Shhhh…don’t tell anyone this, but I a not really a “Graphic Designer”. You see, I have never gone to school for years to learn graphic design, nor do I have a fine arts degree. All of what I have learned thus far was from doing, or copying, or using programs that make me look like I have WAY MORE cred than I actually do (save for a couple of Adobe courses over the years).
Obviously, most of you already know and love PicMonkey. PicMonkey is so easy to use, and perfect for editing, cropping, adding text etc to your blog post images. They also give you some “layering” features which is great, but trying to build a more complex graphic can be a bit overwhelming I find, and I always just turn back to photoshop.
And then I discovered Canva.
What I really love about Canva is the amount of pre-built templates they have that are specifically designed for modern blogging, social media and small businesses. Need a Creative Brief template? Check! Need a new Facebook Header? Check! Need a cool Instagram post template? Check! Canva, also introduces new templates frequently for all the hip and happening digital platforms du jour and has a mobile app to make posting to Insta on the go a breeze!
Canva has a slew of free stock images and pre-made templates for you to use. And if you are looking for something a little more personal or fancy, you canuplaod your own imagery or purchase one of Canva’s “premium” layouts or images.
But of of the things I love the best about Canva and that will make you look like a Graphic rockstar are their FREE text layouts (complete with swirls and graphics and allsorts of funky stuff) . You too can create that hipster-vintage-grunge “quote of the day” thing and be the coolest cat on Instagram!
Please remember when using your fancy schmancy new graphics on your website that you may need to shrink your file size down before uploading – Canva downloads do tend to be on the “heavy” side!
I realize that by talking up Canva I am very likely losing potential client dollars here but I am all about sharing the love. Happy creating everyone!
