“I hate free design resources!”
Said no one, ever…
This is why there is a ridiculous amount of free design templates, mockup generators, and other assets online everywhere.
Before you even subscribed to Deer Designer, you probably started out looking for free designs you could use for your brand, didn’t you? Don’t lie now 🤣
But it’s all good. Just because we offer an on-demand design service doesn’t mean we will gatekeep these free design resources from you!
After all, we can also work with those assets and create even better designs for you.
Whether you’re a web developer needing graphics for a new project, a creative agency managing multiple brands, or a business looking for captivating visuals for social media, the use of free graphic design assets can be a game-changer.
In this guide, I’ll show you a bunch of websites that offer high-quality graphic design assets for free.
From fonts and icons to stock photos and vectors, these platforms provide a treasure trove of resources that can elevate your visual content without breaking the bank.
Find your ideal typeface through free fonts.
Fonts help shape the personality and tone of your brand.The right brand font can set the persona for your brand and even showcase your expertise in your field.
With so many options available, choosing the right font can be overwhelming.
Luckily, several websites offer a collection of free fonts for commercial use.
We’ve already written an in-depth article on websites where you can find free fonts and how to use them.
➡️You can read the article about websites to download free fonts here.
But here is a quick list of websites where you can download them:
Google Fonts
With a library of open-source fonts, Google Fonts allows you to easily browse, select, and integrate typography into your projects.
Whether you’re looking for classic serifs, modern sans-serifs, or playful display fonts, Google Fonts has you covered.
DaFont
You may have heard of this site already, as DaFont is a popular platform among designers. They have an extensive collection of user-contributed fonts.
I personally love them!
While not all fonts are completely free for commercial use, many are available under open licenses, making them a valuable resource for finding unique typography.
Font Squirrel
Font Squirrel curates high-quality fonts from various designers and offers them for free download.
They also have other font resources, such as font generators and font identifiers, which can come in handy, especially for digital design.
Offer a seamless web experience with free web icons.
If you do web or app design, icons are a must-have in your tool kit!
They enhance your users’ experience as they scroll through your app, website, or even social media pages.
Instead of having a bunch of text, you can use icons to help users understand where things are and what to do.
As long as you use a cohesive set of icons, it will look less cluttered, more digestible, and more engaging to your users.
There are several websites that offer free icon sets for various purposes:
Flaticon
Flaticon lets you download free icons and stickers for your projects.
They come in multiple file formats, such as PNG, SVG, PSD, and CSS, which makes them easy to use and customizable.
It is also easy to search through their catalog of over 14 million vector icons, as you can filter your search by icon style, pack, animated icons, etc.
They also have a Figma plugin, which makes it super easy to add their icons to your designs while you’re on the app.
Icons8
Icons8 prides itself on being the ultimate design kit for creatives and developers, and they do live up to this.
They have over 1 million free icons in large packs of over 10,000 in different styles.
Having these icons in packs can help you ensure you have a variety of icons that stay consistent in your designs.
Their high-quality icons are already scalable, so you can use them to elevate your visual content across all platforms.
They even have plugins for different graphic design software like Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator, so you can easily add the icons within your graphic design platform of choice as you work.
Font Awesome
While you might think Font Awesome offers free fonts because of their name, they actually offer free icons instead.
They have a catalog of 30,000 icons, and over 2,000 of them are free.
They have 68 icon categories you can choose from, and you can even select the “I’m feeling lucky” option to find random icon recommendations.
Elevate your visual content with free stock images.
People are drawn to images. This is why you will find photos added to websites, social media posts, and even print designs.
It’s even more compelling if you use images of humans that people can relate to.
Having people in your photos is an easy way to capture your audience’s attention and evoke emotion towards your design.
However, producing high-quality photos can be expensive, especially for small businesses and independent creators.
Thankfully, several platforms offer stunning stock photos for free, allowing you to easily enhance your visual content.
Unsplash
Unsplash offers high-resolution photos contributed by photographers worldwide.
With a vast and diverse collection spanning various themes and subjects, Unsplash provides an endless supply of visually striking images for your projects.
They offer unlimited downloads and full legal protection for these images to be used in personal and commercial projects.
They also make it easy to browse through the different categories on their site.
Pexels
Pexels has a curated collection of free stock photos from talented photographers.
With a focus on quality and diversity, Pexels offers high-resolution images across a wide range of categories, from nature and landscapes to technology and business.
Other than the standard search bar, you can browse through popular collections and photography topics to find the photos you need.
Pixabay
Pixabay hosts a vast library of royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos that you can use for your designs.
Whether you’re looking for stunning landscapes, vibrant cityscapes, or professional business imagery, Pixabay offers an extensive selection of high-quality visuals for any project you’re working on.
They have over 4 million free stock images, videos, and music.
You can browse through their site through categories, see the editor’s choice collection, or look at the trending photos on their site.
No illustrator? You can get creative with free vector illustrations.
Vector illustrations are scalable, editable graphics ideal for a wide range of design projects, including logos, illustrations, and infographics.
However, creating vectors from scratch takes a specific design skill set and can be time-consuming.
While it is best to hire a designer or illustrator to create your custom vector illustrations, you can still get creative with the free illustrations online.
Several websites offer free vector resources, such as:
Freepik
Freepik has a vast collection of free resources for personal and commercial use.
They make it easy to discover and download vectors tailored to your specific needs.
They also regularly curate their recommended assets, so it’s easier to find relevant and seasonal vector illustrations.
With an intuitive search feature and flexible licensing options, Freepik empowers designers to find and use high-quality vectors with ease.
Vectee*zy
Vectee*zy hosts a diverse library of vector graphics contributed by artists from around the world.
From intricate patterns and decorative elements to sleek icons and illustrations, Vectee*zy provides a wealth of free vectors to enhance your designs.
They have different vector categories to choose from with different formats, styles, colors, and textures.
Vector Stock
As the name suggests, this site offers free vector images.
Vector Stock offers a wide range of vector graphics, including illustrations, icons, and patterns, available for free download.
They have over 1 million free vectors on their site, with multiple licensing options.
Empower your brand with free graphic design resources.
Whether you need fonts to convey your brand’s personality, icons to enhance the user experience of your site, stock photos to evoke emotions, or vectors to create eye-catching graphics.
The websites I mentioned above offer an abundance of resources to suit your every design need.
At Deer Designer, we understand the importance of cohesive branding and captivating design.
While free graphic design assets are invaluable resources, they’re just the beginning of what’s possible.
Our team of experienced designers is here to help you bring your vision to life, ensuring that every aspect of your brand—from your website and marketing materials to your social media presence—is polished, professional, and perfectly aligned with your brand identity.
Ready to take your brand to the next level?
Contact us today to learn more about our on-demand design services and how we can help you unlock the full potential of your brand through strategic and creative design solutions.
Key Takeaways
- Fonts can help create the tone and personality of your brand.
- You can get free fonts from sites like Google Fonts, DaFont, and Font Squirrel, either completely free or with an open license.
- Icons are a must-have for web and app design as they help guide your users.
- You can get free icons in multiple formats, like PNG, SVG, and CSS, from sites like Flaticon, Icons8, and Font Awesome.
- You can use photos to grab attention and evoke emotion in your audience.
- While it can be expensive to produce your own photos, you can get free stock photos from sites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay.
- Having an illustrator customize your illustrations is still the best option, but you can still get creative with free illustrations.
- You can get free, scalable vector illustrations from sites like Freepik, Vectee*zy, and Vector Stock.
- Free assets are just the beginning. When you have a team of experienced designers, they can take your designs to a different level and make sure your marketing materials stay cohesive, polished, and professional.
