People are feeling the pressure to have high-quality imagery on their websites and promotional materials now more than ever. The competition amongst businesses to publicly display professional-looking graphics and photography is tough and it can be incredibly expensive to hire people outside your current team to create these important elements. Not only is it crucial to have these professional graphics and photographs, but it can ultimately be detrimental if you do not.
A lot of small businesses suffer because of unprofessional-looking websites, cheesy stock imagery, and dated, pixelated photography. Why are they experiencing this hardship? Because at the end of the day, customers in 2021 (phew!) are looking for top-of-the-line, quality services, and the first thing that catches their eye is aesthetically pleasing photos and graphics. If your website can’t hold the attention of a potential customer, or your promotional materials are collecting dust instead of being picked up and read, all because of dated imagery, then it’s time for a (figurative) facelift.
And that’s where we come in! We’ve combined the best, actually free design resources for you to reference in 2021. Because we’re here for you, and we want to see you succeed. We’re talking about free high-quality mockups, illustrations, icons, and more! So use us as your guide to staying on budget this year with these freebies.
Stock Images
Pexels: Say goodbye to cheesy stock photos, and hello to quality imagery! Pexels is made up of a community of creators who donate their work for everyone to download and enjoy.
Unsplash (or old reliable as we like to call it): Easily one of our favorite resources for quality photography that doesn’t have that “stocky” feel. With over 200k creative contributors and more than 2 million photos, you should be able to find the perfect photo – no matter the category.
StockSnap: We’re talking high-quality photography, that’s updated weekly. Head on over and take a look at what’s trending, or use their search feature to browse through thousands of images.
Illustrations
A collection of hand-drawn vector illustrations and icon packs that is updated weekly. They’ll even update you once a week with their newest collection.
Lukasz Adam Illustrations
Take a look at these unique, hand-crafted illustrations by artist Lukasz Adam. He’s got a combination of free illustrations available to download and use on any project.
Undraw
Pursue a variety of vector illustrations from a multitude of categories. Undraw has the unique capability to enter your own HEX color to change the illustration to match your brand.
Icons
The Noun Project
This comprehensive collection of over 2 million icons and photos are created by a community of designers from over 120 countries and are available for free use.
Animaticons
This set of animated GIF icons are customizable and small in file size so they work everywhere without the use of additional software or plugins needed. Simply download the images and start using them in your emails, websites, and presentations.
We’re talking premium, clean icons built by the Ionic Framework team. Use these icons to add special details to your sites where you need to break up paragraphs of text.
Fonts
This huge database of fonts are completely free! Simply peruse by the categories they have available, or by your own search, and then download the font you want to use.
An extensive database of unique fonts to download and use freely. Take a look at these typefaces hand-selected by the Font Squirrel creative team.
Not only are the fonts stunning, but the website is too. These high-quality typefaces from accomplished designers won’t disappoint.
Videos
MixKit
These license-free videos and animations are great small-file clips to be used to support your website, social media graphics, or larger video projects.
This collection of videos, clips, and loops are displayed on a uniquely made website that’s fun to explore. Available for download for free and commercial use.
Need drone footage? They’ve got you covered. Motion graphics? Got those too! Music and sound effects? You betcha! Visit their site and take a look at all they have to offer.
MockUps
A wide variety of beautiful, easy-to-use, product mockups to impress all your customers (current and future) without having to pay a hefty price to do it.
Need beautiful mockups on a variety of screens? Say no more! Upload your screenshots, select the device you need, and download your completed mockup!
Take a look at over 700 templates to create realistic mockups without the use of design software. Their useful categories make it easy to find exactly what you need.
Thanks for exploring our guide of the best free design resources to use in 2021! We’re dedicated to continually provide you with free design resources to keep you and your business front of mind with your current and future customers. This list of free design resources not enough? Check out our services here.
About Lazarus Design Team
Drawing from deep pools of talent, our team consists of a unique fusion of creatives and entrepreneurs. We pride ourselves in growing brands. We start by designing an amazing website that converts visitors into customers. Then we build out a digital marketing strategy that drives your audience to your high-converting website.
What makes us stand out from typical digital marketing agencies and web designers is that we build your entire digital marketing funnel from beginning to end as your ‘in-house marketing team.’ Meaning, we are a tight-knit team that learns your business and focuses on your growth.
