Best 2022 Graphic Design Resources You Need As A Pro

Now and then graphic designers are always seeking new ways to create stunning designs that give jaw-dropping experiences to viewers and the only way to achieve that is by using various graphic design resources that we can find at our disposal.

These resources sometimes aren’t easy to find and if you are lucky to find them for free, they will likely be bootleg versions which might lead you to serious copyright trouble or even be of poor quality.

But today I’m gonna be giving you these resources and links for where you can find them for free and also premium/paid resources as well, attribution may be required after download. Let’s jump right in.

Stock Images

Unsplash

Images are crucial as long as graphic design is concerned, without images, our design tends to be boring. With Unsplash, you could get high-resolution images that are ready for use for any kind of design project.

Cool Images are uploaded daily from photographers around the globe and they are copyright-free. All you have to do is to show a kindful act of attribution to the creators.

Pexels

Pexels is personally my second favorite go-to place for free stock photos.  Whether you are just starting out as a self-taught graphic designer or a freelancer that can’t afford premium stock photos,  Pexles is a go-to place for your free high-quality imagery. besides, make sure you check out our 13 simple self-taught graphic design tips to help give you a jump start on your career.

The search bar at the top helps you narrow your search down to the intended images you are searching for and in no time, thousands of results are shown for you to make your choice.

Pixabay

Pixabay is another great place for free stock photos, they offer free HD and 4k high-quality images that can be used for any of your design projects. They have great stock images for nature, businesses, technology and so many more.

Vecteezy

Having trouble finding the right stock images with worry-free licensing, this site is the right place for you. Vecteezy is loaded with millions of design resources, ranging from vectors, videos, and HD images, all of which you can download for free.

Rawpixel

Rawpixel is one great spot when it comes to finding diverse graphic design resources for your next project. They have not just stock images that you can download for free but also PSDs, PNGs, Vector illustrations, and stickers.

They have made it easy for all designers to be able to achieve a seamless nature of workflow with their resources

Gratisography

Not all stock photo sites do what this company does. We are used to the normal type of stock images with a lady putting on a smiling face, a handsome guy making use of his computer, a desk with various gadgets, you know what I’m talking about already.

But, gratisography isn’t aimed at those kinds of images, they specialize in quirky, goofy, and unusual types of images that you won’t find anywhere. However, they can’t compare themselves with Unsplash or Pexels in terms of quantity. What they aim at achieving is bringing you the best of quirky stock images.

Textures

Brusheezy

Brusheezy is like an arsenal where graphic designers go to find various kinds of graphic design resources. Textures are one of them, with their library filled with millions of textures that have been sorted out categorically for easy discovery.  Graphic design is not hard, the problem is that you haven’t got the right texture for your design projects you can find grunge textures, splash textures, brick textures, plastic textures, and many more here.

Texturepalace

In my free time as a graphic designer, I do browse the web randomly for graphic design resources hoping to find a treasure box of free resources. Fortunately, I stumbled upon this cool website owned by a fellow graphic designer by the name“Sab” and he does a good job by uploading free textures for people to download for free

He has over 2600 free high-quality textures that are ready for download.

Texturelib

Looking for a simple website you can navigate easily and find whatever texture you are seeking with a click of a few buttons? Then texturelib does the job.

Thousands of free textures can be found in their various categories which hold quite a handful of cool textures that can be downloaded for zero cost.

We.graphics

Thousands of design resources can be found on this site and textures are one of them. Design resources have been listed out in subsets which makes them easy for you to find. 

Textures that have been created by top-tier experienced graphic designers. Most items can be downloaded for free but premium items are for users who would pay a little extra.

Unsplash(textures)

We all know when it comes to graphic design resources, Unsplash is the go-to place for free stock images but guess what? It is also loaded with free high-quality textures. Go check it out and see what you can find for your next project.

Freepik

As much as they have millions of diverse graphic design contents ranging from icons, PNGs, and vector art/illustration, freepik has always been backing up graphic designers with amazing high-quality textures resources. 

Started way back in 2019 and now they have over 4.5million graphics assets ready for free download.

Mockup

free-mockup

A mockup is a great tool for showcasing the realistic appearance of how a design will look in a real-world scenario. With a mockup, we could see how a coffee brand logo would look on a billboard or signage at the front of the coffee store. 

Free-mockup has one of the best libraries filled with millions of free mockups. You can find mockups for business or your graphic design portfolio update.

Unblast

Unblast is another place where you could get thousands of free mockups. Their team of experts has carefully curated the best collection of mockups from around the world in one place. 

However, while browsing through their mockup library you also would see premium mockups that can’t afford to be missed even if they cost a few bucks.

While mockup is the primary objective of this section, it will interest you to also know that they provide you with extra resources like fonts, templates, Icons, and 3D models.

Mockuptree

As the name describes it “mockuptree”, it’s indeed a tree of mockups because all that concerns this site is strictly mockups on different types of surfaces and environments. These sites could handle all your mockup matters and it’s all free.

All mockups have been categorized in their various types for easy access.  Over 18,000+ mockups are ready to be downloaded for free.

PNGs(Transparent files)

Pngwings

This site has the right stuff for you if you are looking for a free png spot. Most sites sell out their good quality png file for a certain price, while pngwings has made it free for you to download. Clear cutout png objects with no jagged edges that are going to serve you well for your next design project.

Pngtree

Before now, pngtree was my go-to place for free png files. Undoubtedly they are loaded with awesome png files that would push your design game to the next level but, the little problem they have is allowing you to download just one png file daily for free, any additional download will require you to purchase a premium account.

So, if you’ve been searching the big web for a particular png resource, try out png tree, they could have what you are searching for but you are only allowed to download just one file daily for free.

Kindpng

When you couldn’t find that desired png on a particular site, you keep seeking and with your fingers crossed, hoping you will find one on the next site that you will visit(I know that feeling). Well, kindpng has got a surprise package for you. They always have that png you mostly won’t find on other sites.

Kindpng is always a lifesaver when it comes download to rare high-quality png files that are easily not found anywhere.

Pngarts

Save yourself the stress and the time consumption by just visiting this site for your free png resources, pngarts have almost everything that can be cut out. They have a neatly categorized library of free png files that touches almost every aspect you could think of – animals, automobiles, WWE stars, nature and so many more.

Inspiration

Pinterest

Sometimes you get stuck in the brainstorming process, sometimes we even turn out with the worst graphic design mistakes. This happens when you are just practicing or maybe when working on a client’s project that you have been finding difficult to figure out what design approach you should use in achieving the client’s taste. Pinterest is one of those places you should visit for ideas and inspiration. Personally, it is my number one go-to place when I run out of ideas.

Pinterest has inspirations for many niches. However graphic design or visual art is one outstanding niche amongst all.

Inspirations for logo design, poster design, flyers, photoshop quick art, tips & tricks, and so many more.

Behance

Behance has been in the inspirational game for over a decade, launched in 2005, and was acquired by Adobe for $150 million in December 2012 as part of the company. Behance is one of the best places on earth you can find all that concerns graphic design inspirations.

Having over 38 million images of the inspiration content, you won’t be let down with whatever you search for that concerns graphic design.

You can find amazing portfolio works that are stocked with graphic design illustration, fashion, photography, advertising, fine arts, game design, and much more.

Dribbble

Dribbble serves as a self-promoting platform for creatives and designers who showcase their works using their portfolios. With millions of ideas uploaded every day, be sure to get mesmerized by design inspirations from geniuses.

Graphic design inspirations like flyers, posters, business, 3D design, illustrations, web design and so many more.

Hopefully, with this list of the various resources and where you can find them, you can start your design project without hassle.  Please feel free to share where we could also find other good graphic design resources that we have missed mentioning in this article.

SVGs & Icons

Vectorwiki

Vectorwiki is a fast uprising depository of various graphic design resources like SVGs, logos, and icons that can be used for design projects in photoshop, adobe illustrator, and even website design. You are guaranteed copyright-free usage of any element you intend to download from vectorwiki.

With their clean alphabetically curated category of logos that are updated on daily basis, you will be sure to find any logo you are looking for with just a few clicks.

Additionally, users could freely add up to the vectorwiki depository by uploading their custom logos, SVG, and icon tagged with a link to their website for easy referencing.