Easel.ly - Detailed Review
Design Tools
Easel.ly - Product Overview
Introduction to Easel.ly
Easel.ly is an infographic design tool that simplifies the process of creating visualized content for various types of information. Here’s a brief overview of its primary function, target audience, and key features:
Primary Function
Easel.ly is designed to enable users, especially novices, to create infographics quickly and easily. It provides a user-friendly interface with clearly labeled buttons and pre-formatted designs, similar to Microsoft Word, to reduce the learning curve.
Target Audience
Easel.ly is versatile and caters to a wide range of users, including students, educators, marketers, and businesses. It is particularly valuable for visual learners and those who need to present data in an engaging and easy-to-understand format. Users like Claire Roper, a social media expert, utilize Easel.ly for creating infographics for workshops and social media content, highlighting its appeal to both individuals and professionals.
Key Features
- Templates and Themes: Easel.ly offers numerous templates, themes, and objects that users can customize to fit their needs. This includes maps, graphs, charts, diagrams, flowcharts, and timelines.
- Ease of Use: The tool is known for its simplicity, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it accessible even to those without graphic design experience. It includes text-based and video tutorials for additional guidance.
- Customization: Users can upload their own images and customize the infographics to suit their content. This flexibility allows for personalized and differentiated work, especially in educational settings.
- Data Visualization: Easel.ly helps users visualize relationships between concepts by grouping discrete pieces of information into visually appealing infographics. This is particularly useful for teaching aids and presenting complex data in a clear manner.
- Social Media Integration: The tool is effective for creating infographics that can be shared on social media platforms, which can significantly increase engagement and audience reach, as seen in Claire Roper’s experience.
- Plans and Accessibility: Easel.ly offers a free plan, as well as student, individual, and business plans. It is accessible on any desktop or laptop device without requiring separate plug-ins. However, it may have limitations for users with impaired sight due to the lack of alternative text for images and icons.
Overall, Easel.ly is a user-friendly and effective tool for creating engaging infographics that can enhance communication, education, and marketing efforts.
Easel.ly - User Interface and Experience
User Interface
The user interface of Easel.ly is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible to a wide range of users, regardless of their design experience.
Ease of Use
Easel.ly boasts a clean and simple interface that allows users to create professional infographics quickly. Users can start with a blank canvas or choose from thousands of pre-existing templates, which can be easily browsed, selected, and dragged onto the canvas.
The platform is very easy to use, even for those with limited experience in graphic design. It offers text-based and video tutorials to help users get started, which is particularly helpful for those who may struggle initially.
Customization Options
Users can customize their infographics by editing the text, icons, graphics, and colors. The platform provides an extensive library of icons and graphics that can be easily added to the design. Users can also add charts, graphs, and other data visualization elements, and customize their colors to match their desired scheme.
Design Tools
Easel.ly allows users to add shapes, adjust their opacity, draw arrows, and copy elements easily. The tool supports various types of infographics, including timelines, annotated maps, flowcharts, posters, announcements, and instructional guides. This versatility makes it suitable for a variety of purposes, such as educational resources, business presentations, and social media posts.
Sharing and Collaboration
Once the infographic is complete, users can download the image, share a link, or embed it on their website or blog. This ease of sharing facilitates collaboration and dissemination of the created content.
Overall User Experience
The overall user experience with Easel.ly is positive, with many users praising its ease of use and the quality of the infographics produced. The support team is responsive and helpful, providing continuous support to ensure users can be creative and adventurous with their designs.
However, some users have noted a few limitations, such as the lack of enough customization options or pre-existing templates, which can result in infographics that look similar. Additionally, some features are restricted to the free version, but this is part of the business model.
Conclusion
In summary, Easel.ly offers a straightforward and intuitive interface that makes creating infographics a straightforward and enjoyable process, even for those without extensive design experience.
Easel.ly - Key Features and Functionality
Easel.ly Overview
Easel.ly is a versatile and user-friendly infographic creation tool that offers a wide range of features and functionalities, making it an excellent choice for various users, including students, faculty, and professionals.User-Friendly Interface
Easel.ly boasts a simple and intuitive interface that allows users to create infographics without requiring advanced design skills. Users can start with a blank canvas, select from pre-defined templates (known as “vhemes”), or modify thousands of published examples.Template and Design Options
The platform provides numerous pre-designed templates and a vast library of graphics, including images, icons, maps, flags, text boxes, shapes, arrows, and charts. These elements can be easily dragged and dropped onto the canvas and modified in terms of size, orientation, font, and color.Customization and Editing
Users can customize their infographics extensively by uploading their own images, icons, maps, graphs, and other elements. The tool also offers advanced photo editing capabilities and access to a wide range of fonts, templates, images, and other graphical elements.Collaboration Features
Easel.ly allows users to create groups, enabling collaborative work on projects. This feature is particularly useful for students working on course assignments or team projects, as it facilitates sharing and reuse of infographics within the group.Sharing and Export Options
Once an infographic is created, users can share it via several methods:Shareable Link
Allows specific users to view and reuse the infographic.Embed Code
Enables embedding the infographic into blog posts or other web content.Group Share
Shares the infographic with group members, allowing them to reuse it as a template.Multiple Use Cases
Easel.ly is not limited to creating infographics; it can be used for a variety of tasks:Presentation Slides
Create engaging slides for presentations by incorporating infographics or visual elements.Blog Images
Design blog headers and images to capture readers’ attention.Email Templates
Generate unique graphics for email templates.Website Images
Create images for websites, including homepage graphics and other visual content.Info Products
Develop visual materials for ebooks, webinars, and e-courses.Résumés and Worksheets
Even create visual résumés and educational worksheets.Integration with Other Tools
Easel.ly can be integrated with other platforms using APIs, such as Whippy AI, to streamline the creation and sharing of visual content. This integration allows users to generate and share infographics directly within their existing workflows without switching between multiple platforms.AI Integration
While Easel.ly itself does not explicitly utilize AI for its core functionalities, its integration with platforms like Whippy AI can leverage AI capabilities. For example, Whippy AI’s API can be used to access Easel.ly’s tools, enhancing communication and streamlining the creation of visually engaging content through automated workflows.Premium Features
For additional features, Easel.ly offers a paid version that includes access to more templates, icons, and the ability to use custom fonts. This upgrade can enhance the user experience and provide more extensive design options.Conclusion
In summary, Easel.ly is a powerful tool that simplifies the creation of infographics and other visual content, making it accessible to a broad range of users without requiring extensive design experience. Its features and integrations make it a valuable resource for various applications, from educational projects to professional presentations and marketing materials. Easel.ly - Performance and Accuracy
Easel.ly Overview
Easel.ly, a web-based infographic builder, has several strengths and areas for improvement in the design tools category, particularly when it comes to performance and accuracy.
Performance
- User-Friendly Interface: Easel.ly is praised for its intuitive and simple-to-use interface. It features a drag-and-drop system, customizable templates, and a variety of infographic elements such as charts, graphs, icons, and images. This makes it accessible for users, especially teachers and students, who may not have extensive design experience.
- Cloud-Based: The platform is cloud-based, which means it does not consume much RAM or memory, preventing lag on users’ devices. This is a significant advantage, especially for those with lower-end hardware.
- Feature-Rich: Easel.ly offers a range of features including dynamic charts, background management, grid view, text menu, and branding tools. These features help users create detailed and visually appealing infographics.
Accuracy and Usability
- Usability Testing: The platform has undergone usability testing, including the System Usability Scale (SUS) scoring, to compare the old site with a new prototype. This process helped identify areas for improvement and ensured that the new design met user expectations and needs.
- User Feedback: User interviews and contextual inquiries were conducted to understand pain points and improve the user experience. This feedback highlighted the need for clear instructions, low bandwidth requirements, and familiarity with technology that students already use.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
- Collaboration Tools: While Easel.ly has some collaboration tools, it lacks the real-time collaboration features that competitors like Canva offer. This can make teamwork more challenging, as users cannot work on a project simultaneously.
- Template and Resource Updates: Some users have noted that the templates and images available on Easel.ly are sometimes outdated and need to be updated. This can affect the overall quality and relevance of the infographics created.
- Customer Support: There are mixed reviews regarding customer support, with some users expressing frustration over slow response times or limited support resources.
- Editability and Customization: Some users have reported that not all elements in an infographic are editable, which can limit the flexibility and creativity of the design process.
Engagement
- Engagement with Users: Easel.ly has engaged with its users through various methods, including user interviews, contextual inquiries, and usability testing. This engagement helps in understanding user needs and improving the platform accordingly.
- Guides and Tutorials: The platform provides tutorials and guides to help users get started and customize their infographics effectively. This includes videos on finding and customizing infographic templates.
Conclusion
In summary, Easel.ly performs well in terms of its user-friendly interface and feature-rich design tools. However, it has areas for improvement, particularly in real-time collaboration, template updates, and customer support. Addressing these limitations could enhance the overall user experience and accuracy of the platform.
Easel.ly - Pricing and Plans
Easel.ly Pricing Plans
Easel.ly offers a variety of pricing plans and options to cater to different needs and budgets. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing structure and the features included in each plan:Unlimited Graphic Design Service
This service is separate from the standard Easel.ly plans and is more focused on hiring professional designers.Trial Plan
Starter Plan
Pro Plan
Standard Easel.ly Plans
These plans are geared more towards self-service infographic creation.Student Plan
Individual Plan
Business Plan
Free Options
Additional Features
Easel.ly - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Google Classroom
One of the notable integrations is with Google Classroom. Users can import classes from Google Classroom directly into Easelly Groups, making it easier to manage student projects and collaborations. This integration allows for automatic syncing of student enrollments, updates, and even the addition or removal of students between the two platforms.
Zapier Integrations
Easelly also integrates with over 7,000 apps through Zapier, an automation tool. This allows users to automate various tasks, such as generating Easelly download URLs and creating rows in Google Sheets, or adding JPG URLs from Easelly to Google Sheets. These integrations can be set up without any coding, making it accessible to users of all skill levels.
Compatibility Across Platforms
Easelly is a web-based tool, but it can also be used as a desktop app through WebCatalog Desktop for both Mac and Windows. This allows users to run the app in distraction-free windows and easily manage multiple accounts and apps without switching browsers.
Cross-Device Compatibility
Given its web-based nature, Easelly can be accessed and used on various devices with an internet connection, including desktops, laptops, and tablets. This cross-device compatibility ensures that users can work on their visual content from anywhere and on any device they prefer.
Additional Features
Easelly’s comprehensive template library and user-friendly interface make it a versatile tool for creating a wide range of visual content, including infographics, presentations, reports, and social media graphics. This versatility, combined with its integrations and compatibility features, makes Easelly a practical and efficient tool for freelancers, small businesses, and individuals looking to create impactful visual content.
Easel.ly - Customer Support and Resources
Contact Options
If you have questions or need assistance, you can contact Easel.ly through various channels. You can email their support team at support@easel.ly, reach out via Twitter at @easel_ly, or call them directly at 1 (253) 237-3188. They typically respond within 24 to 48 hours.
Tutorials and Guides
Easel.ly provides text-based and video tutorials to guide users, especially those with limited experience in manipulating shapes, objects, and text online. These resources are available directly through their website, helping users get started and make the most of the tool.
Public Visuals and Templates
The platform offers a vast library of public visuals, with over 1 million templates to choose from. Users can explore these templates by category or use the search function to find a design that suits their needs. This extensive library is a valuable resource for finding inspiration and adapting existing designs.
Toolbar and Editing Options
Easel.ly’s interface includes a comprehensive toolbar with various options such as saving, opening, clearing, downloading, and sharing your infographics. Additionally, users can manipulate objects within their infographics by adjusting properties like position, opacity, color, and more. This makes it easy to customize and refine your designs.
Community and Feedback
While there isn’t a specific community forum mentioned, the positive feedback from users highlights the supportive nature of the Easel.ly team. Users have praised the team’s responsiveness and the quality of support provided, which is reassuring for those seeking help.
By leveraging these support options and resources, users can effectively create and customize infographics using Easel.ly, even if they have limited prior experience.
Easel.ly - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Easel.ly
Easel.ly offers several significant advantages that make it a popular choice for creating infographics:User-Friendly Interface
Easel.ly is very easy to use, even for those with limited experience in graphic design. It provides text-based and video tutorials to help users get started.Pre-Designed Templates
The tool comes with a large collection of pre-designed infographic templates that can be easily edited to create professional-looking infographics. This makes the process of designing infographics simple and quick.Customization Options
Users can customize their infographics by selecting from a wide range of images, pictograms, graphs, charts, icons, and objects. There is also the option to import personal artworks, photos, and other visuals.Collaboration Features
Easel.ly allows users to invite others to collaborate on designing infographics, which is particularly useful for group projects and teamwork.Export and Sharing Options
Finished infographics can be exported in PDF, PNG, or JPEG format and shared via URL links, social media, email, or embedded on websites.Educational Value
Easel.ly is highly beneficial for students as it helps them visualize relationships between concepts, synthesize and document learning, and personalize their work. It is especially valuable for visual learners and can strengthen visual literacy.Cost-Effective
The tool is affordable, particularly for organizations with tight budgets. It offers a free version and reasonably priced premium plans, making it accessible to a wide range of users.Responsive Customer Service
Easel.ly is known for its responsive customer service and support, which includes feedback from professional designers and continuous email support.Disadvantages of Easel.ly
While Easel.ly has many advantages, there are also some notable disadvantages:Limited Free Version
The free version of Easel.ly provides limited themes and images, which can restrict the creativity and options available to users. This limitation can be particularly challenging for teachers who cannot easily supervise student progress due to these restrictions.Customization Limitations
Some users have reported that not all elements in an infographic can be changed, and there may not be enough customization options or pre-existing templates to work with. This can result in infographics that look very similar.Accessibility Issues
Easel.ly may not be fully accessible for users with certain disabilities. For instance, it does not allow embedding alternative text for images and icons, which can make it difficult for screen readers to interpret the infographics.Fine Motor Skills Requirement
The tool requires fine motor skills to make the sometimes delicate adjustments needed in online design, which can be a challenge for some users. Overall, Easel.ly is a versatile and user-friendly tool for creating infographics, but it does come with some limitations, particularly in its free version and accessibility features. Easel.ly - Comparison with Competitors
When comparing Easel.ly with other design tools
When comparing Easel.ly with other design tools in the category, several key points and alternatives come to the forefront.
User-Friendly Interface and Templates
Easel.ly is known for its user-friendly interface and extensive library of templates, making it easy for users to create professional-looking infographics, posters, and other visual content without requiring advanced design skills. Users can select from thousands of published examples, modify them, or start from a blank canvas. The platform offers drag-and-drop functionality for backgrounds, objects, text boxes, shapes, and charts, which can be easily modified.
Collaboration Features
Easel.ly allows for group sharing and collaboration, enabling users to share infographics with group members and allow them to reuse the infographic as a template. However, it does not offer real-time collaboration tools, which might be a limitation for some users. The paid version does offer additional features like API access, but real-time collaboration is not a strong point.
Alternatives: Piktochart
Piktochart is a significant alternative to Easel.ly, offering a more comprehensive suite of features. Piktochart stands out with its AI-powered design generator, which can turn any prompt into a design within seconds. It also includes customizable text properties, background colors, and aspect ratios, providing more flexibility. Piktochart’s interface is more interactive, with multimedia elements like embedded videos and images, enhancing user engagement. However, like Easel.ly, Piktochart does not excel in real-time collaboration tools.
AI-Driven Design Tools
For those looking for more advanced AI-driven design tools, options like Adobe Firefly and Lummi AI are worth considering. Adobe Firefly, integrated into Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications, generates new content such as images, illustrations, and text effects based on detailed text prompts. This tool is particularly useful for creating realistic or abstract visuals and editing graphics in real-time.
Lummi AI, on the other hand, generates design concepts, provides layout suggestions, and offers creative prompts to kickstart the design process. It helps overcome creative blocks and allows designers to quickly visualize various design directions without starting from scratch.
Unique Features of Easel.ly
Easel.ly’s unique features include its simplicity and ease of use, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced users. The platform’s focus on usability, with clear sections and well-placed call-to-action buttons, ensures a seamless navigation experience. Additionally, Easel.ly’s cost-effective pricing plans, starting at $4/month for the Student plan, make it an attractive option for individuals and small businesses.
Pricing and Accessibility
In terms of pricing, Easel.ly offers competitive plans, including a Student plan at $4/month, an Individual plan at $5/month, and a Business plan at $6/month. Each plan includes access to over 320 premium templates, 1.1 million icons and photos, and various export options. Piktochart, while offering a free trial, has higher pricing for its upgraded versions, which might be a consideration for budget-conscious users.
Conclusion
In summary, Easel.ly is a strong choice for those seeking a simple, user-friendly platform for creating infographics and other visual content. However, for more advanced AI-driven features and real-time collaboration, alternatives like Piktochart, Adobe Firefly, or Lummi AI might be more suitable.
Easel.ly - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about Easel.ly, along with detailed responses to each:
1. Do you have a free trial?
Yes, Easel.ly offers a 7-day risk-free trial for their unlimited graphic design service. This allows you to test the service and see if it meets your needs before committing to a payment plan.
2. If I cancel, will I be charged for future payments?
No, if you cancel your subscription within the specified timeframe (usually the first 7 days for the trial), you will not be charged for future payments. Easel.ly provides a 100% money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied within the first week.
3. How do I send my design information?
To send your design information, you need to complete a brief after selecting a designer. This brief outlines your design requirements and preferences, which the designer will use to create your infographic.
4. Do I own all the design files?
Yes, once the design is completed and you are satisfied with it, you own all the design files. Easel.ly ensures that you have full rights to the designs created for you.
5. What are the pricing plans available?
Easel.ly offers several pricing plans:
- Trial Plan: $200/month for 3 months, including 8 design hours or 2 design tasks.
- Starter Plan: $500/month, including 30 design hours or 12 design tasks.
- Pro Plan: $1,100/month, including 60 design hours or 24 design tasks.
Additionally, there are specific plans for creating and sharing visual ideas using infographics, such as Student, Individual, and Business plans starting at $4/month, $5/month, and $6/month respectively.
6. How long does it take to get my infographic done?
Easel.ly typically completes infographics within 24-48 hours. This timeframe allows their team of expert designers to work efficiently on your design requests.
7. Can I request revisions?
Yes, you can request revisions. Easel.ly includes up to 5 rounds of revisions in their service, ensuring you are satisfied with the final design.
8. Is there a maximum upload size?
While the specific maximum upload size is not detailed on the main pages, you can contact Easel.ly’s support team for more information on file size limits and any other technical questions you might have.
9. Can I purchase an account for multiple users?
Yes, you can purchase an account for multiple users. Easel.ly supports accounts that can be used by multiple users, which is particularly useful for teams or organizations.
10. What kind of support does Easel.ly offer?
Easel.ly offers priority support response and feedback, especially for Pro customers. You can reach their support team via live chat or email for any questions or design feedback you need.
Easel.ly - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of Easel.ly
Easel.ly is a versatile and user-friendly infographic creation tool that captures a wide range of users, including educators, students, executives, and businesses. Here’s a comprehensive overview of its benefits and who would most benefit from using it:Key Features and Benefits
- Variety of Infographic Types: Easel.ly allows users to create various types of infographics such as list, comparison, flowchart, visual article, map, timeline, and data visualization infographics. This flexibility makes it suitable for different purposes, whether it’s educational, business, or social media use.
- Ease of Use: The platform is intuitive and simple, making it accessible even for those without design experience. Users can customize templates, add shapes, draw arrows, and adjust opacity, among other features.
- Customization and Resources: Easel.ly offers a range of pre-inserted graphics, fonts, templates, images, graphs, icons, and charts. Users can also upload their own images and access a free photo and icon library, with additional premium resources available.
- Sharing and Collaboration: Infographics can be easily shared and exported in formats like PDF, JPEG, and PNG. This facilitates collaboration and dissemination of information across different platforms.
Who Would Benefit Most
- Educators and Students: Easel.ly is highly beneficial for educational purposes. It helps teachers engage and motivate students by assigning them to create digital posters and infographics that reinforce learning concepts. Students can use it for projects, presentations, and group sharing, making learning more interactive and visually appealing.
- Businesses and Executives: Businesses can leverage Easel.ly to create professional infographics for reports, processes, projects, and social media content. It helps in communicating ideas, data, and research effectively, which can enhance audience engagement and business growth.
- Social Media Marketers: Individuals involved in social media marketing can use Easel.ly to create engaging infographics that increase website traffic, likes, and customer reach. It has been shown to significantly boost interaction and visibility on social media platforms.
Overall Recommendation
Easel.ly is a valuable tool for anyone looking to create and share infographics without needing extensive design experience. Its user-friendly interface, extensive library of resources, and various customization options make it an excellent choice for educational, business, and social media purposes.Considerations
- Pricing: Easel.ly offers different pricing plans, including a free account, a Pro account, and an Enterprise account. The free version has limited themes and images, but it is still a good starting point for many users.
- Support: The platform provides support from professional designers and offers resources like articles, webinars, and a YouTube channel to help users enhance their skills.