There are plenty of tutorials on the internet about how to make social media graphics and announcement slides with software like Photoshop and Canva. In fact, I’ve written a few myself. But what if you’re not at your computer? What if you’re out of the office and you need to create an announcement slide or social media graphic? What if you’re a volunteer or part time staff member and a computer with design software just isn’t in the budget for your position?

I was considering all of these things when I decided to write this post. I’ve been using Photoshop for over 10 years but I also understand that there are staff members and volunteers that are doing the best they can with limited experience and resources.

I hope this article provides an awesome resource for you that’s flexible, convenient, easy to use, and cost effective. Also, this article isn’t sponsored. I legitimately found this app, bought it, and liked it so much I wanted to share it with you guys. Let’s get started!

First, you’ll need to download Font Candy. If you’d like to check out the app first without paying, there is a free version but it places a watermark on your image that you can leave there or pay $.99 per image to remove. Personally, I’d download the free version, give it a try, and if you like it purchase the premium version.

USEFUL TEMPLATES INCLUDED IN FONT CANDY

• Instagram Post
• Facebook Cover
• Twitter Post
• iPhone Wallpaper
• 4:3 Slide
• 16:9 Slide
• Various Poster Sizes

BASIC BREAKDOWN OF MAIN OPTIONS

• Add Text: Used for adding text boxes with a variety of font options and text effects.
• Artwork: Used to add shapes and graphics to your image through preset image packs and by adding your own logos and png files from your Camera Roll.
• Sayings: A variety of pre-made sayings with typographic styles and shapes already added. You’ll likely never use the ones provided but you can add your own which is helpful.
• Color: Used to change the color of any text, shape, or image. You can also adjust the color opacity.
• Image: This is how you will add filters, adjust the brightness, and add a blur effect to the background image.

ICON BREAKDOWN

1. CHECK/SAVE: Select to save your adjustment.
2. ARROW/GO BACK: Select to abandon your changes.
3. FONT SELECTION: Used to choose your font.
4. ADJUSTMENT: Change size, add a drop shadow, rotate, and add various other options to your text.
5. TYPE ALIGNMENT: Used to center, left align, right align, and justify text.
6. ERASE: Used to erase portions of artwork or text.
7. BLENDS: If you’re familiar with Photoshop, these will make sense to you. If not, this option is used to blend text and artwork with the background. Even if you don’t completely understand, a little experimenting will give you an idea of what options you like and how they work.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

• Always click the check mark to save your adjustments.
• You can adjust any layer at anytime as long as you haven’t used the Blends option. Once it’s blended, it’s flat and cannot be edited further.
• The Color option in the main menu will always default to the background image unless you have a specific text piece of text or artwork selected.
• If you have an iPad and a stylus, this process is a lot easier! It’s setup in a landscape layout as well which makes it easier to navigate in my opinion.

Now, let’s make a graphic!

I decided to make a slide for a Worship Night event. I did all of this from my iPhone by the way. I went to pexels.com in Google Chrome, did an image search for the word “worship”, and saved this image to my Camera Roll.

When you open Font Candy it will default to choosing an image from your Camera Roll but you can swipe or right to choose images from various other sources like Pixabay, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat.

Step 1: I decided on an Instagram post so I chose this option.

Step 2: It automatically opened with a new text box. I double tapped inside the box to change the text.

Step 3: I changed the text so it says,”Night of Worship”.

Step 4: I chose my font and repositioned the text. You can use your fingers to expand the size of the text and move it around the image. Don’t worry about being too precise right now. You can change this later.

Step 5: You can select the second Adjustment setting to change the size, add a shadow, and create various other effects. I didn’t add any of these features and the sliders are very sensitive so if I want to change the size I usually just use my fingers. Click the Check mark to save.

Step 6: From the main menu, select the Add Text option to add additional information. We’ll select a different font for contrast.

Step 7: I used the alignment option to justify the text to the left.

Step 8: From the main menu, if you select the Image option, this is what you will see. I barely moved the blur slider so you can see just how sensitive these settings are. There is also a brightness adjuster and a variety of filters, including black and white, but I decided to leave my image as-is.

Step 9: I did decide to choose the Color option from the main menu and add a color overlay to my image. I went with this pink color and adjusted to opacity slightly so you could still see the image but it wasn’t interfering with the text.

Step 10: Next, I selected the Artwork option from the main menu. I’m going to add a pre-made shape next but for now, let’s add a logo.

Step 11: I selected “Your Artwork” from the options and I added a png from my Camera Roll.

Step 12: Once it was selected, I was given options for size, shadow, and rotation. I just adjusted to size slightly and placed it in the bottom right hand corner of my graphic and selected the Check to save it.

Step 13: I selected the Artwork option again and scrolled over until I found a Shapes pack.

Step 14: I decided to go with this speckled polygon shape.

Step 15: I then selected the Adjustment setting in the options menu bar above the shapes and made the shape larger and moved it up with my finger. I hit the Check to save.

Step 16: From the main menu, I touched my shape to select it and chose the Color option. I decided to go with this gray color and lower the opacity a bit. I then hit that Check to save.

Step 17: From the main menu, I selected my shape, hit Artwork, and selected the Blends icon. I went with Multiply and hit the Check to save.

Step 18: This is the final result of the blend.

Step 19: I decided to center the text so I selected the subtext and used the Alignment option in the text menu to center it. I then hit the Check, of course.

Step 20: I thought that the pink and green was interesting, but a color scheme that felt more like “night” would be a better option. Remember, if nothing is selected the Color option in the main menu will default to the background image. I selected the Color option with no text selected and decided to go with this burgundy color. I tapped the Check to save.

Step 21: I decided that I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the font. I selected the Title, changed the font to Dekar, and adjusted the size just a little in the Adjustment section. I hit that Check and moved on to the subtext.

Step 22: I selected the subtext, changed the font to Dekar Light, and adjusted the size in the Adjustment section. Again, I hit that Check.

Step 23: I’m calling it done! Now let’s save it. Hit the icon in the the upper right hand corner to view your saving a sharing options.

Step 24: Here are the options you’ll see. It will automatically save it to your Camera Roll for easy access and you can send it directly to a social media app or share it through text and email.

Here it is! Our final graphic posted on Instagram. Well, it’s a fake church account marketing an event that isn’t real on a mockup of Instagram, but you get the idea.

Was this article helpful? Will you be giving Font Candy a try? If you use this app to make any graphics we’d love to hear about it!