{"category":{"slug":"design-tools-for-non-designers","label":"Design tools for non-designers"},"methodology_url":"https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology","license":"Free to use with attribution to orbator.io","date":"2026-09-01","engine":null,"available_dates":["2026-09-02","2026-09-01","2026-08-13","2026-08-12","2026-07-29","2026-07-25","2026-07-23","2026-07-22","2026-07-08","2026-07-07","2026-06-21","2026-06-20","2026-06-17"],"policy":{"quotable_engines":["anthropic","openai","gemini"],"max_excerpt_chars":400,"full_text_public":false,"customer_runs_public":false,"full_text_retention":"retained at least 24 months, then operator review","notes":["Only Index category runs are archived publicly — customer scans never appear.","The quotable unit is a short excerpt of at most 400 characters, never the full answer.","Engines outside the verbatim allowlist are recorded as having answered, with the excerpt withheld under their terms.","Prompt intent is published; the prompt text itself is not."]},"status":"ok","count":24,"limit":50,"truncated":false,"engines":[{"engine":"gemini","count":8,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For individuals without prior graphic design experience, several intuitive and user-friendly tools are available to help create professional-looking visuals. These tools often feature extensive template libraries, drag-and-drop interfaces, and AI-powered assistance to simplify the design process.\n\nSome of the best design tools for non-designers and beginners include:\n\n*   **Canva:** Widely regarde","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":377,"end":382,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For marketers and business owners without design experience, Canva is widely considered the best easy-to-use visual design platform. It's often recommended as the top choice due to its intuitive interface, extensive template library, and drag-and-drop functionality.\n\nKey features that make Canva ideal for non-designers include:\n*   **User-Friendly Interface:** Canva is known for being extremely ea","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":61,"end":66,"name":"Canva"},{"start":291,"end":296,"name":"Canva"},{"start":363,"end":368,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For beginners looking to create social media graphics, presentations, and marketing materials, several user-friendly design tools offer intuitive interfaces, extensive templates, and helpful features. The top recommendations consistently include Canva and Adobe Express, with other notable options like Snappa, Visme, and Microsoft Designer also being excellent choices.\n\nHere's a breakdown of beginn","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":246,"end":251,"name":"Canva"},{"start":256,"end":269,"name":"Adobe Express"},{"start":303,"end":309,"name":"Snappa"},{"start":311,"end":316,"name":"Visme"},{"start":322,"end":340,"name":"Microsoft Designer"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"For non-designers seeking simpler alternatives to professional software, several user-friendly tools offer intuitive interfaces, extensive template libraries, and drag-and-drop functionality to create a variety of visual content. These tools are ideal for tasks like social media graphics, presentations, infographics, and basic marketing materials.\n\nSome of the most highly recommended design tools","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"For individuals who find professional design tools overwhelming, several beginner-friendly alternatives offer intuitive interfaces, template-based workflows, and simplified features to help create professional-looking designs.\n\nHere are some excellent design software alternatives for beginners:\n\n**Overall Graphic Design & Social Media Content:**\n\n*   **Canva** is frequently recommended as a top ch","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":162,"end":172,"name":"Simplified"},{"start":355,"end":360,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"There are distinct tradeoffs between design tools for non-designers and professional design software, primarily revolving around ease of use, functionality, learning curve, cost, and the level of control and precision offered. The choice between them often depends on the user's skill level, specific project needs, and desired outcome.\n\n**Design Tools for Non-Designers**\n\nThese tools are developed","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"Creating professional-looking graphics for your business without hiring a designer is achievable with user-friendly tools and a grasp of basic design principles. By leveraging readily available resources and adopting a strategic approach, you can produce high-quality visuals that effectively represent your brand.\n\nHere's how to create professional graphics for your business:\n\n**1. Define Your Bran","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[]},{"engine":"gemini","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For a small business owner looking to create their own marketing materials, user-friendly and affordable design tools are crucial. Two of the most highly recommended options are Canva and Adobe Express. Both offer free plans and paid tiers with expanded features, making them accessible for businesses with varying budgets and design needs.\n\nHere's a breakdown of top recommendations:\n\n**1. Canva**\n*","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":178,"end":183,"name":"Canva"},{"start":188,"end":201,"name":"Adobe Express"},{"start":391,"end":396,"name":"Canva"}]}]},{"engine":"openai","count":8,"withheld":false,"answers":[{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"If you have little or no graphic-design experience, the best tools are ones that give you strong templates, sensible defaults, and simple drag-and-drop editing.\n\n- Canva — Best overall. Very easy to learn and excellent for social posts, presentations, flyers, posters, resumes, thumbnails, and simple marketing materials. Templates do much of the design work for you.\n\n- Adobe Express — Best Canva al","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":164,"end":169,"name":"Canva"},{"start":371,"end":384,"name":"Adobe Express"},{"start":392,"end":397,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"Canva is generally the best fit. It’s an easy-to-use visual design platform built for marketers, small-business owners, and other non-designers.\n\nIt offers drag-and-drop editing and templates for social posts, presentations, ads, flyers, videos, logos, and other marketing materials.","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":0,"end":5,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":"For beginners creating social media graphics, presentations, flyers, ads, and other marketing materials, these are some of the strongest options right now:\n\n- Canva — Best overall for beginners. Its template-first editor is easy to learn and covers social posts, presentations, videos, and marketing collateral. It also includes collaboration, brand tools, scheduling/publishing, and AI-assisted crea","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":159,"end":164,"name":"Canva"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"If you want design tools that are much easier than professional software like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, or Figma, these are good categories to look at:\n\n- Canva — probably the easiest all-purpose option. Great for presentations, social graphics, flyers, posters, simple videos, and marketing materials.\n- Adobe Express — similarly beginner-friendly, particularly useful if you already use Ado","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":115,"end":120,"name":"Figma"},{"start":163,"end":168,"name":"Canva"},{"start":313,"end":326,"name":"Adobe Express"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":"If professional tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, or Blender feel overwhelming, there are simpler alternatives depending on what you want to design:\n\n- Canva — easiest all-around option for social graphics, presentations, flyers, posters, and simple branding. Lots of templates and relatively little setup.\n- Adobe Express — beginner-friendly graphics, social posts, flyers, and quick photo/v","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":51,"end":56,"name":"Figma"},{"start":160,"end":165,"name":"Canva"},{"start":317,"end":330,"name":"Adobe Express"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":"The main tradeoff is accessibility versus control. Tools for non-designers optimize for getting to a good-looking result quickly; professional design software optimizes for giving a skilled user precise control over what that result can be.\n\n- Learning curve: Canva-style tools use templates, presets, snapping, and constrained choices. Professional tools such as Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, or In","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":260,"end":265,"name":"Canva"},{"start":364,"end":369,"name":"Figma"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":"You can create professional-looking business graphics yourself without becoming a designer. The key is to use a simple visual system rather than designing each graphic from scratch.\n\nA practical approach:\n\n- Pick one design tool and stick with it. Canva is generally approachable for social posts, presentations, flyers, and basic marketing materials. Adobe Express is another accessible option; Figm","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":248,"end":253,"name":"Canva"},{"start":352,"end":365,"name":"Adobe Express"}]},{"engine":"openai","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":"For most small business owners, Canva is the best starting point.\n\n- Canva — Best overall. Very easy to learn, with templates for social posts, flyers, menus, business cards, presentations, signage, and more.\n- Adobe Express — Good alternative if you already use Adobe products or want stronger integration with Photoshop/Adobe assets.\n- VistaCreate — Similar template-driven approach to Canva and wo","excerpt_withheld":false,"withheld_reason":null,"highlights":[{"start":32,"end":37,"name":"Canva"},{"start":69,"end":74,"name":"Canva"},{"start":211,"end":224,"name":"Adobe Express"},{"start":263,"end":268,"name":"Adobe"},{"start":322,"end":327,"name":"Adobe"},{"start":338,"end":349,"name":"VistaCreate"},{"start":388,"end":393,"name":"Canva"}]}]},{"engine":"perplexity","count":8,"withheld":true,"answers":[{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"best_in_category","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"alternatives","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"comparison","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"problem_solving","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]},{"engine":"perplexity","answered_on":"2026-09-01","prompt_intent":"recommendation","excerpt":null,"excerpt_withheld":true,"withheld_reason":"source_terms","highlights":[]}]}]}