Experimenting with Canva

​By Abby Sommer

Are you interested in Graphic Design? Have you ever wanted to create a logo, brand design, or social media event post for a company but don’t know where to start? As a graphic design student at the University of Florida, I have been taught professional design programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, however, not all of us have the time nor energy to teach ourselves how to use such complicated programs. That’s where the website Canva comes in. Canva is a program that allows the user to design anything from event flyers to book covers to marketing materials.
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Once you create an account and sign in, Canva provides a toolbar with a list of different options to help you curate your design experience. You can search templates, see designs that were shared with you by other users, and save specific colors and fonts to your company’s account via the “Your brand” tab. Then below, you can create folders organizing your designs into specific categories in order to keep your brand organized.

In the actual design window, there are countless ways to be creative with your work. Once a template has been selected, the user basically has complete control over every element of it. Among some of the most basic controls the user has are changing the color scheme, font style, and altering the text and background elements. Canva also offers free images, illustrations, shapes, lines, and frames to give the user complete creative freedom with their design. And if the site doesn’t have something you need, you can upload your own images, fonts, and layouts. All of these features combined with simple, easy to understand controls, allow the user to user to create the design of their dreams.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my time working with Canva thus far. if you’re strapped for time or have hit a roadblock with your design, it offers an easy way to jumpstart your brain and get the creative juices flowing. I definitely recommend Canva to anyone who is new in the design world, or simply wants to better their skills and eye. ​

Abby Sommer is a Graphic Design Intern with CBOB. She attends the University of Florida.