There are plenty of resources out there, but I want to focus on affordable (sometimes free) stock options that can fit your small business budget a bit easier. Websites such as Shutterstock, iStock, Getty, Adobe, and Stocksy are not part of my review due to the higher costs associated with using their imagery.
Fonts, Patterns, Word Art, etc.:
Creative Market is a great resource with member free Monday downloads from WordPress website templates to fonts, patterns, textures, background photos, and more. You load credits into your account to use when you need to purchase an item.
Squijoo is affordable with great collage layouts and word art that is set up in a layered PSD for you to use with your own design files in Adobe Photoshop. Freebies and more are also available on their website. Squijoo is a member subscription site for only $10 a month (at the time of this article).
Unisub.com has its own graphics library with additional resources in the Markets area for fonts and more, all free to use with ChromaLuxe and Unisub hard surface dye-sublimation products. Find more information at www.unisubgraphics.com.
Creative Studio from Sawgrass Ink Systems is a desktop artwork system and library that works with its Virtuoso printers. No additional graphic software is needed. This is included free with full library access with your system purchase. You can find more information here.
Designs from Condé Systems Inc. at www.condedesign.com; the basic common format is 12-by-12-inch vector patterns for $2.99 each to be used within a product template then personalized with a name, photo, or whatnot from your customer. Dig around the site and you’ll find graphics for seasons, occasions, sports, and more.
A Little Extra:
Pixelo: I stumbled across this site on Facebook. This graphic design group is based in India, with a focus on creating files that can be used in the commercial space (this means you and your company). You can find fonts, vector artwork, brushes for Photoshop or Illustrator, and a lot more. Use Facebook to follow various sites for help in finding great promotions or sales offered. The official website is www.pixelo.net.
Bird Design Shop: While this site is aimed at professional photographers, it has a lot of great resources you can use for your own business such as online collage banners, type layouts, mug layouts – there are even freebies for Facebook cover photos, as well as nicely designed forms. Remember, your business look should be consistent on all items, even order forms. Visit www.birdesignshop.com for more information.
For commercial-use fonts, try these free sites:
