Do you wish you could create amazing designs for your blog posts or social media updates?
Maybe you hate paying graphic designers?
Either way, the tool I’m about to share with you will change your life. If you are like me and spend a lot of time managing social media and creating content, this tool will save you hours of time.
Introducing… Canva.
Canva is a productivity tool for everyone that simplifies a number of types of design. You can use Canva to create designs for web, print, blogs, presentations, Facebook posts, invitations and more.
Canva appeals to two different types of marketers: the one who hates waiting for graphic designers to get the job done and the one who knows just enough Photoshop to do the design themselves, but it takes them forever.
Or, you might be like me and fall under both categories: I hate waiting for graphic designers so I try do it all myself and spend hours in the process.
That was until I found Canva.
Let’s take a look at how Canva saves me hours per week.
1. Design featured images for blog posts and social media.
This is by far the best way I use Canva.
We all know that engaging images are important for our blog posts and social media updates, right?
Well, with Canva, you can easily create designs with cool icons, stock photos, shapes and fun fonts. Now instead of reading the Photoshop manual on how to create a filter, you can click a couple of buttons and voila! It’s done!
In the past, it took me 30-45 minutes to design a featured image in Photoshop. Now, it takes me under five minutes with Canva.
Here’s an example of a featured image I’ve done for R & G Technologies.
For this design, I used the following features in Canva:
- Pre-designed template with the exact size dimensions
- High resolution stock photo from their library ($1 charge per stock photo)
- Added a dark-coloured shape for the text overlay to make my words pop
- Added text with a nice looking font (Open Sans)
2. Design cover pages for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
Have you ever tried to submit a new cover image to a social media site only to have it come back with an error message saying your image size is not acceptable?
If you’re anything like me, you’ll then go to Google and search around until you find the right size, then try again. This isn’t productive; it’s a waste of time.
Thanks to Canva, you’ll be designing cover pages like a pro. It has preconfigured cover page designs that match the size requirement for social media sites like Google, Facebook and Twitter.
If that wasn’t easy enough, Canva also has a collection of premade layouts that you can use to create a stunning, high quality design.
Here’s an example of a cover photo I created for R & G's Twitter page:
For this design, I used the following features in Canva:
- Custom image for the background
- Transparency to make the words pop
3. Design Infographics
Infographics are a great way to visually display statistics. I like to use them when I curate research and want to show it in an easy-to-digest and shareable format.
In the past, I have hired a graphic designer to help create my infographics. Now, I use Canva.
The tool is so robust and comes with really good layouts that are perfect for creating highly visual infographics.
Here’s a snippet of an infographic I created for R & G Technologies:
For this design, I used the following features in Canva:
- Added premade icons and numbers to show off each statistic
- Added a sharp, fresh font (Open Sans)
- Uploaded company logo to add branding
- Used a premade layout to give the header a nice look
- Added coloured shapes to create a background for the information
What’s next:
I challenge you to give Canva a try. Full disclosure: I’m in no way associated with Canva. I’m just one of thousands of advocates and I can’t speak highly enough of the tool. It has saved me countless hours and, even better, it’s enabled me to create high quality designs that really add another dimension to my blog posts and social media updates.
Visit Canva.com to give it a go.