Canva is what you make of it. With the wrong strategies, you could walk away with time wasted and the much-frowned-upon “Canva Template” look. As your go-to girl for all things Canva, I’m here to let you in on what I’ve learned over my years of using the software professionally so that you can improve your workflow and take your graphics to the next level.
5 Canva Tips and Tricks to Maximize Your Time and Elevate Your Designs
1. Sort designs into folders or use labels.
Being organized is the key to a smooth workflow. If you are not organized, things can get messy, fast. The way I juggle multiple clients, and hundreds of projects for each of those clients, is by using folders and labels. When starting a new project, I title it with an acronym to identify the client and then briefly describe what I am creating. For example, if I was making a project for this blog post’s graphics, I would make a design titled “STR Blog Header.”
For the media I need for a client’s designs, I make a folder (that I can access while I’m in any design) to house all the photos, icons, and other elements in one place. I also have folders for things like emoji PNGs (Don’t get me started on Canva and emojis!) that I need to use frequently.
You can also organize designs and elements by using Brand Kits in Canva, but I find it easier to use folders and labels for my type of work.
2. Use grids instead of frames.
Canva has two types of pre-set “holders” for dragging and dropping photos into a certain shape — grids and frames. Frames can be shaped into anything, and Canva provides a selection ranging from circles to letters to mock-ups. Grids are a collection of multi-frame grid layouts.
Here’s why I prefer grids over frames:
If you want to make collages, split screen images, or anything else that requires all images to be equally sized and spaced, grids are the way to go. Far too often I have stumbled upon a template using frames instead of a grid, and the photos are just a smidge misaligned. Save yourself the manual labor, and try using grids.
3. Click on the element creator’s name for design consistency.
This is my favorite way to easily keep graphics artistically cohesive. When you find an element in Canva’s library that you’d like to use in your design, click the button at the top right of the element. There you will see the option to view more from the artist who made the photo or graphic. You will also be able to see if the artist created similar elements in the same style or collection. It’s a helpful way to find elements that will be a good visual fit.
Now I will say, this strategy is not fool-proof. I have, on occasion, gone searching for the perfect element, discovered one that is exactly what I had in mind, only to find that the artist has made no other variations. But besides that occasional hiccup, this method has helped me numerous times.
4. Upload your own fonts (with permission of course).
Sure, Canva has an extensive font library. But if you want to go the extra mile or your design and branding require a font not yet available in Canva, you can upload your own.
This feature is imperative to my work, and it can help you add uniqueness to your designs, too. It helps to avoid the mundane “Canva Template” look as you are no longer pulling from the same pool of fonts as every other user.
A word of caution: While you’ll find countless free fonts available to download online, BE CAREFUL—not all of them are free for commercial use.
5. Add textures and overlays.
Textures and overlays make designs pop, and they elevate your work from the icky “Canva Template” appearance to a professional, polished look. While Canva does not have the same tools (such as different blend modes) as Adobe for the utilization of textures and overlays, it has a pretty strong collection of them in the elements tab.
When making projects in Illustrator and Photoshop, I used to search high and wide—with little success—for free, high-quality textures. Using Canva’s library of textures and overlays has saved me a lot of time, and my Canva designs can hold a candle to those I’ve created with more “professional” software platforms.
Over to YOU!
I hope these tips help you boost your design prowess and resolve some of the challenges you’ve faced in Canva. If you have any burning Canva questions you’d like answered, drop me a note in the comments.
