Canva, friend or foe?
Design Capital | Logo Design | Graphic Design
Lately I’m being asked to create custom social media templates to use in conjunction with Canva… Look, I’ll be honest… I have been resisting getting to know Canva for a few years now because, you know…its not a professional graphic design tool, so why would I use it? But I can’t ignore it any more…over the last few week or so I’ve been giving it a little bit of a test drive to see what its all about, and I want to share with you what I have discovered…
I can create beautiful graphics in Adobe illustrator (my happy place) and upload the elements into Canva then re create custom and editable designs for my clients to use that are “on brand”. (check out the special offer below!)
- What does this mean: well, for you it means no more guess work in making sure you are using the right fonts and right colours and if the design looks good, of course it does. I’ve designed it and set it all up for you.
- All you need to do is write a bit of text to go in your TIPS post then copy and paste a nice review that someone has left you. Even just a nice picture with a watermark is all ready to go.
- This is going to save you loads of time thinking about what to post and how to make it look good and consistent with your brand.
- The BEST bit is… If I set them up as say, Instagram sizing, with one click Canva will make a copy of them and change them to Facebook post sizes, you can even post to Facebook etc directly from your Canva account. (with the pro account)
But beware there are some down falls to Canva:
Before you start getting sad because you won’t need me any more, I have to let you know about a few of the downfalls I think Canva has.
- It’s really easy to get carried away in Canva, there are so many stickers and emojis and flashy fun things…but you need to restrain yourself. Designs can go wrong and look like unicorn vomit very quickly.
- I personally find the website a bit clunky to use. Every time I want to create a new design or even go back, it opens a new web tab and I find that really annoying.
- Also sometimes, it has a mind of its own and starts making designs in other sizes and I can’t go back or it will put designs that I have done for a client in the wrong folder or completely miss a design that I know I have done.
- And lastly the MOST important thing to remember is, the preset templates that are in Canva are not unique to you (unless I have designed them for you)… so you can’t go and design a logo using the elements in Canva, because it is the equivalent of using clipart in word, you can never trademark it and every other woman and her dog can use it. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if your logo was using the same elements as your competitors…and unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it. It is however, perfect if you want something nice for your sisters baby shower!
- Remember Canva is not a professional graphic design program, but it is a great tool for me to make my clients lives easier and I am alway available if you get stuck or you need something professionally designed.
Checkout more about our Graphic Design services here.
Originally published at https://www.designcapital.com.au on September 3, 2020.
