In June, Author University hosted Canva experts Zehra Kayi and Heather Brown for a presentation on how authors can leverage Canva for their social media needs. Zehra Kayi shares six tips for the best ways a beginner can get the most out Canva’s free offerings.
New to Canva and don’t know where to start? No worries! I’ve outlined six helpful tips that’ll turn your blank spaces into masterpieces. Whether your goal is creating digital assets (like social media posts) or physical assets (like bookmarks or other merch), these pointers will allow you to use the tool in a multitude of ways.
1.Take a Tour of Free Templates and Elements
Explore all the templates on Canva, even in formats other than what you’re initially searching for. Dive in and dig through documents, whiteboards, presentations, social media, video, print products, and websites! Canva offers thousands upon thousands of free templates, elements, and graphics. To save time, start with these and then customize them to fit your needs. Search for specific keywords to find free assets (a small crown in the lower left corner indicates that an asset belongs to the Pro Paid service) that match your project. If you’re posting on social, have fun with animated graphics, and if you have a print project, discover easily searchable elements that fit your needs.
2.Leverage Custom Dimensions
Canva help you make content with custom dimensions to fit your needs for social media posts, presentations, or print materials. Entering custom dimensions allows you to tailor your design precisely. There are great sources online that can help you figure out the dimensions and ratios needed for any type of project! Export and save projects to post them on the desired platform of your choice by selecting “Share” at the top left corner of your project and exploring the various options.
3.Explore Font Combinations
Canva has an extensive collection of fonts, and you can experiment with options to create visually appealing text for all your projects and designs. Mix and match thousands of different ones to find unique combinations that make your design stand out for your book, post, or brand! Please consult with your editor and publishing team to help you choose the best fonts and colors to match your book’s themes and related material.
4.Use Uploaded Transparent Backgrounds
A great way to ensure logos or graphics look polished is to source images online with transparent backgrounds and upload them to Canva. This is particularly useful for creating elements that you can overlay (layer) on other designs or use in multiple contexts.
5.Editing Photos and Videos
Uncover the media editing options that Canva provides and play around with various photo filters and hues for your photos or videos. Changing a photo from a cooler tone to a warmer one may be appealing for social as opposed to print. Make it a habit to adjust photos or videos to enhance their appearance, especially for social posts.
6.Incorporate Custom Color Palettes
Create custom color palettes to maximize book cover and brand consistency or to achieve a specific aesthetic. You can use the color picker tool to extract colors from any images—such as your book cover!—and apply them to your design elements. Canva allows you to save and reuse palettes for later projects so that you’re able to stay consistent across social or online platforms in addition to any physical assets you’d like to create.
These are all starting points within the free version of Canva, but don’t let these suggestions limit you. Every corner of Canva provides free editing options where the sky’s the limit for your designs. The biggest tip I’ll leave you with is to experiment and explore with the tool! Whether you’re a first-time user or a savant, try to carve out a dedicated hour to really learn the ins and outs of what the tool has to offer—it’ll save you time and energy in the long run.
Zehra Kayi is the Senior Brand Strategist of the Author Development Team.