Anyone can now be a graphic designer with Fotojet

I am pretty much a novice when it comes to photo editing or creating cool designs, I have tried using Adobe Creative Cloud (was a bit more than I needed and is more suitable for real designers) and of course Microsoft Paint (very basic and did what thought I needed).

Now here I am trying out Fotojet (a cloud-based photo editing and design solution) as I was looking for that little bit extra in images that I was using for my blog.  I no longer wanted to settle with just putting text over a photo or using stock images from the likes of Adobe or Shutterstock, I needed to create my own unique pictures to support the image of my growing blog.

So, what is Fotojet?

Fotojet is a web-based solution (with a great-looking GUI) that allows you to create graphic designs, make photo collages and edit photos, I signed up for a free account using my Facebook credentials.   I found it easy to use with an Intuitive set up and plenty of templates already included, to get those creative juices flowing. 

Along with the free version, there is a “plus” addition for around $35USD per annum that gives you access to all the design features and templates Fotojet has to offer without the need to download anything, it’s all browser-based.  There are three products from Fotojet that allow you to either edit photos, create awesome designs or make collages:

Editing photos:

There is a plethora of features that you can apply to your photos, ranging from the usual editing capability to adding clip art or picture frames and overlays.  I particularly liked using clip art and overlays to add a certain uniqueness to my photos, that I could then publish on my blog.

Creating designs:

Basically, heaps of templates (or you can add in your own photos if needed) that give you the basics to create your own unique graphic designs. I liked the broad range of templates available, that cover all manner of topics, such as business, fitness, social media, posters and travel.

Making collages:

Here you can make photo collages interesting by creating your very own comic strip (with your family pictures) or adding your head on to Captain America’s body or even going all arty.

Fotojet and blogging

I am definitely going to use Fotojet so that I can continue to create new unique and engaging graphics and pictures for my blog, it sure beats using Microsoft Paint!!!  The only down side (albeit minor) I found was with the size of the file created, they we around the 10MB mark, which as you know with blogging you need to keep you images small so they can be rendered quickly on your blog site. 

That said, all I had to do was use a web based image optimising tool, such as Optimizilla which reduced the file down to 1MB and with further optimisation using WP Smush I got that down to around 400KB.  Fotojet is also very American centric so it would be good to see other country-specific templates or clip art made available.

Now it’s up to you, so go create…or at least give Fotojet a go……