image that captures your followers' attention. It should entice them to click, share, and view your page. It should motivate them to see what else you have to offer. 

On the other hand, you don't waste too much time or money developing these photos since Instagram posts have a very short lifespan. Even though they stay in your profile forever.

The key to making these kinds of pictures is to have many unique templates and design elements  (images, icons, shapes, and text styles) on hand. So all you have to do is combine these things together. Luckily, you've got all these resources to achieve the best outcomes that you desire. 

When choosing the graphic design tool you want, remember to pay attention to these features:

• Ease-of-use: Most of the time, your company's designer will not be in charge of your social media posts. Or, it may be so that you do not even have a graphic designer. So you need to make sure that these apps could be used with little design knowledge. Bottom line: the graphic design software must be intuitive and user friendly.
• Suitable for Instagram: Some tools offer totally unrelated capabilities when all you want to do is create a good image for your Instagram campaign. Instead, you're looking for graphic design platforms that have ready-to-use templates, so you don't end up spending hours designing your posts.
• Smooth UX: When designing something for a web tool, one of the most important factors to consider is how smooth and fast the web experience is. If a graphic design template takes too long to load, then you're better off looking for ones that make your life easier.
• Professional: Many platforms provide graphic templates, but not the types of templates, icons, objects, and assets that can help you effectively represent your brand. Make sure you choose design platforms that have features for businesses and influencers/freelancers who want to express their brand with high-quality Instagram photos.
• Multi-purpose: Images for social media marketing may be your primary motivation to use a graphic design tool. However, you'll be more productive in the long run if you only learn and use one tool for a variety of marketing design tasks. This tool should allow you to create email banners, presentations, postcards, flyers, and blog posts too.

You now know the importance of using Instagram for your business and have become familiar with a graphic design tool’s characteristics. Now, it is time we introduced some of the best design tools to create engaging Instagram content.

1. Picmaker

The first online graphic design software on our list that is highly user-friendly and practical is Picmaker. It allows you to create more than 60 different types of designs, from Instagram posts to business presentations, YouTube thumbnails, logos, and a lot more. The best part is that Picmaker is free to use, and there are many features offered to you at no cost. The free version includes free photos, background removals, and fonts, in addition to free templates.

The biggest feature that differentiates them with other competitors on this list is their MAD button. It lets you get AI-based suggestions for your custom designs or even their templates. Imagine you're working on a business presentation, but you're unsure about what pictures/fonts to use.

In this instance, all that you've to do is turn to their MAD feature - you can change the pictures, fonts, colors, backgrounds, or the whole designs in a few steps.

TLDR: Get awesome designs with a click of a button.

Pricing

Picmaker is free. If you want to access more features like adding your custom brand kit (i.e., bringing your own logos, colors, and fonts), you can start with their Starter plan that costs $9.95 per month.

2. Canva

Canva is a template-based graphics creation tool that is both sophisticated and easy to use. As part of the free plan, you get access to hundreds of thousands of Instagram-ready templates, images, and photos. With a Canva Pro subscription, you can access millions of assets.

When you first launch Canva, you'll see options for everything from posters to Instagram posts. It's a lot to take in, but there's a fantastic search feature built right in. To find more precise alternatives for your Instagram posts and Stories, use the search box in the top right corner of the page.

Canva, like Google Docs, allows you to share and work with people, so if you need a second opinion on your design, click the Share icon in the toolbar and enter an email address.

Pricing

Canva Pro, which includes limitless storage, millions of assets, and more, starts at $12.95 per month. You can use Canva for free and enjoy 250,000+ templates and 5GB storage.

3. Adobe Spark

There is no other shiny name in the graphic design industry than Adobe. Adobe Spark isn't as well-known as Photoshop or Illustrator, yet it's pretty attractive for most users. It's also completely free to use.

Spark has over 34,000 templates available for you to use. Many of these premium templates are exclusively available to subscribers; however, there are still thousands of free templates.

The quickest approach to get started is to choose the type of Instagram post you want to create from the home page, then search for it using the Templates search in the left sidebar. You can also make your own Instagram designs using the icons, design assets, and backgrounds categories in the sidebar, as well as the relevant tools to add your own photos and text.

The ease with which you can resize and restructure your posts for social media other than Instagram is a remarkable feature of this tool. Click Resize on the right sidebar, then choose a different post type or design. Spark will then convert everything to fit as best as it can. It usually performs a decent job, and fixing errors should take a few seconds using the editor.

The most significant disadvantage of Spark's free plan is that Adobe places a logo in the bottom corner of your design. When you click on this logo, it says Remove Once, but it looks to be detachable in all formats after a lot of testing.

Pricing

Essential functions are free to use. Premium options, such as logo upload and placement, branded templates, and tools, start at $9.99 per month. Moreover, Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions start at $19.99 per month and include these premium capabilities.

4. Desygner

Desygner, on the other hand, provides some of the most extensive capabilities of any of the tools above while being user-friendly. Additional tools like a free-drawing pen tool and the option to import files allow you a lot more creative freedom if you don't want to choose from its templates. In addition, it has thousands of beautiful templates to work with.

If you put in a lot of time and effort to create an Instagram post, you'll want to be able to use the same features on Facebook or other social media platforms as well. Select a new size by clicking the resize button at the bottom of the screen. Desygner will resize your canvas but as a new Page within the same page. This means you can work on one design and instantly adapt it to other platforms.

Pricing

Desygner is free to use. The paid version starts from $9.95 per month and gives you more templates and assets. This version also allows you to save your own designs and use them as templates for your upcoming posts.

5. Pablo

You surely have heard about Buffer, which is a social media scheduling service. Buffer has created Pablo, a fundamental tool for overlaying text over photos. Its operation and design could not be more straightforward. 

When you visit the website, you are immediately sent to the graphic design tool. It is not necessary to create an account. A preview of your photo appears in the center of the screen. On the left, you may add an image from Unsplash or click Upload Image to upload your own. Select one of the six preset templates by clicking Templates at the top of the screen.

On the right, you can edit the canvas's size and form, apply a filter, arrange the text, and add a logo or other artwork. Double-click on the text to modify it directly, or click on it to change its formatting. You can click Reposition to adjust the background image's position and crop. To save your image, select Share & Download, or publish it immediately to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram or queue it up with Buffer.

Pricing

Pablo is free.

6. Snappa

Snappa is the only tool among our mentioned tools that offers the same templates, graphics, photos, and other design materials for free as the subscription plan. The drawback is that you can only download three designs every month.

It's great not to have to deal with upgrade notifications all the time if you simply need to create photos for your social media channels.

Pricing

Snappa is free. If you want to use the paid plans, you should pay from $10 per month.

7. Infogram

If you want to create infographics for your Instagram feed, Infogram is the best tool to use. Infogram is a tool that simplifies the process of creating infographics. It includes over 35 different types of charts and maps to help you present your data in a way that is easy to share on social media.

The free version offers an entry-level selection of themes and layouts, which may be acceptable for occasional use. Still, if you have a steady stream of data to visualize, the paid version enhances the selection and, more importantly, allows you to brand the infographic with your logo.

Pricing

The Pro version costs $19 per month, while the Business version costs $67 per month for advanced users. The Enterprise version is also available, but you'll need to contact the team for a quote.

Template.net is a source for all ready-made templates. Its library also includes Premium Designs and Documents for our users. It has a Dedicated Global Team of Coders, Artists, Designers, Lawyers, Marketers & Writers. They are working towards one goal, which is to get the world’s work Faster and Smarter. 
At Template.net, 100,000+ Beautifully Designed, Easily Editable Templates are available for free.

Instagram is a photo-based social media platform that requires its users to post high-resolution photos, graphics, gifs, videos, etc., to get their followers engaged with them. If you do not have a large follower base, you can try Instagram followers apps to get niche-relevant organic followers. Then, choose any of the above graphic design tools to create the best designs for your Instagram feed and story. Wish you the best of luck!

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This blog was contributed by Parichehr Parsi, co-founder of SEO Builders and a freelance content creator and link builder. She is a content writer for Realtormate, and loves reading, writing, and researching for her blogs.

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If you're looking for templates and inspiration, don't forget to check out how to create awesome Instagram Stories with Picmaker's Instagram Story Maker. And, here're readymade templates for your next Instagram Post.

Additional Reading

Moreover, don't forget to read post on how to come up with the best Instagram post ideas. Some of these are common, yet a lot of Instagrammers aren't aware of it.

Besides, if you're looking to write a guest post on our blog, visit our guidelines before you submit a draft to us.