Canva 101 Presentation by Gael Gilliland

Conquer Your Creative Chaos

Canva 101

Presented by Gael Gilliland

Conquer Your Creative ChaosCanva 101

What is Canva

Graphic design platform built with simplicity and the user in mind

You can use it to create anything from Facebook graphics to

business cards

It does not replace Photoshop etc. but it does bring basic

graphics tools to the general population


Why do I love it?

Simple and easy to use

The ultimate cheat sheet in image sizing

Efficient way to create eyecatching graphics that are in line with my

brand

I can add my own branding profile (colors and fonts) for easy reference

In the pro version, you can use the Magic resize to instantly create the

image optimized for every platform

Purple guidelines to help with spacing and image aesthetics

Multiple download options for online and print uses

It's free...


Your Canva Dashboard


Your Canva Dashboard

Dashboard

Shows all of the different types of images you can create

When you hover over an image it will tell you the pixel size

You can also use custom dimensions to create a graphic (upper righthand corner)


Dashboard Menu

All your designs Shows all of your designs

your've created. Canva automatically saves your

designs to the cloud.

Shared with you Shows designs/projects that have

been shared with you by others

Create a team You can create a team to work on

your designs

Your brand


Your Brand

Color palettes You can add your brand colors

using hex and RGB codes

Not sure what you want yet? Use the "Color

palette inspiration" to get started

Logos Upload your logos here

Having your brand info set up first will help you

create consistent graphics and maintain your

brand's visual integrity


Your Brand

Fonts Choose your Heading font, Sub

heading font, and body text font

Not sure what you want yet? Use the

"Suggested font combinations" to get started

Uploaded fonts Canva allows you to upload

your own fonts

Using the same fonts consistently on your

graphics will help your brand's visual integrity


Font Recommendations

Headings Use Serif or Script fonts

Subheadings Use Serif or Script fonts

Body text Use Sans Serif

I recommend sticking to 23 fonts (I try to pick

2) for each image.

For your Branding Profile, having 3 fonts to

draw from is handy for inspiration

Sticking in the same font family can help an

image look cohesive


Canva predesigned layouts differ for each

image type to maximize impact on that

platform

There are free and paid layouts

Layouts


Elements

Free PhotosGridsFramesShapesLinesIllustrationsIconsChartsI Canva


Text

Gives you a default preset

The first three lines that say "Add..." is where your

branding text will show up when you set it.

The predesigned text components can be modified

with color and font changes as well as sizing


Text Editing

HTML editing features

Auto change the letter spacing & Line height

Adjust transparency

Link text to a URL


Background

You can pick virtually any color under the

sun (especially if you have the RGB or hex

code).

You are provided with a default palette to

get you started.

The squares below the palette are pre

designed by Canva and free to use unless

otherwise noted.


Uploads

This is one of my favorite features

Upload your own images to Canva

I like to use transparent logos to easily

brand my graphics

You can also pull images from your

Facebook account

Conquer Your Creative Chaos

This background is an image I uploaded. It

is digital cardstock purchased to be in line

with my Creative Chaos brand.

Let's create a Facebook Graphic

Click Facebook Graphic from your Dashboard

Select a Background

Select Text Add heading

Edit Text to Say "Hello" hit enter "Goodbye"

Change the font to "Chewy"

Change the lineheight to 2.0

Under Elements Frames and select a frame

Change the color of the frame to purple

Click Download in the top right corner

Click JPG

Open your graphic on your laptop

Canva 101 Conquer Your Creative Chaos


I used Canva to createthis presentation...


References & Legal Stuff

Screenshots are directly from Canva.com

All info and suggestions are my own gleaned from years of research

and experience.

These does not meet any course requirement for any educational

institution.

I do not make any guarantees by publishing this information. You use

it at your own risk.

Canva does not pay to say any of these things, nor am I endorsed by

them (at least not yet)


Contact Info

[email protected]

gaelgilliland.com

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

https://gaelgilliland.com/

Canva 101 Presentation by Gael Gilliland

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