It is not unlikely to consider Canva.com as a tool for graphic design. Because it is! But being efficient in your work and co-work with colleagues and other stakeholders often includes also creative pathways and a pinch of lateral thinking. With that said – in this article we will give a few ideas how to use Canva.com to make your collabs run more professionally, and simultaneously support your efforts for great design.

What is Canva.com?

Canva is by far the best free browser-based creativity tool out there. It lets you create all sorts of designs, from infographics to flyers, ebooks and social media posts. And even if you have almost no clue about graphic design, it is made in a very intuitive way and will make you seem like the next best designer. The thousands of templates you can find in Canva make it easy for any non-arts-and-craftsy person to create professional-looking designs from scratch. They also have a large portfolio of graphic elements and stock photography that you can spruce up your creations with.

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What are the main features?

Surely, each of us will be interested in their own visual outcomes, but here are a few that will be especially useful for a new enterprise or a social impact organization. Here’s what you can create in Canva.com:

  • logos
  • social media post designs and header images
  • newsletters for Mailchimp
  • restaurant menus
  • flyers
  • art for your merch
  • presentations and much more!

Let me tell you one secret. Many would be slightly put off by the limitations that non-pro version poses.

But if you are a non-profit (an NGO, a social impact entity) then Canva will generously gift you a free Pro version with no time limitations. Just check their Nonprofits section and follow their instructions.

How to use Canva.com in collaborative settings?

I mentioned already that it is full of amazing templates, didn’t I? Which is why the first suggestion for fostering a collaboration through this platform is pretty simple. Just dig through the vast amount of pre-made templates and see if there is something that catches your eye. For example, a Kanban template to help organize your team’s work!

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The second feature that can make your collaborations and workflow smoother is the possibility to store all the designs in one place. It ensures that any of your colleagues or collaborators can access the created content and use the company templates any time without the need to ask the creator to share it. Imagine it like a shared Google drive storage, but just for design files and a possibility to directly copy and edit these files.

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The third, but the most amazing feature is connected to collaborating in live time. Any of designs can be accessed by the whole team and edited simultaneously on the go. Imagine colleagues putting together a presentation where each person writes down information about their field of expertise. All at the same time. Or commenting on design options created by someone while the person directly adjusts the necessary changes. Or even better – creating a design and assigning parts of the document to be filled or changed by someone on your team.

Hopefully, these ideas will help to develop a sustainable and efficient workflow, may it be for collaborating with your fellow colleagues or with external stakeholders and experts! 

This publication has been prepared within SENBS project No. 2020- 1-EE01-KA204-077999. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.