If you’re anything like me, you won’t have the first clue when it comes to Photoshop.
I once managed to cut half my face off and attach it to my leg using nothing but Adobe. If design isn’t your forte, but you want to make cool graphics, images or text for your blog, allow us to show you the tricks up our sleeve – namely the best online tools to use for your blog: Polyvore, Pinterest, Pixlr, PicMonkey and, just to ruin the run of alliteration (and we do love alliteration here at Best British Bloggers), there’s Wordle.
Polyvore
If you’re a fashion blogger, you’ll no doubt have heard of Polyvore. It’s an online tool that allows you to pull together imagery of clothes in a collage manner, allowing you to add text, graphics and effects. You can pull images from the massive catalogue of clothes Polyvore contains using their (rather unpredictable) search tool, or download the Polyvore browser button to pull images as you search the web. Even if you don’t blog about fashion, the easy to use creator can be utilised to make simply graphics and text for your blog.
We’re sure you’ve heard of Pinterest too, and we’re massive fans of it. So much so, we’ve a full post dedicated to Pinterest coming from Elly in a couple of weeks. Pinterest mad Elly was even featured in Look magazine talking all about it. It’s basically a visual way of collecting and organising cool content you see across the web, and can even help drive traffic to your blog.
Pixlr
A Tumblr and One-Direction-fangirl favourite, Pixlr is a simple photo editor that allows you to add simple effects onto your photos. You can turn your photos into a retro snaps or futuristic photos from space. It can be a bit limited, especially when it comes to cropping photos, but if you’re a fan of the basic yet powerful Instagram, you’ll love this.
PicMonkey
Our newest find, thanks to Violet Posey. A bit like Pixlr, but if Pixlr stretched itself a little bit. With more features, more flexibility, and a weird ‘thinify’ button we’re not too keen on, you might find yourself here more than on Pixlr. It doesn’t have the same cool appeal that Pixlr has, but if it’s substance more than style you need, PicMonkey is the one for you.
Wordle
A presentation favourite for us at BBB. Wordle is a fantastically visual was to display words and word clouds in an engaging manner. You can play around with fonts, sizes and colours, and is perfect for brainstorms or creative ideas. If you’re running a competition on your blog, and want to provide your readers with some inspiration, you won’t go far wrong with Wordle.
What tools do you use for your blog?