Canva – A Complete Guide

What is Canva?

Canva.com is a free visual design app that lets you make invites, business cards, posters, lesson plans, Zoom backgrounds, and more using professionally designed templates.

You can even use a drag-and-drop interface to upload your own photographs and add them to Canva’s layouts. It’s like having a free, basic version of Photoshop that doesn’t require advanced photo editing skills. Everything you need to know about Canva is right here.

There are over 50,000 templates to pick from on Canva.
Canva has thousands of free, professionally designed templates that can be altered with just a few clicks thanks to its drag-and-drop interface. Simply upload your photographs to Canva, drag and drop them into your preferred template, then save the file to your computer.

Zoom backdrops, posters, presentations, flyers, cards, infographics, business cards, Instagram posts, resumes, invitations, book covers, menus, letterheads, newsletters, photo collages, tickets, bookmarks, invoices, recipe cards, and more are among their template categories.

How to Create Youtube Channel Art Using Canva

Who is Canva best suited for?

Small company owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers that need to design anything quickly should use Canva.

Photoshop is an excellent tool for creating creative visuals. However, learning its hundreds of functions and being accustomed with the software might take a long time, and it’s best to have a decent foundation in design as well.

Photoshop is also a powerful programme. It’s possible that you’ll need to upgrade to a more powerful and expensive PC.

Also, Photoshop isn’t the greatest software for creating multi-page print and digital documents; you’ll need something like InDesign. Because it is a complicated tool, it will cost you more money and time.

Canva, on the other hand, allows you to do everything with a single drag-and-drop tool. It’s also more user-friendly and free. There’s even a monthly fee of $12.95 for the paid edition.

All the Formats Canva Offers:

1- Social Media

• Instagram Stories
• Instagram Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Facebook Covers
• YouTube Channel Art
• LinkedIn Banners

2 – Marketing

• Posters
• Flyers
• Infographics
• Brochures
• Newsletters
• Proposals

3- Business

• Presentations
• Websites
• Logos
• Business Cards
• Invoice
• Business Letterheads

4- Trending

• Canvas Prints
• Videos
• YouTube Intros
• Photo Books
• Menus
• Itinerary Planners

Step by Step – How To Use Canva

1- Choose your favorite Canva Templates :

Canva has a wide range of formats to help you create the perfect design: social media templates, marketing materials, documents, presentations, invites, advertising, eBooks, resumes, and even holiday cards.

It’s also important to note that you can make your design as unique as you like.

2- You can make changes to your design using the Canva Editor

Canva’s user interface is based on a drag-and-drop system. It only takes a few days to handle it, and once you’ve made three or four drawings, you’ll have figured out how to go quick and furious.

1. Search: You can search for photos, icons, and graphics.

2. Templates: Canva provides a variety of ready-to-use templates.

3. Uploaded files: Files that have been uploaded: You can add your pieces to Canva.

4. Photos: You can choose from a variety of images that Canva provides.

5. Elements: A collection of icons and forms to aid in the creation of your design.

6. Text: You’ll find pre-designed text in a variety of forms here, which you can edit as needed.

7. Music: Put music on your videos as a soundtrack.

8. Video: Depending on the theme of your video, you have numerous possibilities in this area (cities, fashion, business, beach).

9. Background: If you’re not utilising a design (and are beginning from scratch), you can choose from a variety of backdrop colours and images available here.

10. Folders: Separate your designs into folders.

11. Zoom control: Use this option to enlarge or reduce the size of your work area.

12. Canva: This is where you will build your design on the canvas.

13. Create a new page: Add a new page to your project.

14. Page Control: Indicates the page you are currently on.

15. Name: Give your project a name.

16. Share Button: You may share your design with anyone using the Share Button.

17. Download Button: This is where you can get your image.

Uses thousands of resources from the Canva Website

Images, graphics, icons, and other resources can all assist you communicate what you need to say. You can alter the colour, font, location, and transparency of the elements. Play around with different components to see which ones best communicate your message.

Create designs that you can Download for Free

When you’re finished, you’ll be curious about how to download a Canva creation. You have complete control over the format and use of the image. As you can see, Canva provides a variety of alternatives.

Share your Canva Design

You can post your creation on social media or email it to yourself.

Advantages of Using Canva

Canva has a wide range of features that have helped it achieve popularity among millions of individuals. The advantages of utilising Canva are as follows:

Platform for Free Design

• Canva is a free tool that anyone may use. It may be used to create eye-catching designs for social media, marketing campaigns, and projects.
• Canva has a few features that are beneficial to pros. Canva Pro gives you access to those capabilities as well as a premium library of stock pictures, fonts, shapes, and templates.
• If you don’t want to pay the Pro version, you can make in-app purchases.
• No prior knowledge or experience is required.
• You don’t need any prior graphic design skills to utilise Canva. You can use a range of tools and layouts to create a professional design by switching between fonts and graphics.

Multiple templates and fonts

To ensure that you obtain the finest results, Canva includes a library of varied backgrounds, themes, photos, fonts, and stickers. You don’t need to be a techie to take advantage of these capabilities. These tools allow you to build an engaging design in only a few clicks. All you need is a little imagination.

There are countless possibilities

Canva has you covered for anything from Facebook and Pinterest posts to e-book covers, infographics, and resumes. GIFs, animations, and movies can also be created. It also features a feature that allows you to make unique designs.

User−friendly Interface

Canva has a user-friendly layout. This is the Canva design page.

The grids for templates, images, stickers, and backdrop are on the left side. Fonts, colour palettes, and other formatting tools are accessible via tabs above the design. You can utilise these tools in your design in a few clicks thanks to the drag & drop feature.

Create a Team

You may set up a team on Canva and give them access to the designs. Through the shareable links to make adjustments, you may control the level of access your team members or employees have.

Limitations of Canva

Canva is one of the top graphic design solutions for marketing or showcasing your business as a brand. However, you should reconsider using it as your principal business platform.

Canva has certain advantages and a user-friendly interface, but it also has some disadvantages that you should be aware of.

Canva doesn’t have any file storage on its servers: This implies that if the website is unavailable for some reason, you will have to wait to make modifications to your designs.

Designs are overused: Because so many others have utilised your preferred template, you may believe your design isn’t very unique. However, you can overcome this problem by incorporating more imagination into your designs.

No Source File:  You can’t edit, share, or export your design without a Canva account, unlike Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign. You won’t be able to edit your design as a raw file.

Pay a little extra for some nice features: You could want to utilise an image, font, or template from the Canva collection, but you’ll have to pay for it.

The mobile app lacks over half of the capabilities found in the desktop version: Canva’s mobile app does not have the same number of features as the site, mac, or desktop edition. Furthermore, accessing the various aspects in the mobile designing tab is more difficult.

Plans: Free vs. Pro vs. Enterprise

Free, Pro ($9.95 per user per month, billed annually), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, payable annually) are the three options.

Freelancers who develop 10 to 15 designs each month will benefit from the free edition. You’ll have access to more than 100 different design kinds, 8,000 free templates, and thousands of free pictures and graphics.

The Pro plan will suit you better if you create more photographs for yourself or your clients. You’ll have access to over 420,000 templates, 75 million graphics, photographs, stock images, and videos, among other things. Brand Kit is a notable feature for storing brand assets (color palette, logo, etc.).

The Enterprise package is appropriate for agencies and businesses with a large number of employees. You receive limitless storage, multiple Brand Kits, and design workflows.