Canva: Free Cloud-Based Graphic Design Tool for Social Media
Do you really need to pay Adobe Creative Cloud membership for Photoshop or other tools? As a beginner or non-designer, this free tool might just be what you need to promote your social media account.
Not just it’s free, there’re no design skills required. All you need is your creativity.
Who is it for
- You are new to design.
- You want to save money from hiring a designer.
- You just want a simple tool to quickly validate your ideas.
Where to get it
Mobile App: https://www.canva.com/app/
They even provide free design courses: https://designschool.canva.com/
What can you create
Logo
There’s a wide category of templates to choose from depending on your brand or business, such as fashion, education, sport or computer.
Make your own YouTube intro or thumbnail
Want one of those cool animations for your YouTube channel? Canva’s got you covered.
Social media post
Secrets to beautiful images on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. If you’re a blogger, it is crucial to increase attractions with a good cover photo for your posts.
Use photo collage to make a digital Moodboard
Needs inspirations before setting the tone for your next design? It is very easy to do.
There are so many things you can do with Canva, other than what I included above you can also use it to make presentation, poster, website, book cover, business card, invitation, etc.
Other than benefit from their extensive options of templates, you can also create your own designs from scratch.
How to use it
Here’s a quick example of how you may create a quotes Instagram post:
- Pick a template you like:
2. Change the text, colour, or background images to customise it for your brand:
3. Download:
Depends on the template you selected, you may be charged a fee (as small as £0.99 for each premium image). To avoid the charges, you could replace it from a selection of free photos or upload your own.
Pricing
For a personal project, free membership should be sufficient. There are other features that will only be available for Pro (from £8.99 per user monthly) or Enterprise (from £24.00 per user monthly) membership.
Finally
Graphic design has been dominated by companies like Adobe for a very long time. With the expensive fees and steep learning curve, it might have stopped a lot of people from making a start. Today either if you are a small business, or if you are a hobbyist, Canva opens a door of opportunities and fun.
