October 9, 2024
Canva designs make it easy for anyone to try their hand at creating brochures, flyers, book covers, and other printed materials. You still need a basic knowledge of design principles, but Canva designs can streamline the process. Here are some tips to Canva designs that anyone can use.
Visual, printed materials are the best way to reach your audience. Studies have found that people respond better to printed marketing materials, like brochures and catalogs, than they do to digital marketing. If you want your business to reach the right people, good graphic design is essential.
The keys to graphic design are:
If you’re anxious about your first graphic design project, always remember the three words: Keep it simple. Don’t try to come up with a wildly imaginative design the first time out. If you’re not a trained graphic artist, your results could be disastrous. It’s best to focus on straightforward, easy-to-use templates. Don’t customize them too much.
Make sure you follow the basics of design. Every element must have a reason to be there. Limit the number of fonts, colors, and shapes. Use contrast and white space to make your design easy to read.
With Canva designs, you have access to many different font styles. That has led many people to making the common first-timer’s mistake of using too many styles in one publication. Instead, limit yourself to one font for the headlines and subheadings and a second font for the body copy. We recommend using a sans serif for the headlines and a serif text for the main copy.
Using too many fonts will give your publication an amateurish, overly busy look. Limiting your font choices is an effortless way to improve any design.
Contrast makes anything more attractive. We are drawn to visual designs that feature stark contrasts. That’s why black and white designs are striking. It’s why bright colors look best when set against dark or pale tones. The contrast is eye-catching, and we’re more likely to read it.
It’s also why most books and other printed materials stick with the tried-and-true method of printing black ink on white or beige paper. It’s easier to read, and it’s familiar. Does this mean your brochure or catalog must be only black and white? Not at all. You can use bright colors for impact, whether it’s in the headlines, callouts, or graphic elements.
Professional graphic artists use grids to set up their designs. The grid is an invisible series of lines that divide a page. The grid decides where they put certain textual elements and where to place pictures. The grid is an outline that allows a designer to create visually consistent marketing materials.
One popular grid style is the Rule of Three. It’s a basic guideline that is simple to follow but powerful. Many photographs and paintings use this rule to create visually appealing compositions with high impact.
To use it, divide your design into six parts:
Now, focus on the points where the vertical and horizontal lines meet. They create natural placement points for your main image and the supporting images.
To get a sense of how it works, pick a favorite photo. It may feature a background feature like a building or a stand of trees, and a foreground picture like a person, tree, or building. Notice how neither image is dead in the center of the photo. The forefront image may be slightly to the left and the background image might be slightly to the right—or vice versa. Because of this, the picture looks well-balanced, and each element is perfectly placed.
Once you’ve tried it, the Rule of Three seems almost too easy. But it works, and there’s nothing wrong with relying on it when you design. Most professional graphic artists use this rule or other gridlines to set up their work. It can work for you, too.
Every design needs white space. Instead of filling up every inch of the page with text or graphics, give the reader some breathing room with ample use of blank spaces. Start by placing the main text and pictures on the page, and then, slowly, decide what else you may want to add. Don’t forget page numbers, headers, footers, and other information that appears on every page.
If the page looks crammed full, it’s time to move things around. It may be possible to reduce the amount of text on the page. Can you move it to another page? Can you add extra spaces between the paragraphs? Try adding headers and subheaders to break up long blocks of text.
Balance is important if you’re attempting a sporting activity or trying to dance. It’s also key to a good design.
Look at your pictures. Have they taken over the page? While a single large image can have a strong impact, it’s important to keep things balanced. If a picture is too large, it may look out of place against the copy. Try a smaller version of the image, or reposition it to another spot. When you look at the page, it should look well-balanced. White space adds reading ease. On the other hand, too much white space can make your page look empty and unfinished. Always strive for a well-balanced design.
Getting started with Canva designs is easy, even for first timers. Here’s a rundown of Canva’s basic features that will help you when you’re starting out.
All Canva designs come with a built-in tool called the Canva Editor. It’s an intuitive interface that guides you through the process of learning and experimenting with the program’s design tools.
It’s easy to open a Canva account. All you need is an email address. Once you do, you’ll have full access to free features that include many Canva designs, and the features related to them.
The home button—as its name indicates—is where you start. It’s also where you can return if you’re unsure of your next step or want to stop working for a while. If you want to save your work, use the home button and the Canva editor to guide you.
This is the heart of Canva designs. It’s the menu of templates that you can use to design:
You’ll find thousands of ready-to-use templates. Just enter your text and images, and within minutes, you’ll have a fully designed document. If you want, you can change the colors, fonts, and other basic elements. If you don’t feel that creative, just keep them as they are. These are solid, usable designs that will make any publication look good.
Here, you will find even more goodies. These are the free extras you get with every template. They include copyright-free images, including illustrations and photos, that you can use with all your designs. Most are free to use, while others require a small fee. To add an element to your publication, just click on it and drag it into position.
With Canva designs, you can go directly from design to printing with the easy Canva printing features. You can print from a laser printer, or create a print-ready document to send to your printer.
Programs like Canva make it easy for first-time designers to try their hand at creating attractive, original printed products. If you’ve never tried it, start with a small project like a simple flyer or business card. Once you’re comfortable with Canva designs, you can work on more complicated projects.
We hope you found these tips for Canva designs useful. At Publishing Xpress, we help our clients create great-looking printed materials every day. Contact us for an estimate or to learn more.
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