Where to Find Free Design Resources for Your Print-On-Demand Store?

Do you want to start a print-on-demand (POD) business? Or do you already have one but are stuck on what designs to make? 

A lot of people are contemplating whether to pursue a POD business or not. Some say a POD business is not right for them because they feel they’re not creative enough. Meanwhile, others express difficulty in crafting designs from scratch. 

Although creativity and design skills are advantageous in a POD business, you don’t necessarily have to have pro-level graphic design skills. You can actually just combine and modify several free design elements available online to make original designs. As long as you know where to find free design resources for your print-on-demand store, you’ll never run out of design ideas.

10 Free Design Resources for Your POD Business

We know the difficulty of designing from scratch. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of free design resources for your print-on-demand store. Free graphic design elements can save you more time and money when designing since they’re already pre-made. The thing left for you to do is to transform all those free design elements into simple masterpieces for your POD business! Without further ado, here are our top picks for free design resources:

1. Pixabay

Pixabay is one of the earliest free design resources. It has been around since 2010. But in 2019, Canva acquired Pixabay. Despite the acquisition, Pixabay continues to operate under its own name. 

Since Pixabay is already over a decade old, its library of design elements is vast. It boasts over 4.3 million high-quality stock images, plus videos and music. What makes this design resource platform outstanding is its variety of image types. It includes photos, vector graphics, and illustrations. Moreover, Pixabay allows you to filter search results by orientation, size, color, and published date.

2. Pexels

Pexels was founded in 2014 but was also acquired by Canva in 2019. Compared to Pixabay, Pexel’s free stock photos exude a classier and more professional vibe, perfect for personal and commercial use. 

However, unlike Pixabay, Pexels mostly just has photos. You won’t likely find vector graphics or illustrations there. If your print-on-demand store’s designs incline to a more realistic style, choose Pexels since their photos are unique and of higher quality. But if you want vector and illustration design resources, Pixabay is a much better choice.

3. Canva

Canva is an online design and publishing tool popular among graphic designers and digital enthusiasts. It’s like Adobe Photoshop but waaaayy simpler than that. Even a complete amateur in design can use Canva and spruce up beautiful designs from scratch or pre-existing templates.

Canva has been around since 2013, and it became so huge that it was able to acquire Pexels and Pixabay. Because of acquiring two of the world’s biggest free stock content websites, Canva’s library resource became even bigger. They have photos, shapes, graphics, stickers, charts, tables, grids, and graphic collections that you can use for your print-on-demand store. And with the boom of AI, Canva even integrated an AI image generator into their platform.

If you want to unlock all of Canva’s features, you should avail of their premium subscription. Nevertheless, you can still make many wonderful designs for your POD business, even if you only use Canva’s free version.

4. Unsplash

Unsplash just started as a small Tumblr blog in 2013. But now, they have their own platform, which has become people’s go-to resource for visual content. Although its photo library is not as extensive as Pixabay and Pexels, Unsplash is a goldmine for stunning backgrounds and wallpapers.

In Unsplash, you can discover wallpapers or backgrounds featuring nature themes, 3D render styles, textures, patterns, archival shots, street photography, and more. Using wallpapers and backgrounds is a great way to enhance the visual appeal of your POD products with their captivating designs, vibrant colors, and thematic elements.

5. Design Bundles

Design Bundles is another fantastic free design resource for your print-on-demand store. It’s your one-stop platform for SVGs, cliparts, brushes, vectors, backgrounds, illustrations, embroidery designs, laser-cutting files, sublimation designs, templates, and patterns. 

Simply click the “Free Designs” category of Design Bundles to explore the free design elements available for download. We’re positive that Design Bundles will be one of your favorite design resource sites since you can find everything here!

6. DaFont

Images aren’t the only way to enhance the look of your POD designs. In fact, you can solely use fonts to create typography-style designs. Typography is the art of arranging text and letters so they look appealing to your target audience. 

Although your computer has default fonts installed, they’re not attractive enough to be used for POD designs. If you’re looking for beautiful and creative fonts, check out DaFont.

DaFont has every type of font you need. There’s fancy, foreign look, techno, bitmap, gothic, basic, script, dingbats, and even holiday fonts! Fonts are excellent design elements for statement shirts, hoodies, mugs, caps, tote bags, posters, water bottles, and more. 

7. Vecteezy

Vecteezy is the home for free vector graphics. Most POD business owners use vectors in their designs because they have crisp edges, sharp lines, smooth curves, vibrant colors, and aesthetic looks!

Aside from vectors, you can also find photos, PNGs, PSDs, SVGs, templates, and videos in Vecteezy. For free design elements, simply look for files with the “Free” icon.

8. Brusheezy

Aside from Canva, Adobe Photoshop is the most commonly used image editing tool. In fact, you can do more beautiful design effects in Photoshop than Canva since it’s an advanced software often used by professional designers.

If you’re looking for new Photoshop brushes, Brusheezy is the best place to go. And yes, both Brusheezy and Vecteezy are owned by the same company, the Eezy LLC group. If Vecteezy is the home of vector graphics, Brusheezy is the haven of Photoshop brushes. 

Brusheezy has various Photoshop brushes in abstract style, gradient, grunge, hearts, patterns, shapes, and textures. Using brushes adds more intricate details and decorative elements to your POD designs, making them more visually appealing.

9. Gratisography

Are you looking for quirky and whimsical stock photos for your POD designs? Then, make sure to check out Gratisography. Compared to other free stock photo sites, Gratisography boasts a more beautiful collection of fun, colorful, and unique images. They have an extensive collection of amusing animals, funky food, rendered reality, artsy architecture, goofy grownups, virtual backgrounds, and so much more.

10. Freepik

Freepik is another free design resource you’ll definitely love. It’s like DesignBundles but with a larger library of freebies. They have tons of free photos, vectors, icons, PSDs, and even AI images. You can also filter the search results by asset type, color, file type, orientation, and style to quickly find the design element you need for your print-on-demand store.

Things to Remember Before You Use Free Design Elements

Just because something is free doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with it. Here are some important things to remember before using the free design resources we’ve shared:

1. Read the license terms

See something you like on any of the mentioned free design platforms? Before you download it, read its license terms. License terms often indicate if a design element is available for personal use, commercial use, or both. Suppose the license terms of a particular design element say that it’s only available for personal use. In that case, you can’t use it for your POD business since a business is commercial in nature.

2. Don’t forget the attribution if needed

Some free design elements are available for commercial use, but their license terms indicate that attribution is required. This means you can use the design element for your POD business. However, you need to credit the owner or contributor of the design element. To properly credit the owner, include a mention of the source where you obtained your free design elements and provide a link to their profile within your POD item’s product description.

3. Always modify the free design elements

In the usage policies of most free design resources (which people often overlook), it’s stated that free stock content should be modified, especially if it’s going to be used by businesses. So to be safe, never incorporate the free design element in your POD design as is. 

Imagine this: How would you feel if you’re the contributor of the “free” design element, then someone just shamelessly uses and sells your freebie without modifying it? You’ll definitely feel upset knowing that someone is profiting from the “free” design element you offer everyone.

So, how do you alter the free design element to make it acceptable to sell in your POD business? For example, you need a “flower vector” for your POD design. And you found a red flower vector. To modify the vector, you can change the flower’s color, make its vector lines thicker, and add creative effects. Don’t simply use the original red flower vector in your POD mockup and sell it, as this may call the attention of the copyright police.

4. Check the file formats

Before downloading those large MB design files, check whether the file formats support your current image editing software. For example, if you’re not using Adobe Photoshop, don’t download Photoshop brushes or PSD design files, as they won’t open or work in whatever software you use. Although you can convert these file formats into your required formats, it’s quite a hassle and time-consuming.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Where can I get free print-on-demand designs?

You can get free print-on-demand designs in Pixabay, Pexels, Canva, Unsplash, DesignBundles, DaFont, Vecteezy, Brusheezy, Gratisography, and Freepik. If you want more free design resources, you can Google any design element. For example, if you need “free PSD grunge brushes,” simply type these keywords in the search box.

2. Can I start a POD business even if I’m not a great graphic designer?

You can start a POD business even if you’re not a great graphic designer. There are already several image editing platforms that offer editable template designs. Here at Sup Dropshipping, we also have our own “Easy-to-Use Editor” wherein you can learn and create design in minutes.

3. Are there any limitations on using free design resources?

Although some design elements are free, there are still limitations. Some owners or contributors of the free design elements require you to modify the designs before using them for commercial purposes. Meanwhile, some only need you to credit them. So before using the design elements, always check the license terms.

4. What should I do if I encounter copyright issues related to free design resources used in my POD products?

It depends on the actions desired by the design element owner. They may request that you remove your POD product, provide credit, link back to their artist site, demand fines, or surrender all of your POD product’s generated sales using their design element. 

5. How can I avoid copyright issues when using free design elements?

To avoid copyright issues, only use free design elements that are available for commercial use. If their license terms specify that attribution is required, don’t forget to credit the owner in your POD item’s product description.

Summary

The internet is a haven for free design resources for your print-on-demand store. Free design elements are great to use, especially if you’re just starting out or don’t have the money to hire a graphic designer. Aside from helping you save money, free design elements also help you save time. No more building designs from scratch! Even if you’re not a great graphic designer, free design elements can help spark inspiration. What’s more, tons of image editing tools provide editable templates you can use.

If you’re looking for a reliable POD supplier, partner with Sup Dropshipping. As mentioned earlier, we have an easy-to-use design editor so you can start your POD business right away! Our design editor has an extremely friendly user interface that even amateur designers can use. Moreover, we have a vast amount of pictures, backgrounds, patterns, and premium fonts to help design your POD products. We also have various product mockups that you can put up in your print-on-demand store, such as shirts, dresses, hoodies, mugs, water tumblers, umbrellas, and more.

Contact us today to learn more about how you can begin your POD business with Sup Dropshipping.