Best Apps and Tips To Creating Unforgettable Brand Imagery
As a designer and branding strategist I am quite the snob when it comes to stellar images because it can take your marketing to a whole new level, increase social media engagement and build a powerful brand presence. Gone are the days of needing a Ph.D. in graphic design and Photoshop and creating imagery does not have to be complicated. In fact, when you put a system into place you can create stunning imagery easily and quickly.
Here are some of my best tips and apps to create badass brand imagery:
CHOOSING THE RIGHT IMAGERY
When choosing images for your brand, its important to keep a consistent cohesive look. Finding images with the same style or an element that aligns with your brand. Maybe you love the color orange or images with greenery so you choose images with those elements. Or maybe you love a modern design so choose images with that look or maybe you are obsessed with a vintage/retro look so search for images with that style or maybe you love flat lay type imagery. Its important to stay consistent so your brand is recognizable.
There are lots of resources to find imagery. Here is a compilation of a few sites to use.
**IMPORTANT** It is the responsibility of the person using the image to comply with copyright laws therefore be sure to read the terms and conditions {yes all that legal mumbo jumbo fine print} to ensure that you are using images correctly and legally. Some sites have images that are completely free to use and others require proper attribution. Regardless the responsibility is 100% YOURS as a business owner and NEVER pull random photos from Google. 99% of them are copyrighted and not for public use.
14 Amazing Free Stock Photo Websites
https://designschool.canva.com/blog/free-stock-photos/
http://www.sitebuilderreport.com/blog/where-the-best-designers-go-to-find-photos-and-graphics
Haute Chocolate {gorgeous style stock photography. Very feminine. When you sign up for her email list you get two free images every month}
GraphicStock. You can get a whole year subscription for $99.
http://graphicstock.refr.cc/XSLSRZP
If looking for images is not your jam and you find its too overwhelming for you, you can opt for solid backgrounds for quotes but again being consistent is super important. Use the same color, font and style each time if you want your images to be easily recognizable.
Once you compile some images to create memes/quote photos you are ready to put text on them. Here are some of the best apps to use for this process:
1. WORDSWAG
This is a very robust app and if you are are a techie you will definitely LOVE getting your word swag on with this app and all of its functionality. It is by far one of the most popular apps on the market with its beautiful design templates, gorgeous interface and stylish fonts you will be looking like a total pro and knocking the socks off of your network after the very first graphic you create. You can even pull in a logo for your images with this app. Available in your iTunes or Google play store.
2. RHONNA DESIGNS
Rhonna is the app that I use to create most my social media content {when I am not swooning over Canva.com that I use on my desk top. If you have an iPad, Canva does have an app so be sure to check that out!}
Rhonna is not as robust as Wordswag but still offers a lot of functionality, created for you graphics that you can add to photos and retro inspired fonts.
You can follow Rhonna Farrer, the designer and creator of Rhonna Designs, on Instagram @rhonnafarrer.
3. A BEAUTIFUL MESS
This is a great app for the beginner. Its easy to frame pictures and add words. The app also has tons and tons of doodles. Again, its a good app for the newbie who is learning how to create good brand imagery and market on social media before purchasing a "higher end" app.
4. AVIARY
Aviary recently teamed up with Photoshop and this app does not disappoint when it comes to adding effects, texts, frames, stickers and overlays. You can instantly have whiter teeth and erase that pimple that decided to rear its ugly head over night with this app.
5. VSCO Cam
If photography and blogging is your gig you will love the VSCO Cam app. It is one of the most interesting and innovative photo apps out there. It takes some getting used to because of the high functionality.
A toolbar at the top of the screen lets you toggle the flash, change the display {you can show a line of thirds grid, horizon level or nothing}, lock the white balance and choose a mode that takes the photo by tapping the screen instead of the shutter release. Even without that last option, taking pictures is much easier than with the iPhone's default app, since you can trigger the shutter by tapping anywhere within a huge band at the bottom of the screen.
It has a huge assortment of editing tools, 15 in all. You can adjust a photo's exposure level, color temperature, contrast, saturation, sharpening and cropping, as well as perform less common tweaks adding grain and changing the tint of shadows and highlights.
6. SNAPSEED
One of my FAVORITE apps! This little gem is a Google app that has been around since 2011 but most people have never heard of it. This is a great app to use when taking your own photos to use for background images. You can crop, fine tune an image with saturation, highlights and my favorite quality of this app is its ability to filter out shadows and brighten up photos which is a must for sharing photos on Instagram. You can see from these two images how I was able to brighten up the photo and filter out some of the shadows. I love this app and use it daily.
7. CANVA
If you don't want to download images and apps to your phone, you can create your quote photos from your desktop with Canva. There is a free version and a Canva For Work that requires a monthly subscription but there is a wealth of options under the free version. I have used Canva for 3 years and never needed to pay for options.
You can pull your imagery from stock photo websites and upload them into Canva and add your text to them. Its very user friendly with tons of templates and designs to choose from. You will be a bona fide graphic designer in no time.
ADDING QUOTES
Once you have your images chosen you are ready to add words and quotes to them.
If you love writing, you can come up with your own quotes to put on your images. This is a great way to set yourself apart from the masses.
CREATIVE TIPS & TRICKS
Ensure that the images you use are crisp clean images. You don't want pixelated or fuzzy images. Especially on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, your images and photography have to be stellar to get the best results and engagement.
When putting words over images, ensure that you use the filter option on your app to darken the image. You don't want your words and the photography competing with each other. If you are going to use a dark text you need to lighten the images up. If you are going to use a light text you need to darken the images. Ensure that the fonts and font color you use on your images are consistent for the best results. In others words don't use a pink font on one image, blue font on another image, green font on another one. CONSISTENCY IS KEY.
Be sure to water mark your images so as the image is shared it is driving traffic back to you and your website. You can have a logo made for your images. Etsy is a great place to find affordable logo designers. On my Creative Brandista images I add my website in a pretty cursive font. Whatever you choose STAY CONSISTENT in order to achieve brand cohesiveness.
SOCIAL SHARING
Once you have played around with your images and created a consistent look for your brand, you are ready to share your images with the world. You can share them to Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest (one of my quote photos has been shared on Pinterest more than 60K times!) Images like this are a fun way to inspire and give value to others while driving traffic back to you and your brand.
There you have it, my best tips for creating brand imagery! Would love to hear your thoughts so be sure to leave me a quick comment. xo
