What is Canva? Creating beautiful free graphics was never so easy.

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What is Canva?

A go-to graphic design software is a must for blogging.

If you haven’t heard of Canva yet, let me introduce you to this amazing graphic design platform. It’s my number one blogging tool.

Canva is a free online graphic design program that allows you to create images, graphics, presentations, and documents.

There isn’t a day when I don’t use Canva.

Creating beautiful free graphics was never so easy.

A Beginners guide to the free graphic design platform: Canva

In addition to creating designs on your desktop, they also have a mobile app. I can create from my computer or phone and have access to all the same files from my Canva account.

Plus you don’t need any design experience. This graphic design tool makes creating beyond easy!

Create from scratch or use one of thousands of free templates!

You can create graphics for anything. Social media, infographics, posters, flyers, presentations, resumes, business cards and so much more.

Not only do they have incredible templates. They have tons of amazing resources to use in your design. You’ll find illustrations, photos, photo filters, fonts, icons, and shapes available to use in your designs.  

Another thing I really love about Canva is that you can schedule your designs to pin directly to Pinterest!

This is such a cool feature they’ve added and I love using their pin scheduler. I simply use a Pinterest template, create my design and schedule it to post without ever leaving Canva!

I do have a monthly subscription to Canva Pro, which has been more than worth it for me! I use Canva Pro to create all my feature images for my blog, Instagram graphics, stories backgrounds, and Pinterest pins. 

But did you know you can check out Canva Pro for free?! Yep! Canva lets you try Canva Pro for 30 days for free!

So, if you want to unlock additional fonts, icons, illustrations, images, and cool features like their background remover, Canva Pro is worth it in my opinion.

If you check out their 30-day free trial feel free to use my Canva referral when you sign up!

What is Canva? Creating beautiful free graphics was never so easy.

Getting started with Canva

No more using complicated programs!

Now this is my go-to online graphic design tool. I love creating my social media graphics, blog graphics, lead magnets, ebooks, and templates in Canva.

It’s free to start a Canva account.

You can easily sign up with Facebook, Google or an email. Simply go to Canva.com and sign up anytime.

They’ve made it so easy to design with their online graphic design platform or on your phone with the Canva app.

I prefer to design on my computer, but love having access to all my designs on both my computer and my phone.

Once you’ve signed up you can start to design right away. Choose from thousands of different types of templates or design from scratch.

What is Canva used for?

What isn’t Canva used for?!

Canva is a free online graphic design program. It’s filled with amazing templates to help you create any kind of graphic you can image.

Beyond amazing graphics you can also create documents, brochures, presentations and so much more.

For me Canva has become a one stop shop for creating beautiful Pinterest pins, blog feature images, and Instagram feed and stories graphics.

Canva can also be used professionally. I use Canva as a blogger, but I also use it for my work.

With Canva I can create power point presentations and images for our website and emails.

How to Use Canva

Canva Templates

The have templates for every type of design you can image!

I typically use Canva to create social media graphics. Especially Pinterest pins.

I love their amazing selection of templates. But, I also enjoy creating my own designs from scratch.

Canva is amazing for creating:

• Marketing materials
• Advertising materials
• Website graphics
• Social media posts of all kinds
  • Facebook post
  • Facebook cover
  • Facebook Ad
  • Twitter post
  • Instagram feed post
  • Instagram stories
  • Instagram reels
  • TikTok backgrounds
  • YouTube thumbnails
  • YouTube channel art
  • Pinterest pin
• Blog graphics
• Presentations
• Letters
• Resumes
• Reports Brochures
• Magazine Covers
• Books
• Invoices
• Logos
• and so much more!

They have the latest designs and keep adding new and trending templates. So you’ll always be able to create fresh content.

Want more helpful Canva tips? Check out these awesome posts:

• How To Create A Free Canva Website
• 7 Canva Image Editing Tools to try out
• Is it time to upgrade to Canva Pro?
• 20 Beautiful Free Canva Templates for Pinterest
• How to create multiple Pinterest pins in minutes
• Secret Canva Brand Codes to Create Beautiful Designs

Canva Features

You’ll find a side panel when editing a design with the following available:

• Templates
• Uploads
• Photos
• Elements
• Text
• Styles
• Audio
• Video
• Background

Using templates

You can change your template at anytime in the design process.

You can also add pages to your current design by duplicating a page or adding a new page. Use the same or a different template for each page in your design.

Upload your own photos

Upload your own photos and videos to use in your design.

I love using my own images in Canva. You simply drag and drop an image from your files and it imports right into your uploads section.

I also love using free stock photos and videos in Canva.

If you are looking for free photo resources have several go to stock photography sites I find images and videos on. Check them out here: 10 Stock Photography Sites You Need To Check Out Now

Use Canva’s Images

Search through Canva’s amazing library of images and videos.

I love using my own photos to keep my designs unique and one of a kind. But, I don’t always have the image I need for my design.

Canva has an extensive library of images to fit the needs of any type of design you are creating.

Add elements to your design

In the element section you will find:

• Shapes
• Frames
• Stickers
• Charts
• Grids
• Gradients
• Icons
• Illustrations

They have tons of illustrations in all sorts of styles.

You will find organic, modern, hand drawn, monoline, vibrant, vivid, bright, duo color, pastel and muted elements to add to your designs.

Search through elements to find the perfect icon or illustration for your design.

Add text to your design

You can add all sorts of text to your designs.

Simply drop a new text box in and choose from hundreds of fonts. Or use one of Canva’s already created text combinations.

Create a Brand Kit

One of the coolest things you can do in Canva Pro is create Brand Kit.

You can upload a logo, choose you brand font and create color palettes.

Create your own palettes or choose from a selection that Canva has already created.

How to use Styles in Canva

Once you have your brand kit set up, you can easily apply your favorite fonts and color palettes to your designs.

Your Brand Kit logos, fonts and color palettes are available to you under the styles feature when editing your designs.

Easily and quickly change fonts and colors by selecting your brand kit fonts and palettes. You can also find font pairings and palettes Canva has created under Styles.

How to add audio and video in Canva

With video growing as a leading medium on social media, I love that Canva has audio and video files to use in your designs.

Backgrounds in Canva

You can also add backgrounds and change the color of your background.

I often keep my backgrounds simple by adding a color to them.

This last feature is great if you want some style to the background of your design, other than a color, but don’t want to use a photo.

My favorite Canva Pro Tool: The Background Remover!

My favorite tool in Canva Pro is hands down the Background Remover. It’s super easy to use. Canva does all the work of removing a background for you in seconds.

To remove the background from an image you’ll simply upload your image into a design, go to Edit Image and choose BG Remover.

Once the initial background is removed you can also fine tune it with the erase or restore brushes.

These are the basics of getting started with Canva. Have you tried out Canva yet? What feature is your favorite?

Questions? Please let me know!

xoxo Naomi

Frequently asked questions about Canva

Is it worth paying for Canva Pro?

I use Canva Pro and I love it! While the free version of Canva is amazing. I have found paying for Canva Pro is more than worth it.

If you are just getting started I recommend using Canva for free at first. If you find yourself using Canva all the time then it’s worth upgrading to Pro.

Upgrading to Canva Pro will unlock tons of features like additional fonts, photos, videos, elements.

How much does Canva cost per month?

The monthly plan is $12.99 a month. If you pay annually it bring the monthly fee down to $9.99 a month.

Is Canva better than Photoshop?

Both programs are unique. Where Canva doesn’t have the full editing capabilities of Adobe, it is incredibly easy to use.

Canva has made graphic design accessible with little to no design experience.

Anyone can use Canva to design beautiful graphics.

Does Canva own my designs?

The short and sweet answer is no. All your designs belong to you under “User Content.”

Can I sell what I make on Canva?

Yes you can! You can design unique graphics on Canva and sell them. What you cannot do is sell their existing templates.

Get the full details and terms of use on Canva.com.

Can you use Canva for Pinterest?

Yes! You can create tons of amazing pins in Canva. They have thousands of templates to choose from.

Easily customize your templates by simply changing colors, fonts and images.

Want more helpful Canva tips? Check out these awesome posts:

• How To Create A Free Canva Website
• 7 Canva Image Editing Tools to try out
• 20 Beautiful Free Canva Templates for Pinterest
• How to create multiple Pinterest pins in minutes
• Secret Canva Brand Codes to Create Beautiful Designs