This blog is brought to you by Gigi Morrison, Junior Creative Director at Girlilla Marketing.

If your TikTok FYP looks anything like mine (it doesn’t), every other targeted ad is hawking a new design platform, a new font library, a new stock photo database, or—worst of all—a new photo editing app. (PLEASE leave the saturation on your photos alone; your friends think you have jaundice.)

In the era of “there’s an app for that!” I’ve often found myself testing out Temu-grade AI generators and Photoshop rip-offs that promise to be the last creative software I’ll ever use. But amidst a sea of unoriginal apps and overpriced subscriptions, a choice few have solidified themselves in my process as essential.

‍The Programs:

Canva
As an Adobe purist, I turned my nose up at Canva for years. I’m just as shocked as you to go on record and say Canva is not only fantastic but essential to my workflow. When it comes to team-wide collaboration, templatizing posts, and seamlessly incorporating client branding, Canva does it all. Everyone is a designer at some level, and Canva provides an unintimidating space to exercise that muscle.

CapCut
Specifically, CapCut Desktop. With built-in filters, templates, and effects, CapCut is both versatile and user-friendly. The desktop version includes a very intuitive keyframing system that allows for simple motion animation. The “Spaces” function allows multiple users across accounts to pass editable files back and forth. Pure magic!

Procreate
Procreate is my favorite creative software that exists. I have a Wacom tablet and have spent countless hours designing and illustrating in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. It doesn’t come close to the user experience of Procreate. The diversity and quality of brushes included in the base software is shocking. A tablet with Procreate installed is a must-have for every creative team.
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‍The Subscriptions:

Creative Market
Do you ever see trendy, aesthetically pleasing graphics and think, “How do they do it?” The answer is Creative Market. The best fonts, textures, icons, and mockups I’ve found all come from this site. The licensing is very straightforward and works on a per-seat basis. A monthly subscription to the site lets you license a couple of new fonts or assets per month, allowing you to constantly expand your library.

Motion Array
My Motion Array subscription has been worth its weight in gold. The site boasts a significant library of presets, templates, sound FX, music, stock footage, and photos. My favorite LUTs all come from this site.‍

Adobe Stock
I’m currently on the rocks with this subscription due to the sheer volume of AI assets the search engine shoves in your face. However, you can filter the search engine to exclude generative AI. While Adobe’s stock library is generic, it is also expansive and reliable.

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The Platforms:

Pinterest
Girl, get off TikTok and scroll through Pinterest. Trend analysts have tracked a direct correlation between what trends on Pinterest and what trends in culture (source). I constantly use Pinterest for mood boards and creative inspiration. If your client likes Pinterest, you can invite them to collaborate on a mood board, giving them ownership in the creative process from the jump.

YouTube
You can literally learn anything on YouTube. There are a wealth of content creators making instructional videos for the Adobe programs, Canva, Procreate, CapCut, and every other software out there. Learning is paramount to maintaining consistent growth in your practice. Watch a YouTube video on your lunch break about incorporating texture into your Canva graphics, and go make your creative director’s day. You can thank me later.

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The Freebies:

Pexels
Pexels has thousands of trendy, aesthetically pleasing stock images free for commercial use. What’s crazier is they also have heaps of stock footage, which tends to be much pricier than stock photos.

Picryl
Picryl is a fascinating database of public-domain photo and video. I can’t vouch for what you’ll stumble across on there, but if you’re looking for a photo from 1957 of a cat drinking scotch in dapper evening wear, you’ll find it here.

(Brooke Shields Stop Motion Animation. Designed in Photoshop. Animated in After Effects. Background photo assets sourced from Pexels & Picryl)

Gatekeeping is lame, and collaboration is pure magic. I hope this list inspires you to try something new or improves your practice in some way. Now get out there and make something! (Unless you plan to go crank the saturation on some photos. In that case, hop on YouTube and watch this for all of our sake. <3)

For more information on our creative capabilities, check out our creative reel, and don’t hesitate to reach out.

Stay funky,
Gigi

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