Canva is a free DIY graphic design online web and mobile app, in case you aren’t already familiar with it.
For practically every online and offline marketing project, you may select from a wide range of templates to personalize, including Facebook posts, Instagram stories, menus, posters, infographics, etc.
You’ve come to the correct spot if you want to learn more about Canva.
Table of Contents
Is Canva Unprofessional?
Using Canva is typically seen as unprofessional. There is, however, a proper time and location for the service.
Although you shouldn’t use Canva for every job as a professional, you may utilize it for some of them.
Many professional graphic designers think that Canva offers enough features, especially in premium versions, to fulfill their demands, despite the fact that it does not give the same level of extreme customization that some other companies do.
The selection of a graphic design platform gets more difficult every day as more are developed and promoted.
The market is flooded with options, which is confusing.
Canva is a solid option for both experienced graphic designers and newbies wishing to express their creativity, nevertheless.
Why Canva Is So Great?
There are several reasons why the visual creation site Canva is so well-liked.
Canva is a platform that offers choices for novices as well as seasoned graphic designers.
For graphic creation, many individuals and experts use Canva for the following reasons.
Easy to Use
Canva is a platform for graphic creation that is comparatively simple to use. It serves as many newbies’ first platform.
It is user-friendly and suitable for many different kinds of visual information, including graphics for social media and written documents.
Canva’s abundance of templates is one feature that is beneficial to new users.
Canva offers thousands of layouts, even in the free edition.
There are simple & efficient ways to personalize everything from business cards to Zoom backgrounds.
Canva is a fantastic alternative if you don’t want to spend a lot of time on your designs and want to easily customize something special.
Multiple Devices Can Access It
Additionally, Canva is available on all popular smartphones.
They worked very hard to make the platform as uniform as they could.
Whether you are using a Mac, an Android phone, or whatever else is irrelevant.
Your Canva experience ought to be quite similar.
More Reasonably Priced Than Many Other Products
Canva’s user-friendliness may not even be as alluring as its payment choices.
Canva frequently appears on lists of the top graphic design platforms for beginners, in part because new users are hesitant to spend a lot of money on a platform they may not use frequently.
The cost-effective alternatives offered by Canva inspire those who desire to try out different graphic design techniques.
There are millions of themes, illustrations, and photographs available in Canva’s free edition.
If your team is using Canva, you may work with them in real time as well.
Additionally, 5G of cloud storage is included in this basic edition.
Six animation features are provided, which is more than plenty for a novice but many skilled designers would probably want additional choices.
Additionally, Canva is now running a campaign where non-profits, K12 teachers, and students may have customized premium versions free of charge.
This benefit is very alluring when compared to the prices of rivals.
Are Graphic Designers at Risk Because of Canva?
Canva eliminate the requirement for graphic designers?
Since Canva enables users to make their own designs, I’ve seen graphic designers express concern that they won’t be able to get design employment.
To make matters worse, it even offers a free plan and is simple to use, making it highly well-liked by non-designers.
I get it. If you have this worry, I can understand where you’re coming from.
But what if we take a different approach?
Do you immediately become an accountant if you use a spreadsheet?
Is using a hammer sufficient to qualify as a carpenter?
Absolutely not!
Do you understand why?
Considering that they are tools for the work.
However, having the right tools by themselves won’t provide someone the competence they need to complete a task correctly.
You may record your spending and earnings on a spreadsheet.
It doesn’t suddenly provide you with more details on tax regulations and write-offs to help you save money.
Even if you may wield a hammer and have an excellent aim when striking nails, you are not automatically a carpenter.
Simply said, both of them involve considerably more than that, am I right?
However, even if we apply this to design software…
Does someone become a designer if they utilize Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Affinity Studio, or Figma?
Does utilizing that program improve their design skills if they are a graphic designer?
Do they now exhibit greater creativity?
Absolutely not!
Has the existence of design software prevented us from noticing poor design? Absolutely not!
The source of good design is the designer, not the technology.
I’ll even go so far as to say that I believe the program may really limit our creativity, for example, when we are unsure of how to use a particular feature or create a particular look, particularly when it comes to logo design.
Sometimes, I believe it’s preferable to draw ideas out in pencil before using a computer.
Why Canva Is Good for Graphic Designers?
After all of that, why use Canva for graphic designers?
There are several reasons why designers should love Canva rather than dislike it and use it to their advantage.
Access for Non-designers
First off, even non-designers can use Canva.
By “accessible,” I don’t mean “accessibility” in this context, as I typically do. By accessible, I mean usable.
When a customer wants to be able to update anything, especially frequently, Canva is undoubtedly helpful.
Its user interface is quite simple, understandable, and intuitive.
I am a designer, and my team also consists of designers.
We have the ability to use the InDesign templates that I initially made and to produce new pictures from those files.
My social media manager, however, is not a designer and does not have an Adobe CC subscription.
He also doesn’t require one. That’s not what he does. He can quickly alter anything we’ve previously made with Canva.
Even the personalized course completion certificates are made in Canva.
He only has to enter the name, date, and course because everything is already set up and designed.
He doesn’t need to take any more action. For this use, it performs admirably.
Design Services at Canva
Clients frequently want access to editable files without having to spend money or time learning how to use the editing tools.
This presents a special opportunity for designers.
Why not fulfill that demand if clients have already chosen Canva and are aware that they need a solution that is simple to use by employees with different levels of technical expertise?
You may advertise Canva template design as a service you provide. There are so many chances available:
- Website visuals.
- Photos from social media.
- Cover style.
- Graphics for email newsletter headers.
- Flyer layout.
- Ad designs.
- Business cards.
It obviously isn’t applicable to all situations.
You wouldn’t want to use it to design a book in Canva, after all.
For that kind of task, it’s not the appropriate instrument.
But it’s not necessary to just create a template for them and call it a day.
You may develop items in Canva and keep working on design projects for them there.
You can have a contract with them where you provide monthly or quarterly design work.
Images shared on social media could even be more common.
Canva may be used to design the overall layout of them, but individual posts might still need further design work.
It doesn’t always follow that just because something is put up in Canva it’s finished and no longer requires your assistance as a designer.
Templates From Canva Were My Inspiration
In the same vein, I’ve heard from several designers that browsing Canva templates inspires them.
One of my designers claimed that Canva’s more constrained feature set allows her to be even more creative than she is while using Photoshop.
Use Canva Sparingly for Significant Professional Design Tasks
Avoid using Canva if you need to design a magazine, multi-page booklet, or any other project with a set size.
Such projects need more advanced technology that offers options for minute features like page numbering, font shape editing, margin and bleed settings, CMYK settings for photos (required for professional printing), drop shadow effects, etc.
I adore Canva’s cute, trendy design templates. But I also see that these designs are often utilized online.
On Instagram, for instance, I’ve seen the identical design used by two separate social media accounts.
Even while Canva is a cost-effective solution for businesses on a tight budget, you still want a qualified graphic designer for more significant tasks.
Final Thoughts
Canva is a helpful tool, but as a professional, you must use caution.
If you use it excessively, it could give the impression that you lack knowledge.
Canva helps to meet basic needs and also gives a great framework for larger projects.
It’s important to keep in mind that Canva designs are recognized, so you should use caution while using them.
We really hope that this data was useful! Knowing your limitations is helpful while utilizing Canva for work.
Use it just enough to improve your designs, but not too much that it becomes obvious that you got the inspiration from the internet.
Everything involves balance.
For startups and small enterprises who are on a limited budget and aren’t ready for marketing agency fees, Canva is an excellent, economical choice.
Further Reading: