Online drag-and-drop image editors have become very popular. They’re exactly what the name suggests: users can drag elements and drop them on an empty canvas to create personal documents, such as resumes, calling cards, and invitations.
But these online image editors are most popular among digital marketers. Online drag-and-drop editors allow them to create graphics they can post on their social media accounts. They can also create advertising materials, such as flyers and posters.
Some examples include Adobe Spark, Crello, and Canva, the latter being the most popular. Canva was founded in 2013. And since then, it has amassed 55 million monthly active users.
Why Brands Love Drag-and-drop Image Editors
There are many reasons to love drag-and-drop image editors online. For one, most of them have free versions. And despite being free, these editors still provide an extensive library of pre-made templates, elements, and fonts.
Some marketers and brands use these editors specifically because of the templates offered by editors. The templates help brands maintain consistency in their digital and print materials.
Lastly, the “drag and drop” concept was created to make things easy for anyone. Take designing a website as an example. Not everyone knows how to code to create an entire page or website for their business. They can hire someone to do it. But drag-and-drop tools help individuals make changes and personalize their online pages without other people’s help.
That said, users don’t need any prior design experience to use drag-and-drop image editors. But experienced designers will still find them useful.
Why Brands Shouldn’t Rely on These Editors
These editors have several benefits. And their popularity is warranted. However, brands shouldn’t rely on these editors when designing social media posts and promotional materials. Here are some reasons why:
- No Download/Usage Cap
Users love drag-and-drop editors because of the readily available resources in them. For example, Canva has a huge library filled with graphics, GIFs, stock photos, and short video clips. There are also various templates users can choose from, whether they’re creating social media graphics, promotional materials, infographics, and so on.
But all the free content in this library can be used by everyone on the platform. Online editors don’t limit the number of times these elements are used.
This can be a disadvantage for brands that rely on online image editors. Different brands’ graphics may turn out to look the same. And as a result, they lose their uniqueness in terms of brand identity and image.
For example, minimalist logos have become very popular. Most of these logos have simple line graphics and text (usually the name of the business). This simplicity can make the logos easier for people to remember. But due to this popularity, so many new businesses have logos that look strikingly identical, defeating the purpose of easier recall.
- Inability to Create Own Elements
One drawback of drag-and-drop image editors is that users can’t create their own graphic elements from scratch. Sure, they can use shapes already available in an editor to create the element they want. But this can still be very limiting.
If someone wants to create their own element, they will have to do that in another interface, such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Thus, in this sense, brands cannot rely solely on online editors. In one way or another, they’ll still have to use other graphics software to create their graphics. And in doing so, they can add something unique to their graphics and stand out from the pack.
- Expertise Still Needed
Thanks to online image editors, anyone can create graphics for brands. But this isn’t always a good thing. To some extent, brands still need to enlist the help of professional graphic designers.
For example, someone who has no experience or background in graphic design will tend to create graphics with aesthetics that appeal to their eyes. But graphics used in marketing should always consider a brand’s target market and audience. And in this case, online image editors cannot replace professional graphic designers.
These designers have experience and have studied their craft. Thus, they have the know-how in creating graphics that fit the brands. Professional graphic designers know to consider not just the aesthetics but also the identity of the brands and the results they want to achieve.
Drag-and-drop image editors are heaven-sent. They help a lot of people and make graphic design more accessible to anyone. But it’s important for brands to not rely on just one image editor. Using different tools will benefit them more and will help them effectively appeal to their audience.