As a graphic designer and content creator with over 12 years of experience, I have tried my fair share of graphic design software. Creating visual content day in and day out for clients, I’m always on the lookout for tools that can speed up my workflow.
So when I first heard about Crello a few years back, I was intrigued. It claimed to be an easy-to-use graphic design platform for creating studio-quality visuals without needing extensive design skills. Could this be the dream tool I’ve been looking for? I decided to try it out with an open mind.
Getting Started with Crello
Getting started with Crello was a breeze. After signing up for a free account, I was greeted with a clean and intuitive interface. Crello makes use of a drag-and-drop system, allowing you to easily access and customize a library of over 50,000 templates.
As someone who has lost count of the number of times I’ve stared blankly at an empty artboard, this template library was a godsend! No matter what type of graphic I needed to create, there was a professionally designed template to get me started quickly.
I really appreciated how the templates were organized into clear categories based on format and purpose. This made browsing for the perfect starting point very efficient.
Key Features and Tools
Once I selected a template I liked, it was time to customize it to suit my needs. This is where Crello’s user-friendly editing tools came into play.
With just a few clicks, I could edit text, swap out images, adjust colors, and add a variety of graphic elements. The editing process was intuitive, despite my lack of experience with the platform. I never felt limited by my somewhat basic graphic design skills.
My favorite feature by far was the ability to completely customize fonts. I could choose from over 250 font options, tweak the spacing, size, line height, and color endlessly until achieving the look I desired. As a designer who takes typography very seriously, this level of control was fantastic.
I was also thrilled by Crello’s massive media library, which gave me access to millions of stock photos, graphics, and videos. This selection put many paid stock libraries I’ve used to shame. Finding the perfect supporting visuals for my graphics was effortless.
Animating my designs was a cinch as well with Crello’s user-friendly animation tools. I could make GIFs, multi-page animations, and videos without needing any complex video editing skills. Considering I have lost years off my life wrestling with software like After Effects and Premiere Pro, this was a very welcome change!
Ease of Use and Learning Curve
As an experienced designer well-versed in industry-standard software like Adobe Creative Cloud, I didn’t expect a tool aimed at beginners to impress me. Surely there would be major limitations compared to the advanced programs I relied on daily?
Well, I was pleasantly surprised by Crello’s capabilities, despite the simplified interface and range of premade templates. The platform bridged the gap between simplicity and depth extremely effectively in my opinion.
I have no doubt that complete beginners with zero graphic design experience could get up and running with Crello very quickly thanks to the drag-and-drop system and abundance of templates. Yet I never felt restricted as a professional user. The editing tools were comprehensive enough for me to create very polished, customized designs tailored to my unique needs.
The learning curve was practically non-existent. I was able to edit templates and create new graphics that looked great with minimal effort. Everything was perfectly streamlined for efficiency.
Still, I appreciated that the platform has ample room to grow into. As I became more adept at using Crello, I realized I was just scratching the surface of what it could do. There were more advanced capabilities waiting, like the ability to save brand kits for quick access to color palettes, fonts, and logos.
Creating Social Media Graphics and Ads
As a digital content creator, I rely heavily on graphics for social media posts, ads, thumbnails, banners, and more. Creating these visuals day after day can be draining, so I’m always seeking out ways to optimize and automate parts of the process.
Crello has become my go-to tool for crafting custom social posts and ads. Thanks to the massive template library spanning every graphic format imaginable, I can quickly start designing without facing that blank canvas paralysis!
I especially appreciate the huge selection of pre-sized templates for various social platforms. This takes away the hassle of correctly resizing every individual graphic I produce. I can also batch produce multiple versions of a post or ad for different platforms in one sitting.
The ability to schedule social posts directly from Crello is so convenient as well. I can manage and plan out content for the whole month for each of my business pages without ever needing to leave the software. This saves me massive amounts of time compared to scheduling posts manually on each platform.
When it comes to ads, I’m grateful for how effortless it is to create animated content with Crello. The animation tools allow me to dynamically showcase products, highlight sales and deals, and capture viewers’ attention in a crowded newsfeed. This results in much higher engagement and clickthrough rates on my ads, fueling my business growth.
Room for Improvement
While Crello ticks most boxes for my purposes, there is still some room for improvement in my opinion.
As a lifetime user, I would love to see the addition of version history and cloud document storage in the future. Having the ability to track changes and revert back to previous iterations of designs would enable even more efficient collaborative work. And secure cloud storage would give me peace of mind about keeping my files safe.
I would also welcome more advanced customization options for images and graphics in the future. While the current editing tools meet my needs, I know other professional designers would appreciate things like mesh warping, distortion effects, and masking.
And while Crello hits the mark for social media content, more print production features would round it out as a scalable design solution suitable for larger branding and advertising projects. I would love to see capabilities like color separation, bleed and crop mark generation, and CMYK color management added over time.
Is the Crello Lifetime Deal Worth It?
For creatives looking for an accessible graphic design platform that doesn’t require extensive technical skills, Crello delivers in spades. The simplicity paired with decent depth makes it well-suited for everyone from total beginners to experienced designers.
Considering a Crello Pro subscription normally runs $9.99 a month, the $49 lifetime deal is an absolute steal in my opinion. With one upfront payment, you gain unlimited access to the entire growing platform plus all future updates.
For me, Crello has become an indispensable addition to my design toolkit. It has sped up my creative process exponentially while allowing me to produce professional visuals that help take my business and content to the next level.
The lifetime access means I never have to worry about recurring subscription payments down the road. And as Crello continues rapidly developing new features, my capabilities will only keep expanding over time.
For such a small investment, Crello has already paid for itself many times over by radically boosting my productivity and creative output. The time savings alone are priceless. So I can confidently say the lifetime deal is tremendously worthwhile for any content creator, social media manager, or graphics professional.
Whether you’re a total beginner seeking an easy entry point into graphic design or a seasoned pro like myself, Crello has something to offer at a very wallet-friendly price. Ultimately, the minimal one-time payment grants you an unlimited toolbox for crafting stunning graphics that help you succeed.