Marketing and design: once worlds apart.
For decades, marketers were the data strategists. Designers were the visual storytellers.
Marketers carried KPIs. Designers carried Pantone swatches.
But by 2025, the lines are blurry.
It’s common to find marketers tweaking visuals in Figma or designers reviewing HubSpot dashboards.
Collaboration? Yes.
Substituting roles? No.
Yet, many marketers now spend hours inside design tools—not by choice, but by necessity. They’re compensating for overwhelmed creative teams.
And that’s a red flag.
Should Marketers Use Design Tools at All?
If it’s light template edits—adding a headline, swapping an image—no problem.
But when marketing teams are:
- Adjusting ad layouts
- Redesigning social carousels
- Reformatting eBooks
- Creating ad concepts from scratch
That’s a sign of broken workflow.
The time marketers spend learning design software steals from strategy and revenue-driving initiatives.
And worse, it often leads to inconsistent, off-brand creative that underperforms.
Let’s review the most common design tools marketers try (and when they really shouldn’t).
1. Adobe Photoshop
Best for: Photo editing, social creative
Photoshop is iconic. It’s powerful.
But for non-designers?
It’s like driving a Formula 1 car without training.
Use for: Minor color tweaks or cropping (if absolutely needed)
Avoid for: Any brand campaign or new creative concepts
Pro Insight: Your brand visuals should match the quality and consistency of your best campaigns. That takes a pro designer or a design partner like DolFinContent.
2. CorelDRAW
Best for: Print materials (flyers, business cards)
Once the go-to for business print design, CorelDRAW is now mostly niche.
Use for: Quick updates to a business card (if pre-approved by design)
Avoid for: New creative or any major design work
2025 reality: Modern marketing is digital-first. Corel’s relevance is shrinking.
3. Adobe Illustrator
Best for: Logos, scalable graphics, custom illustrations
Illustrator is where brands are built—from logos to icons.
Use for: Nothing, unless you have formal design training
Avoid for: All other tasks. Creating graphics without deep design knowledge leads to inconsistent, low-performance creative.
DolFinContent rule: If marketers are adjusting brand logos or vectors, it’s time to stop and reassess creative resourcing.
4. Figma (formerly Sketch)
Best for: UI/UX design, wireframes
Figma dominates in 2025 as the top tool for digital product design and interface mockups.
Use for: Marketing feedback and collaboration—not design
Avoid for: Creating wireframes or web/mobile layouts unless you are a trained UX/UI designer
Note: Figma’s collaborative nature tempts marketers to dive in. But editing layouts is risky without specialized design skills.
5. Adobe InDesign
Best for: Multi-page content (white papers, reports, eBooks)
InDesign rules the world of long-form branded content.
Use for: Updating text or replacing imagery within approved templates
Avoid for: Original creative or reformatting complex documents
Key point: Even minor errors in InDesign can damage readability and brand aesthetics.
Why Marketers Using Design Tools Hurts More Than It Helps
Here’s what really happens when marketers take on design work:
- Campaign strategy suffers
- Brand consistency erodes
- Marketing timelines stretch
- Designers lose control over quality
- Cross-functional alignment collapses
Result:
Performance drops.
Audience engagement declines.
Your team burns out.
What High-Performing Teams Are Doing in 2025
Eliott Wahba, CEO of DolFinContent, explains:
"In the most effective organizations, marketers lead strategy and messaging. Designers lead creative execution. When each focuses on their core strength, campaigns outperform benchmarks—and the brand scales consistently."
The Solution: Expand Design Capacity Without Adding Internal Headcount
DolFinContent provides:
On-demand creative production
Dedicated design systems and brand alignment
Cross-channel creative expertise
Fast turnaround—without overloading internal teams
Your marketers stay focused on driving growth.
Your designers stay focused on building winning creative.
Your campaigns achieve full-funnel results.
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