Three tips to make the most of Canva

Canva is a great design software; it is such a useful tool to a small business with its versatile nature to create almost anything you may need to make as a business resource. For a small business the free account can enable you to create so much for your business without any costly overheads.

All my tips are functions within this free account. I have been using Canva for nearly 2 years now and I still haven’t needed to up grade yet! If you would like to know more about the different plans available, then visit canva.com. They do offer a 30 day free trial of the paid version but if you sign up do remember to cancel it, otherwise you will get charges.

Tip #1

Involves taking advantage of the brand kit. You can save three brand colours for ease of use in your creations, they can be used in font colouring, backgrounds or colouring any shapes and layouts with changeable elements. I recommend putting your logo into a website called html colour coder and saving the chosen colour codes you get from there it will look something like #FECB3A (this is the dark yellow from my own logo). Using your specific colours straight from your branding means all your creations will have a coherent and professional look to them.

Tip #2

Use the layers and transparency features in the top right corner, these three buttons will become your friends to have. Bring it forward, send it back and the transparency scale (looks like a checker board). These will help you organise the various elements of your work and keep everything looking neat and tidy. These functions are handy for making sure photos, text and logo can all be placed and visible on your creations without getting jumbled. The transparency scale is a firm favourite of mine for making the layers blend so that designs can be visually stunning, and text is still readable so that messaging remains clear. I like layering shapes over a translucent photo so that the text laid on top can still stand out against the colours of the image. I usually make the shape far more faded than the photo so that it just proves a contrast for the text but does not disrupt the picture below it.

Tip #3

Canva mobile App was a real light bulb moment for me and I hope it helps you, especially if like me you post to social media. This tip has a few parts to it. The first being use your desktop Canva access to create a template for the common style of media you use. Use those colours you placed in your brand kit to tie it in with your company branding and be sure to include your logo and any other key features on there and save it as a template!

Creating a template has two useful reasons; number 1, it will save you time when you want to create another post in this style. Just be sure too click the three dots and make a copy so that you don’t lose that template. Trust me that’s a pain! (I have forgotten to do this and accidentally created onto my template.) Reason 2, to keep a template within your design bank because it makes the Canva app so much more user friendly. The app doesn’t have as much functionality as it does on a desktop; one major thing the app cannot do is upload images or graphics other than those from the phone’s camera roll. So, this is when your pre-made template comes into its own! As you have added your logo to that template it is there and is move able within your design when editing so you can add uploaded photos on top or into the design when creating posts on the app and keep them brand consistent. Don’t panic if you lose sight of one of your key elements when adding in photos from your gallery, remember that send it back button! It is a little hidden on the app. You need to tap three dots within the circle at the top right to find my three favourite buttons from tip #2, don’t confuse it with the add a page that is on the left of the first toolbar.

I find their templates so helpful with my content creation, I now have many different templates for my different types of posts. I think having these familiar designs throughout all my social media channels helps my audience recognise my content when they are scrolling. This consistency helps build that know, like and trust (here it is again) that we all rely on in business.

This blog has been aimed at people who are already using Canva to some level but if you still feel bamboozled by it, believe me it's not uncommon and would like to get more out of using this resource why not contact me to find out about my skills boosting sessions.