Canva

What is It?

Canva is an online, collaborative, graphic design website and app. It uses templates (pre-made fill-in-the-blanks) to help speed up the graphic design process. With it, you can freely make posters, business cards, trifolds, website graphics, logos, gifs, and more.

How is it helpful, unique, and cool?

Canvas makes the graphic design process quick and easy. While photoshop is definitely more powerful, Canva…

is free (outside of a few graphics)
does not require a download
can be worked on with other people (like Google Docs)
saves you time with templates
allows you to embed links, animations, and simple videos

How has it been used by others?

Check out some of the examples below.

Informational Brochures

Social Media Graphics & Marketing

Logos

Posters

How do I use it?

To use Canvas, you need to first make a free account at https://Canva.com. Click on “Sign Up” in the top right corner. You can sign up with a personal email or your school email. To use your school email, click on this button when signing up:

It may ask you to sign up with a paid account. If so, look closely on the page. It will still let you use 90% of the features without a paid account.

If it is your first time using Canva, don’t fret! Canva is easy to pick up from a bit of experimentation. If you would like to hop right in and play around without making an account, click here (your graphics will not save without an account). Some of the basics you may want to know are:

Templates

Templates are premade graphics that you can fully alter and adjust to get started. Unless you have used Canva for a while, starting with a template is a great way to go. You can search for templates on the Canva home page or by clicking on this button in the editor.

Elements

Elements are the building blocks of Canva. They include lines, shapes, graphics, photos, videos, and more. You can search for them like templates. To add them, you simply click on or drag the elements you would like on to your workspace. You can also modify many elements using the bar along the top of your digital workspace.

Text

Text works like the elements, but is set up in its own distinct category. To add text, you first need to decide if it is a heading, subheading, or body text. Don’t worry if you are not sure what it will be; you can always change it later. Click or drag text on to the workspace. Use the bar at the top to modify different parts of the text.

Lock

When you begin working with a template, you may find that you are not able to move or adjust certain items. This is because they are “locked.” Locked items cannot be moved or edited. To lock or unlock an item, simply select the element and click on the lock icon. If it is hidden, it may be under the “three dots."

Group

When you begin work with a template, you may find that some items are attached to one another. This is because they are “grouped.” Much like locked items, you will need to select the element(s) and click on the “group” button near the top to group or ungroup items. Items already in a group cannot be added to another group.

If you would like an in-depth tutorial, you can access Canva’s wide array of courses on basic usage to marketing & professional design by going to https://www.canva.com/learn/

Where can I use it in school?

Since we already discussed where it is used in the “real world,” let’s look at how you can use it in different classes. To use it in a class for an assignment, make sure to ask if the teacher is okay with you doing so. Make sure to explain how it relates to what you are learning.

English - Share information on a novel you read in a trifold.
Math - Build a visually-appealing graph of survey results and statistics.
Science - Create a diagram of the krebs cycle or natural selection.
Social Studies - Draft a social media post on current events with links to your citations.
Art - Use the shapes, lines, and other elements to create an abstract piece of digital art.

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