“This content was produced in partnership with Canva.”
Graphic design, photography, video editing, and print work, all used to require a dedicated suite of tools. Typically, you would have to find the right tool for the job, with each of these tasks needing an application that delivers unique functions, features, and experiences. But there is a better solution in Canva and its premium subscription, Canva Pro. This intuitive, easy-to-use platform combines all of the graphic design and visual editing tools you’ll ever need, all in one accessible dashboard. The key benefit is the drag-and-drop user interface that makes the design process quick and painless. You can also take advantage of thousands upon thousands of customizable templates, video and audio assets, and much more.
Both Canva and Canva Pro now offer advanced collaboration between users. That means your team can work together simultaneously on a project across the entire visual communication process, from ideation to publication. It’s all done in real time, across all platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile. No matter where or what device(s) your teammates or colleagues are connecting from, you can co-create successfully and view contributions as they happen. The comment and reply threads allow you and your team to communicate within the platform, or through the app on mobile. It’s an excellent platform for all teams, individuals, and businesses. You can head over to Canva to give the platform a try now, or head past the break for more details on what it has to offer.
What can you expect from the Canva experience?
To start, it’s important to point out that Canva’s free version already has everything a professional needs to create designs, from a suite of simple editing tools to templates, and collaboration tools. So, you don’t have to spring for Canva Pro to create beautiful content, images, or designs. But with Canva Pro, you and your team can gain 100GB of cloud storage, social media scheduling support, visual tools — like the option to remove image backgrounds instantly — and the ability to set up your own Brand Kit so you can instantly customize your designs to match your business’ personality.
What sets Canva apart is more than its intuitive user interface and massive library of professionally designed templates and stock elements. Here are some of the major features available that everyone can find useful:
- Design Automation – What would otherwise be time-consuming with other tools, Canva’s platform makes quick work of visual tasks with support from Background Remover, Magic Resize, and similar functions. You can also take advantage of instant styles to create beautiful content with minimal effort. And when you upgrade to Canva Pro, the colors and fonts you save to your Brand Kit automatically become a customized style — which you can call upon anytime.
- Advanced and Interactive Presentation Tools – Create live and interactive presentations with full intent to share them and present to an audience. There are also tools for use during presentations, like magic shortcuts to add flair and effects, sharing in various image formats, and so on.
- Social Media Management – Create graphic design content and images for use with social media networks. You can access social media templates, to create the perfect photo for a particular platform like Instagram, TikTok, or Twitch. Also, you can use the Content Planner — with Canva Pro — to strategize and schedule your social engagements.
- Video Editor – An intuitive and online video editing tool with a scene-based editor. Create and splice videos using the single-layer timeline on both desktop and mobile devices. You can even add pre-licensed audio tracks, animations, and other special effects to your videos.
- Built-in Print Service – A full print service that allows you to “bring your Canva designs to life.” There are hundreds of print formats to choose from, like photo books, T-shirts, custom mugs, and so much more. All printing is eco-conscious and done using sustainably sourced materials.
There’s also a super handy Learn section that provides graphic design courses, tutorials, and informative content about using Canva’s tools and platform. If you’re a beginner, or if you need to familiarize yourself with some of Canva’s more advanced features, the resources are always a click away.
Canva is for all creatives and professionals
While many of these tools are exciting, there’s also the question, who is it all for? Surely, businesses, creatives, and professionals would have the biggest need for this platform. Yes, most small-to-large businesses can gain a lot from using Canva, but in reality, it’s an excellent tool for everyone. You can create flyers for your business, local gig, or event. Canva Presentations is the ideal tool for both school projects and interactive business proposals. Canva Video is an easy-to-use video editing tool that you can use to spruce up social media content, home videos, or advertisements. It’s all here, and it’s all accessible to everyone.
However, Canva Pro’s Brand Kit support is a definite must for all businesses. You can quickly save and apply up to 100 sets of your brand’s logos, colors, and fonts. You can effortlessly create synchronized content across all of your platforms from video to social media adverts, so your entire content strategy will be aligned. You don’t need any special software either, and you can do it from desktop or mobile, or wherever you are working.
Highlighting best-in-class visual and graphic design tools
The caveat of most professional visual and graphic design tools is that they’re incredibly expensive, and not always accessible. You also need to install the software or suite on a particular platform, like a desktop only. Canva, on the other hand, is accessible from all of your devices, and all of the tools you are going to need are under one roof. If it’s not here, you probably don’t need it. Plus, there are over 600,000 templates available, across 100 different design formats, such as infographics, posters, business cards, letterheads, and more. You can use those templates as a jumping-off point, and then begin customizing from there.
All Canva Pro customers can create a team and add up to four people to their account, at no extra cost. Every one of those team members gains access to Canva Pro’s features with shared folders, assets, designs, and templates. That enhances the collaboration support alongside real-time editing and feedback, resulting in more successful, more aligned content that meets the whole team’s specifications. Link sharing is possible for all designs and content created within Canva, with the option to revoke access whenever necessary. You can share with a client, for example, and then revoke access after they’ve provided their feedback. A built-in notification center keeps everyone in the loop when someone shares a design or leaves a comment on an existing one.
Ultimately, you’re getting a best-in-class full graphic and visual design suite, that’s accessible on just about any platform, with a host of excellent features, and a super intuitive interface. You won’t need another tool or suite, regardless of whether you’re using Canva free or Canva Pro.
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