In a previous article, I talked about the importance of a clear and visually appealing project page:
“Overall consistency in layout (color, font, image size) and information is important when creating a Kickstarter page that attracts people’s attention. Cluttered pages with confusing, poorly presented, or too much information can discourage individuals who come across a Kickstarter page from wanting to keep reading further.”
Simply put, attractive images and clear, easy-to-read fonts build better rapport than unprofessional content on your page, especially if it looks like it was just thrown together carelessly.
There are countless resources available online and software tools that you can download that will help you create header font, banners, and edit images for your crowdfunding project. A lot of these tools are available for free, but there are also quality paid options available if you are looking for more functionality and power. In my experience, most programs are simple to learn and use and can save a lot of time.
Here are 9 resources that I’ve compiled for creating great text and images for your crowdfunding page. Let me know if you decide to use any in a comment below!
1. Pixabay
Pixabay offers, “Free high quality images you can use anywhere.” This site has a large collection of pictures, drawings, and vectors. When putting together a crowdfunding page it should look at nice as possible, and services like Pixabay can help save you time because you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement. These images can be used to create banners, ads, etc.
2. GIMP
GIMP is a GNU Image Manipulation program that has a wide range of available functions. A few of the features include tools for fixing photo distortion (which can help make your images look more professional), editable text layers, animation, painting tools, and a lot more. This is another program that will allow creators to make compelling images, banners, etc. to help promote their crowdfunding projects.
3. Dingbatty
Dingbatty is a very fun and capable font generator that can be great for making headings for different sections on your crowdfunding page. It gives a lot of different options, like layering, integrating clip art with your font, flipping and rotating fonts, etc. There are tons of different fonts and icons to choose from and using this tool can be an easy way to make projects stand out.
4. BannerSnack
BannerSnack is a great low-cost tool that you can use to make banners for your Kicstarter or Indiegogo campaign to be displayed on external websites or within your project page. They have a great selection of templates in a variety of standard advertising sizes. Custom banners start at $29/banner. They also have monthly payment options. If you’re looking for a free banner maker, check out this site.
5. Pixlr
Pixlr is a free online photo editor that has a bunch of options to help create professional looking images. It has navigation, layout, and history windows on one side, tools on another, and many drop down menus along the top. Even though there are a lot of advanced options it seems very easy to learn and use.
6. PicMonkey
Described as, “Photo editing made of win,” this service is free and there is no registration required. Some features include editing, collage, design, and touch up. One cool thing about this site is they have tutorials to help people improve different kinds of images – like tips for mastering food photography. They also have different themes, like comic book and natural overlays. There are paid options available with bonus features starting at 9 cents per day.
7. BeFunky
BeFunky is a photo editor and collage maker that is available on the App Store and Google Play. There is a free basic version as well as premium and professional versions. This service is cool because they also create a sense of community by featuring their users in Superstar, NoteWorthy, Featured, and Hottest sections and in the BeFunky Gallery.
8. FlatIcon
If you need icons to insert in your project page, marketing, or other graphic templates, FlatIcon is a great site that has a database of searchable free vector icons.
“Pick the icons you want, download them into the Download Box and you will get them in a hurry. Priceless! The greatest thing about FlatIcon is that this powerful tool is free. Everybody can get the icons easily, for any kind of project, online or offline.”
9. Adobe Creative Cloud
I remember when Adobe products used to cost an arm and and a leg! Now, you can get access to the “entire collection of creative apps and more” starting at $30/month. This package includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. Although photoshop/illustrator is more complex than a tool like Pixlr, there are lots of online tutorials that you can use to get started!
Conclusion
Each of these services offers a wide range of options for creating images and fonts that can help make your crowdfunding project look more appealing and attract more attention. Many of these sites offer helpful tutorials and guides to help new or inexperienced users learn to edit pictures skillfully. Remember that taking the extra time to make high quality images and fonts makes it a lot more exciting for people checking out your page than others whose pages are plain and boring.
For an example of a project who used creative font and images well check out The uKeg Pressurized Growler for Fresh Beer.
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About the author
Krystine Therriault is the community manager for CrowdCrux and has helped creators with their crowdfunding projects on KickstarterForum.org. She loves learning about new trending projects and dissecting them to bring new tips and information to creators. You can find her on LinkedIn here or Twitter here.
