A Step-by-Step Guide to Design in Canva

Canva can help you bring your vision to life. This tutorial will show you how to turn your imagination into a completed design in Canva.

Canva’s templates are a quick way to create great design. They’re completely customizable so you can alter the colors, images, and other details to fit your needs. There are thousands of templates to suit every design need.

Sometimes, you may need something entirely custom-made. How can you make sure that your creations look great?

Ready? Let’s get started.

01. Select the right dimensions to fit your design

As one of the best Social Media Expert in Kolkata, I can suggest select your design type on the Canva homepage to begin. These dimensions are adjusted to the best dimensions for every graphic, no matter if it’s a flyer, social media post or other. You can also search for “custom size” to find custom dimensions. You have the option to choose between pixels, millimetres, or inches.

02. Select a background

Your background could be either a color or an image.

Background colors

Design tip: Different colors tell different stories. Purple is associated to individuality, orange with activity, and green conjures images from nature. Consider which colors are most appropriate for you. Use our color palette tool to find the right combination.

You can also use a white background.

Use the Color Picker tool located in the toolbar at top of the editor to choose a color.

Background photos

First, create a grid to use your photo as a background. Photos can be cropped, cropped and flipped once they are placed on a grid. You can also layer them to create many visual effects.

Next, search for images or upload yours. Drag and drop your image onto a grid. It will snap into place.
Filters can be used to adjust the brightness, saturation, and clarity of a photo. This is useful when layering text or other elements.

Background images support the content. It’s difficult to add text or images to a background that is too busy. Consider texture when choosing background images for your design. To find the best texture, you can crop images. This allows you to remove noise-producing features or spaces from your image.

Below is a close-up photograph of a rose. Its main purpose is to serve as a vehicle for text.

Your design’s focus is a feature image. This image occupies a high place in the visual hierarchy. To apply smart feature images to your content, use a single or split-cell grid.

To balance the visual hierarchy, the image below uses grids. The photograph is attracted to the user’s attention.

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3. Add your elements

They should be combined in a way which is visually appealing.

Lynneal Santos, a Canva graphic designer, says balance is key. Consider the composition and balance of all elements within the design. Ask yourself if the elements are balanced when you lay them out. Are they in the right place? Also, ensure that they are not too close to any other elements or the edges of the page.

Her top tip? Keep it simple. Too many elements can distract from the visual message. Visual heirarchy is a term designers use to describe the order of elements according their importance. To find the best results, play with color, size, and placement.
Canva frames can be used to add photos to your design. These frames can be found under the “elements” tab in the side panel.

Must Read: How do you build a successful Graphic design profession?

4. Select the right fonts

Your font choices can make a big impact on the design of your website. This playful font is perfect for a fun beauty brand. This typeface is not suitable for law firms.

It is difficult enough to choose one font. Your design might require more than one font. Canva recommends that you never use more than one font in a design. Too many fonts can make a design appear “messy”. Complementary fonts are best, as they add visual interest and work well together. Find out which fonts work well together and tips for pairing fonts.

Canva offers hundreds of pre-set font combinations. These can be found in the Text tab on the side panel.

You can also create your own combinations. Simple is better: If you choose a complex font, make sure you match it with a more simple font to balance your design. Canva’s Font Combination tool is a great resource. Traditional combinations such as a sans serif and a serif font are powerful.

Readability is important. Your message can be distorted if your fonts are too complex.

From my personal experience as a professional Graphic Designer in Kolkata, I can say design doesn’t require you to spend hundreds of hours studying. You’ll improve with practice. Don’t let it discourage you if your first design fails to turn out as expected. Keep practicing and creating. In no time, you’ll be creating stunning images that are polished and professional.