Canva - Review - Esther Phang

In this review, we will talking about the designing app - Canva.

I have been using Canva for more than 3 years. I use it for both personal and professional work. I would recommend this design tool to everyone who does not know how to use Adobe software. Canva is really easy to use. It’s a great tool for those who need to do some design work.

What is Canva?

Canva is an online design platform. You can use either its website or app to create graphic designs, such as social media posts, posters, brochures and etc. You do not need to know Photoshop, Illustrator and etc. to use this platform. It is really simple to use. Moreover, most of the functions are free too. Like I always said, it's best to make good use of all the free tools to your advantage.

Why should you use Canva?

Do you envy those Instagram accounts with beautiful graphics like the following image?

You can simply use Canva to create something similar too. Why go the extra mile and use fancy software like Photoshop or Illustrator to create a fancy post? You neither need to know or have the latter software to do these basic design work now. With Canva, everyone can be a designer.

For those who know how to use Photoshop and Illustrator, it's good to use Canva for some design work too. It is because you can easily do the same design faster on Canva as compared to using Photoshop and Illustrator.

How to use Canva?

For example, you want to create the above quote. Log into Canva and search by "Instagram post". There are plenty of templates available for you to choose from.

I choose not to modify this template as it's already quite aesthetic pleasing, but I want to change the colour scheme and text. Click on one of the elements of the image, and you can change the colour accordingly. Most of the time, Canva automatically saves the colour that you use. This is really useful so that you don't have to remember the colour code. Click on the text to change the font and words.

As you can see, it is really simple. Once you are used to the software, you will naturally become faster. There are plenty of templates available. You can design Facebook posts, brochure and even PowerPoint deck. I would suggest that you play with the software and see what you can do with it.

The only downside is that you would most likely be spending most of the time choosing a template that you like. It happened to me. How do I solve it? I would suggest that you decide on the concept of your design before you search. Sometimes, I prefer a clean look, then I would choose a plain design. You can use keywords like "plain" to search for a suitable template.

After deciding on the art direction, you will tend to use less time to search for a suitable template. Alternatively, you can even create your own template. Here's an example. If you find this familiar, it's because I used this template for my blog. ;)

Who should use Canva?

Honestly, I would recommend Canva to everyone who wants to create design-related projects for any medium. Designers can use Canva to save time. Free-lancers can use Canva to create social media posts for free. Students can generate event posters on Canva, without splurging money on software. Canva is a useful tool for design. The great news is - it's free. You would need to put aside some time to play with the various functions. Once you know how to use Canva, you can create a lot of collaterals easily.

If you have tried out Canva, feel free to share your experience too!

That’s all for today!

x, Esther