Canva is an online graphic design tool that I use every day. In this post today I will share with you how I use Canva in my online businesses.
For Canva you get a free version and a pro version. I myself make use of the pro version as the additional features you get by going pro is worth it. You can however stay on free and still create awesome images and even videos. When I started I used only the free version and it was more than sufficient for me.
The day I decided to go pro was when I opened up my first Print-on-demand (POD) ecommerce store on Redbubble. I’m in the process of setting up my first Etsy store as well, so having this tool in my arsenal will be invaluable.
And there we have my first use for Canva. Creating designs for my Redbubble shop, where my designs can be printed on over 70 different kind of products like t-shirts, mugs and stickers. I need to upload my designs in the best quality possible and Canva makes this process easy and quick. For my designs to work in the POD I need to save them with a transparent background. And this is where the pro features come in handy.
As you can see from the image above I can increase image size (resolution) and save the image with a transparent background. These are however pro features as can be seen by the little crown next to the feature. If you are not pro you can still get the same result but will have to make use of additional free site to do it.
Another way how I use Canva is for branding. Once again the Pro feature has a brand kit that makes this easy, but once again doing this for free is very possible. The logo on this site was made by Canva. I build websites all the time in different niches and create all the logos for those site in this great tool.
Speaking of those websites, usually I create social media accounts for those sites. Whether it be Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest, I need to create headers and images constantly, and Canva has been very useful.
Here is for instance an Pinterest Pin for a post on my Keto website. This is the template I use so every new pin can be knocked out in minutes.
I have also started using Canva to create great videos including an intro video that I will be using on my channel for every video I make. I’ve just started with this but the result are looking great so far, and was very simple to learn.
There are a few other features that I use in the pro version and that is helping me become a better graphic designer:
- Pro elements. Whether it be pictures, graphics, sound clips, fonts or templates the range available in free is extensive. What you can get in pro though is mind-boggling. I can almost guarantee you will find the elements you are looking for in the pro version.
- Background remover. Yes, with one click you can remove backgrounds from pictures, but this feature is pro only.
- Taking about pictures, there are numerous filters and effects that you can apply to pictures to make them stand out. And they are all free!
- The Brand Kit where you can have you logos, color schemes, fonts and even various auto generated templates for everything from business cards to email signatures.
- Content Planner. To be honest I haven’t even started using this Pro feature. The calendar is already pre-populated with special days, like World Chocolate Day, which you can use to pan social media campaigns around.
As you can see I haven’t even explored the full range of options available, yet I use it every day. I hope this has given you some insight in how I use Canva.
In future posts I will expand on some of the businesses mentioned here and some of the tools I use when working on these businesses.