Canva is surprising me once again.
I remember the good old days when I was an art teacher/ wee digital development helper back home. I was the youngest staff member in my school = the most proficient in computer literacy. So, every now and then I had to design some flyers, posters and posts for school needs.
I was usually using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for everyday work, but, as you can imagine, school computers were not the fastest ever and it took ages for them to load Photoshop. On one of that "long loading days," I discovered Canva. It was 2015.
What is Canva and why is it so good?
Canva is a powerful graphic design platform which makes day-to-day design tasks very easy.
Users can design posters, flyers, presentations and other visual documents with drag-and-drop design tools with a stock library of photographs, illustrations and imagery.
Canva is easy to sign up for, using either an email, Google account, or Facebook login. Once an account is created, for free, you can pick if you're using it as a teacher, student, or anything else.
The platform stores millions of texts and images. If you make a new project you can save it and continue using it at another time without losing any progress and it really saves time, especially if you have to manage your socials yourself and don't have a lot of time for it.
Canva Visual Worksuite includes:
Docs
Whiteboards
Presentations
Social Media
Video
Print
Websites
New Best Canva Features for Artists and Makers.
Canva Create.
On March 22, 2023, Canva announced the beginning of the Brand New Era by introducing new magical tools and features (and sure AI is a big part of it). Here’s a recap!
1. Brand Hub
Centralize your brand and keep your logos, colours, fonts, icons, imagery, graphics, and brand guidelines all in one place for everyone to use. This is very helpful and keeps you organized!
2. Magic Design
Magic Design is an AI-powered design generator that lets you upload any media and it generates templates that match the content and context you need. You can choose templates you like and keep working with them. It saves lots of time!
step 1
step 2
3. Create an Animation
The tool "Animate" allows users to create simple animations and GIFs within the Canva platform. With this tool, users can add motion effects to elements such as text, shapes, and images, and set the animation to play on a loop or just once. The tool includes a timeline feature that allows users to adjust the timing and sequence of their animations.
4. Draw
"Draw" allows users to create hand-drawn designs and illustrations within the Canva platform. With this tool, users can use a variety of brushes and pens to create freehand
Drawings or sketches, and adjust the stroke size, opacity, and color of their lines.
Best new features (in my opinion).
I was waiting for it for so long and now you can actually Draw in Canva, yes! You can select from three types of pens and adjust the opacity, colour and thickness of lines.
The second new tool that saves loads of time is Magic Design. Simply upload an image then select a style, and Magic Design will whip up a curated selection of unique templates just for you. It’s a simple way to visualize any design!
Overview
You can't find a better user-friendly graphic design platform than Canva. Suitable for all levels it's great for professionals who value their time, and for beginners who want to use software with a straightforward interface.
Links and Resources