While going through my previous blog post I came across few comments where my friends had praised a particular design tool a lot. No doubt they have used and liked it. But an idea struck me. Being a design enthusiast myself, I have always tried to test a design tool whenever I came across one. This made me list at least 5 free design tools which can make your blog look awesome. So if you are looking for free design tools then this post is for you. Some of these are online, while two of these are downloadable to use. I have extensively used all the tools that I have described here and therefore wanted to share whatever I have learnt.

5 Free Design Tools

1. Canva: The first one on my list is Canva. I have talked about it in my previous post. But there is no harm in reiterating what I have already said. I have seen many bloggers recommending it. And it deserves all the praise. Canva has templates for everything that you can think of. It has different sections for social media posts, covers for eBooks, brochures, logos, and business card too. It has tons of free designs to choose from.
   
   You have the liberty to upload and use your own images. As a free user, you have two folders to keep your designs sorted. Like other basic free design tools, Canva lets you use filters, change hue and saturation, increase or decrease brightness. For a blog post image, Canva answers most of your requirements. If you want to enhance the image, click on filter-> advanced options and check vignette, blur and tint. If you upgrade to pro version, you will get more features. But for now, the free version is enough to meet your needs.
2. The second one on my list is Pixlr.  When I was a newbie designer, I came across Pixlr and instantly liked it. Among all the free design tools that I have used so far, it is still one of my favourites. Check the screenshot.
   
   You have everything you need to make a stunning image. Click on adjustment and you get tons of features to experiment with. Crop, resize, increase contrast, and sharpen; everything you need to make your image stand out, is available. You can apply different effects using this free design tool. The option overlay gives you a number of choices, like chem burn, light leaks, canvas, bokeh to beautify your images. You may apply a border if you feel like and get free, beautiful fonts to write text on your image. Pixlr has an app on Google Play Store as well.  So, go ahead and experiment with it.
3. The third one is Designbold. Just like Canva, Designbold also offers you tons of free templates to choose from.  And you have the freedom to upload your own images to design. Designbold works in “drag and drop” format. You can play around with basic image enhancements like brightness, hue, saturation, and tint.
   
   Unlike Canva, it does not have folders to sort your designs. But it stores all your designs in the left panel for future use. It has design templates covering almost all creative requirements. When you visit different blogs you find images look similar. Be bold and choose something else that makes your designs look different and beautiful. I have seen DesignBold keeps on adding new templates at regular intervals, thereby keeping the gallery fresh and vibrant.
4. PhotoScape : this one is not primarily a design tool, because it does not have any templates. But it has tons of features to make awesome graphics for your blog. Additionally, those of you who use collages often can make use of this one as it has lovely collage layout designs. You can download Photoscape here.
   

Check the attached screenshot. The arrow mark points to “Page” on top. Here you get different layouts for collages. Among all free design tools, this one answers almost all your design needs. This tool is very user-friendly and can produce stunning images in minutes. Check the Film effect and you get to choose an effect which suits your designs. You can increase the backlight to make a dark image stand out. The filter option has some features which can give a complete makeover to your image. You can create an antique photo from the current one or apply a smart blur effect to hide certain sections of the image. Therefore, PhotoScape provides you ample features to make or re-do an image to meet your needs.

5. GIMPShop : many professional graphics designers term this open source design software as a perfect Photoshop alternative. Nearly 90% of what you do using Photoshop can be done by this. GIMPShop works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. So it has a broader user base.
   GIMPShop is a full-fledged image editor and while as a blogger you may not have to use all its features, still, having GIMPShop on your pc/laptop can be of great help. Changing colours, applying layers, combining images, sharpening, and applying filters can be done easily. If you want to enhance an already created design, head straight to GIMPShop. Out of the 5 free design tools that I have talked so far, this one scores high. It takes time to master, but a large number of tutorials are available on Youtube and other platforms which can teach you how to use Gimp effortlessly.

These are the 5 free design tools that I have described here. You can use anyone which suits you. In future, I will be telling more number of design tools which can be of help to you. Write back to me how you like this post and if you want to know more about these free tools. I will be happy to reply.