CM: Create effective visuals from your smartphone

For several years, our smartphones have become much more than just smartphones. In addition to the assistant, they also became one great tools for creatives. Their power is getting closer and closer to that of certain computers, but above all the simplicity and ergonomics of the applications which makes the difference. And in this they become an undeniable resource for Community Managers.

I still use the Adobe package, but in recent months, and for the first time in years, I’ve seen other solutions appear that could shake up the graphics and video giant. So much so that the need to cancel my Creative Cloud subscription tickles my mind. Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo are excellent desktop products and deserve our attention. The license costs around €40, the software belongs to you, they are available on PC and Mac and benefit from regular updates.

Anyway, back to our topic. So I was talking to you about cell phones and applications. Now, I often take out my phone when I need to do something image to accompany a blog article or simply to create an image for Instagram. Here are three graphics applications that I use every day.

Above

I mention it first because it is one of the applications I use the most. It also offers features that others don’t have. The app is free, but in-app purchases are available to expand the number of characters or add visual elements. As for images, you have access to the free libraries Unsplash and Pixabay. The photos are of good quality, it’s just that sometimes it’s complicated to find exactly the one you need.

You have templates adapted to the formats of different social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Linkedin, etc.) and others to the screen sizes of different devices (iPhone, Watch, 16:9, etc.). When you create a new image, you can choose a background, which you will draw from your personal library (the app distinguishes between jpg and png, which is handy for finding a transparent logo for example), in Unsplash, Pixabay or Google Images. Traditional filters are present, but there are also a number of image editing tools: colorimetric adjustments, size, shading, opacity, rotation, blur, tint, mask, etc.

The “tint” function, for example, is absolutely essential for me. It is the only application in this selection that allows you to integrate a PNG logo onto a background and, moreover, thanks to this function, you will be able to change the color of the logo or your PNG, to integrate it perfectly into your image. Other apps let you edit a PNG, but the edges get pixelated or blurry. Over does it correctly.

You have Artwork, often for a fee, which are small objects, shapes, texts to enhance your images. It’s not always easy to find what you need, especially since libraries charge a fee. In fact, Over might be my favorite app if its text features were more advanced. You can do everything, change fonts, size, colors, align, etc., but on this specific point Adobe Spark wins the prize. I often start an image on an application and finish it on Over, only to neatly add my logo.

Canvas

Who doesn’t know Canva? The site has been used by community managers for quite some time. It must be admitted that it is the precursor and that it is particularly well made. Pre-existing, but editable images allow the less creative, hastier and less graphic designers among us to quickly compose professional images.

Canva recently got its own app on iOS for iPhone and iPad. No big mystery, we find the site’s features adapted to the size of a mobile phone screen. What is particularly nice, just like for Spark below, is that once connected, we find all the images created on the site or app on the application. You can launch an image on your phone and resume it on your computer a few minutes later.

The formats offered are numerous, including most social networks, posters, templates for your blog, postcards, flyers, invitations, etc. The application is really rich. As for photos, you will have free (Unsplash) and paid access (the price of each item is $1). Layouts, ready-made images with photos and text, save you time when you need to quickly create an image or are not sure of yourself. Once again, some images are free, others are paid (at the single price of 1 dollar). If you know the site you will not be disoriented. The interface has been intelligently designed and adapted.

SparkPost

Adobe launched such an application this year. Just like Canva, you can use it from the website on your computer or from the app on your phone. You find your images from one platform to another, which is very convenient.

Even in this case at the end we find common features: templates, access to free image banks, titles, etc. But this is Adobe and we needed to stand out. Then, when you choose an image, you can draw from your Lightroom library for photographers. This avoids switching back and forth between applications. Very practical.

Spark also offers ready-to-edit images, organized by theme: seasonal, craft, business, travel, food, and lifestyle. The images offered are of quality and also serve to show all the richness of the application. It’s also difficult to make a visual misstep as the app guides you. In fact, when you choose a background image, Spark immediately offers you a color palette for your texts and graphic elements. Very useful for using colors that work together.

Of this small selection, this is the app that offers the craziest and most creative text layouts. It is extremely pleasant to use and we enjoy testing the different possibilities offered, both by selecting different options in the menus, or by simply rotating a sort of wheel that allows you to scroll through very different text styles. Finally, you can animate the elements of your graphic composition and export everything as a video or animated gif.

Conclusion

There are dozens of other apps like this but I wanted to limit this selection to the apps I actually use and return to most often. Our smartphones are real work tools and I often create images in lost moments, on public transport or in a waiting room.

And you ? Do you use your smartphone all day to create images? What apps do you use on a daily basis?