Summary
With Canva's simple interface and vast collection of cutting-edge templates and graphics, entrepreneurs and larger companies are reinventing their brand look and visual communications using Canva.
June is Entrepreneurs “Do it Yourself” Marketing Month
A month dedicated to equipping entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners with tools and resources to promote their brands by creating their own marketing campaigns without the need for an expert marketing team. The idea is for entrepreneurs to take the month of June to focus on their publicity and outreach and make their own plans to improve it.
Whether you’re a novice to the graphic design world or a CEO of a start-up, who needs to create content for brand awareness?
What is Canva?
Canva is an online design and visual communication platform that aims to empower everyone to design anything and publish anywhere. It is a DIY graphic design tool that allows users to create content using templated designs. It’s the perfect tool to kick off Entrepreneurs’ “Do it Yourself” Marketing Month!
Did you know that more than 170 million people worldwide now use Canva to design, collaborate, and dream up new ideas? Canva, one of the most user-friendly tools, is used by more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies, from companies made up of one person to companies like Reddit and Zoom. More and more businesses worldwide are utilizing the 15 billion design templates.
This tool allows everyone to create designs, whether you are someone who is creatively challenged or someone who does not prefer to outsource. Although the platform makes it easy to create, it is important to keep in mind that a few details can make or break the professional look of your creative assets.
Consider these three tips when leveraging Canva for your brand’s creative content.
#1: Use Graphic Design Guidelines
“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.”
- Balance: Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a design. It can be symmetrical (equal weight on both sides of a central axis), asymmetrical (uneven distribution of elements), or radial (elements arranged around a central point).
- Contrast: Contrast creates visual interest by using differences in color, size, shape, or other elements. It helps distinguish important elements and contributes to readability and emphasis.
- Alignment: Alignment ensures that elements are visually connected and properly positioned relative to each other. It creates a sense of order and structure within the design.
- Proximity: Proximity involves grouping related elements together to create visual cohesion and organization. It helps convey relationships and information hierarchy.
- Repetition: Repetition involves reusing certain elements throughout a design to create consistency and unity. This can be patterns, colors, shapes, or other visual elements.
- Hierarchy: Hierarchy establishes the order of importance within a design. By varying size, color, position, or other factors, designers can guide the viewer’s attention to the most critical elements first.
- Emphasis: Emphasis focuses on creating focal points in a design. This is achieved by making certain elements stand out through contrast, size, color, or placement.
- White Space (Negative Space): White space refers to the areas of a design that are left blank. It provides breathing room, reduces clutter, and can be used to emphasize certain elements.
- Movement: Movement creates a sense of action or directs the viewer’s eye through a design. It can be achieved through the use of lines, shapes, or the arrangement of elements.
- Unity: Unity, or harmony, ensures that all elements of a design work together cohesively. It creates a sense of completeness and consistency throughout the composition.
Takeaway: Applying these graphic design principles will take your creative pieces from amateur to professional!
#2: Don’t Use an Unlimited Amount of Fonts
Although it can be tempting to use many fonts on a design, keeping it to a maximum of 3 fonts is important. If you use too many typefaces, it can confuse your target audience and clutter your design. Keep it simple, use one font for each type of text:
- Heading
- Subheading
- Body
Takeaway: Keep it simple. Choose a maximum of 3 brand fonts and use them as designated.
#3: Be Consistent with Your Branding
Due to the creative accessibility of Canva, it can be tempting to utilize every appealing design you come across. Still, you must remember that consistent branding is essential to a successful business. Branding comprises typography, color palette, mood and voice, and design aesthetic.
Canva has a template for every brand vibe you can imagine, but you want to ensure the creative templates you leverage are consistent with your brand guidelines. Consistency allows for brand cohesion, which ensures your brand is recognizable to your target audience.
Takeaway: Ensure the templates you use align with your brand’s guidelines. For starters, select 5-7 templates that you can use for each content pillar of your social media strategy. Example: If your brand exudes moodiness and luxury, your templates should not reflect floral and bright elements. You would select a template with dark elements and classic typography.
Graphic design takes time to master, but with tools like Canva, everyone can create. If you’re an entrepreneur or mid-size regional company, incorporating these tips and design guidelines will take your creative assets to the next level!!
