Canva Review: The Best Graphic Design Software for Non-Designers

Canva Reviews

If you’re not a designer, but need to create designs for your business, Canva is one of the top-rated tools to choose. It’s an online graphic design software with over 30 million users and an asking valuation of $600 million. In this post, we’ll explore Canva reviews: pricing, features, and alternatives.

Canva offers a free and paid subscription. The free subscription gives you access to basic features, while the paid subscription gives you access to more advanced features. Canva’s paid subscription starts at $12.99 per month.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Some of Canva’s features include:

- A library of built-in templates

- Over one million stock photos, illustrations, and icons

- Hundreds of fonts

- The ability to upload your own images

- A drag-and-drop interface

Canva’s alternatives include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. These are all more expensive options with a learning curve. If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money and want an easy-to-use platform, Canva is a great option.

In this Canva review guide, I’ll go through Canva in depth and explain what I like and dislike about it, who it’s great for, how to use it to create images, and more.

Let’s begin😉

Introduction: What is Canva?

Canva is a free online graphic design platform that allows non-designers to create professional-looking designs. You can use Canva to create social media posts, marketing materials, logos, videos, presentations, collages and more.

what is canva?

Canva offers a library of built-in templates, over one million stock photos, illustrations, icons and hundreds of fonts. You can also upload your own images. Canva’s drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to use, even if you’re not a designer.

Canva offers a library of templates

Canva is a great option if you’re not looking to spend a lot of money and want an easy-to-use platform.

How to Use Canva to Start Using It More Effectively

You may create your graphics and designs on Canva in the same manner as you would on Facebook or Instagram. To avoid any holes on the site that might lead others back to personal information, you must either join up for a Google account or provide a valid email address or Facebook.

log in or sign up

It is simple to create a design with Canva, because it is quite similar to Microsoft Paint.

Microsoft Paint is a basic image editor that comes pre-installed on Windows PCs. It allows you to edit photos, creates sketches and drawings, and add text to images.

Canva is similar to Microsoft Paint in that it’s a basic image editor.

The interface is straightforward, with a left-hand sidebar at contains all of the tools you will need for your design. The center of the screen is where your design will come to life and the right-hand sidebar contains a library of photos, shapes, lines, and illustrations that you can use in your project.

If you want to upload one find the best way to start using Canva is to browse through the templates. This is a great way to get some inspiration for your designs or to find a starting point for your project.

Is Canva Free?

This is where a minor distinction between free and paying users comes in. For individuals who use the free version, Canva only provides limited templates with fewer options to choose from and restricts your collaborative team to 10 members.

Which Plan Should You Choose?

pricing plans accessible on Canva

• There are three pricing plans accessible on Canva. The Free plan includes the following features:
• There are more than 250,000 free templates
• There are over 100 design types to choose from, including business cards, presentations, and social media posts
• There are more than 16,000 fonts available
• High-resolution graphics, logos, typesfaces and photos/graphics are all available for download
• With a team, you can share, collaborate, and review designs
• You can save your designs on the cloud with 5GB of storage
• You can share your designs on many different platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr and Slack

Sign up for a free account!

How Much is Canva Pro?

The Pro plan is $12.99 per month (or $119.99 per year) for up to five individuals and includes everything from the Free (look up)

• Over 120 million premium stock images, videos, audio and graphics
• Premium and free templates of over 650,000 unique designs are added every day
• Kit creation for around 100 different brands is now possible with your brand’s colors, logos, and typefaces
• Background Remover and Magic Resize are available to all customers.
• Create templates from your own designs using this online tool
• With 100GB of cloud storage, you’ll be able to save your super designs
• Finally, you may schedule your social media designs on up to 8 platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr and Slack
• Discover content from: Brandfetch, Emoji, GIPHY, Google Maps, Iconduck, Pexels, Pixabay, Pixton, Stipop, TINT, YouTube
• Import your media: AdAlong, Air, BeaconStack, Box, Brandfolder, Bynder, Dash, Dropbox, Embeds, Facebook, Filkers, Flickr, Flourish, Google drive, Google photo, HubSpot, Hue&Stripe, IconScout, Image Relay, Instagram, Kontainer, L Squared Hub, ME-QR Generator, myWall, my.G2, pixx.io, Publer, Slidecast, Starchive, Typeform, QR Code Generator, Quicc

We’ve always been visual people. From the time we could pick up a crayon, we were doodling away, expressing ourselves through pictures and symbols. As we got older, our love of visuals only grew. We started using social media to share our photos and designs with the world, and eventually, we found Canva.

Canva has become such an integral part of our lives that we can’t imagine going without it. It’s how we communicate who we are as a brand and as individuals. Our visual identity is totally wrapped up in our Canva use — that’s how people know us and they’ll continue to know us that way because we’ll continue to use Canva.

Bradley Whittenburg

Can I use Canva Pro as an individual?

With Canva, you can design anything and anywhere. From logos to posters or even infographics! With the ability for one person (or team) in your organization to create high-quality designs without any hassle whatsoever; there are no limits on what kind of creative projects this software allows users Took me minutes vs hours.

Can I invite other team members during my trial?

Canva Pro gives you the option to add as many people as you want to your brand. There will be no cost during your free trial. It the end of your trial, you’ll be asked to enter your credit card information. You can cancel at any time during the trial without being charged.

At $150 per month, the Enterprise plan allows for up to five users. It comprises everything from the Pro plan plus the following additions.

• Brand management. Create brand unity across all channels by using these solutions to manage, sort, tag, and organize your brand assets and templates
• Around the world, organizations are turning to virtual meeting technologies to enhance business productivity and collaboration. This customer-friendly, cloud-based solution makes it easy to collaborate and get work done from any location.
• Design approval. All authorizations should be handled by one point of contact, whether it’s a central approval center or your staff. Streamline and automating all procedure templates are a key part of the design process. They help you save time and keep your designs consistent.
• Built-in security. Single Sign-On or Two-Factor Authentication can quickly and securely connect your company together as a whole, whether you’re managing thousands of users or just users of Canva will take advantage of the free version to create designs or to find a starting point for their project.
• Save your work with a limitless storage plan
• Log in with single-sign-on (SSO) and get Enterprise-level help at any time of day or night
• Dedicated support. For organizations with 25 seats or more, our onboarding specialists will work closely with your point of contact to help you get started.

When I first heard about Canva, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical. Could something that seemed so simple be as effective as everyone said it was?

But then I tried it out for myself, and boy was I impressed! Not only is the software easy to use, but it also has some great templates and content that you can use to brand your listings. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than hiring a designer!

Since discovering Canva, we’ve stopped using other design software altogether. We now use Canva for everything — from brochures and announcements to invitations to client events. It’s saved us money in the long run, and our clients love the professional look of our branding.

Krista M Mitchell

RE/MAX Instyle Realty — Real Estate Agent

Create your account and choose your best plan!

Is Canva for Enterprise the ideal solution for me?

Canva is a design tool that’s been used across companies of all shapes and sizes. It can be difficult to find the right platform, but Canvas makes it easy — just drag-and-drop your content onto our interface!

Our users come from diverse backgrounds including marketing & sales teams as well as human resources professionals looking for ways they could use their creative skills more efficiently on company projects.

Canva was built by entrepreneurs with experience at big names like Disney Interactive Studios (Robert Herjavec), Microsoft MSFT , Salesforce CRM. The goal: provide an easy way for anyone who needs designs.

What is the difference between Canva Pro and Canva for Enterprise?

Canva for Enterprise is a great option if you need all of the features that come with Canvas Pro but also want more rigorous design controls. It has been designed specifically to help collaborate and publish designs at scale on-brand, which makes it perfect whether your team consists of 1 person or 1000!

To learn about each plan’s pricing details visit website today — we hope this helps shed light on what type will work best depending upon their specific needs!

My Experience with Canva

I was in my office when I received a call from my friend Adam. Apparently, the expert who was supposed to give a talk at his company had fallen ill and he needed someone to step in last minute.

I told him I could do it and quickly created a presentation using Canva Pro. It turned out that the presentation went really well and my friend was very grateful.

I could tell you about so many functions and this article would turn into a whole book. It’s much easier for you to try and see for yourself!

Some of my favorite features are…

Canva is a great way to create infographics

With its library of templates and easy-to-use interface, you can quickly create an infographic that will help you share your data with your audience.

Plus, with Canva’s built-in social media sharing tools, you can easily share your infographic with your followers on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Canva’s built-in photo editor is another great feature

With its easy-to-use interface, you can quickly edit your photos to perfection. Plus with Canva’s library of free stock photos, you can easily find the perfect photo for your design.

Overall, I highly recommend Canva to anyone looking for easy-to-use graphic design software. It’s perfect for businesses of categories: from real estate to retail. And with its affordable price, it’s a great value for your money.

If you’re still on the fence about Canva, I suggest you try it out for yourself. You can sign up for a free account and explore all of the features that FREE!

Canva Logo Maker

• Thousands of unique templates are available for download. Bring your brand identity to life. Choose a logo template that suits you from our wide selection of designs.
• Hundreds of millions of free icons and graphics are available. Inject originality into your logos by utilizing free graphics from our enormous media collection.
• Fonts with a variety of eye-catching font combinations. Finish off your logo design with the ideal font combination.

What should a company’s logo include?

Your logo is the face of your brand, which means it should be easily recognizable and memorable. To achieve this you need to pay attention to every detail — from its color (or colors), shape, and typeface(s) all while telling a story about who you are as an organization or individual through their branding philosophy/spiritual beliefs.

Humor can also help set apart one’s business by adding some wit to what might otherwise seem too serious for themself when designing logos; puns work well here!

How can I incorporate photos or graphics into my logo design?

Got a great image or graphic you want to use? Simply click the Uploads tab on our left sidebar, find and select your file from any location ( Desktop, folder), then drag it onto one of many designs waiting in editing mode!

What are the most essential features of Canva? (Tutorial)

As a non-designer, the most essential features of Canva are its ease of use and affordability. Canva is a cloud-based graphic design tool that anyone can use to create professional designs. With over one million templates and tools available, all with varying levels of complexity, you can create any kind of design you need. And If you need to create designs for your business, Canva is one of the top-rated tools to choose.

I propose to take a brief walk through the main functions that exist in this program. But as you remember I physically can not do a review of all-all-all the features as I will have to write a book and sell it on Amazon 😂

1. To improve photographs, include vignetting and simulation effects

Canva has a variety of features to boost images. You can apply effects to pictures that Canva supplies as well as your uploaded photos.

The image editor that you can find at the top of every single one is an essential tool for any photographer. You’ll be able to do everything from flip and crop your photos, adjust their brightness/contrast ratio as well colorize them with some filters!

• The adjustments tab has a variety of effects to help you make your photos stand out. You can add things such as Duotone, Background Remover, Liquify, Trippy, Slice, Frames, ColorMix, Prisma etc etc
• The free plan allows you to utilize most effects, but Background Remover requires a pro subscription.
• Vignetting and Simulation Effects
• Vignetting is a reduction of an image’s brightness or saturation at the periphery compared to the image. To add text to images.

Adding text is one of the most important things you can do with graphic design software. Canva makes it easy. To add text to images.

2. Users have free access to photos, videos, templates

With the Canva Pro plan you can access 75+ million photos and videos; a fraction of these are available with their free plans.

Select the Templates option when you’re on the editor by clicking the Templates tab. Canva will look for templates that are relevant to your design.

You may browse or search the templates by color, language, type of month, year, seasons, vocation and many others.

You can also search for images using the Photos tab, which is similar to how you use the Filters tab. You may also add photos using the Uploads.

The More tab includes the option to find photos from ANY social network or cloud, which may be downloaded, of course — all the most popular photo stocks!

The more places a person has their photos and videos, the easier it becomes to access them. You can find all of your favorite content from Pexels, Pixabay as well as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Dropbox, Google Drive or any other site on this list!

3. Icons, shapes, and stickers are all accessible.

To discover icons, lines, shapes, stickers, graphics, charts, grids, gradients, charts, tables, audio, videos and other design elements on Canva, go to the Elements option.

Adjusting the color, transparency and size of these effects is incredibly easy. You can add them to your images for an even more creative touch!

4. You may use a font library on Canva

Canva’s font library is one of the best features in their program. They have dozens and I mean actual DOZENS OF FONTS that you can choose from ranging anywhere from simple to sophisticated or even custom-made! You also get access if you upload so no need for anything else other than Canvas itself with this great tool.

Fantastic job by them allowing people who want more options when designing themselves as well being able not only to use what’s already there but add personalized touches too like uploading our favorite types which we know will make everything come alive at first glance.

Canva has a ton of features, but what makes it great is how easy and accessible the platform feels for everyone. You can search through fonts by category or upload your own to use in designs — even if you don’t have an account!

5. The photo editor is simple to use since it is a drag-and-drop program

How long have you been looking for an easy way to create your own graphics? Well, look no further. Canva’s drag-and-drop design software is the perfect solution!

You’ll be able to make anything from templates or fonts all in minutes with this innovative platform that allows users full customization options at their fingertips — it really cannot get any easier than this so don’t wait another second before getting started on whatever project idea pops into mind because once they’re done designing them there won’t BE ANY NEED TO WAIT AGAIN!!!

6. More than pictures are created

Canva is a design program that you can use to make anything! You could create invitations, planners and business cards, or even website blog banners. There are many online educational resources for Canva learners as well so it’s never too late to learn new things about this amazing app or read further my Canva reviews!

You have another opportunity to use the drag-and-drop editor. Canva will offer suggestions for creative types if you select the option.

7. Animate images on your site or project

Canva also offers an animation feature. This is a great way to add some movement to your designs and make them more eye your design. In Canva, you can add animation effects to your designs.

Just click the Animate button and select from free ones like Block or Breathe for some simple motion! You’ll also find paid options that provide more creative outcomes such as Fade (to create fade ins) Panning (moving forward/backward slowly).

If you need to increase or decrease the transition time, there is a great feature — timing.

I suggest that you play with these effects and see how they work. They will aid in the creation of stunning pictures, especially for social media.

8. The color palette and color wheel

Canva’s color palette generator will help you find the perfect match for your favorite images. Simply upload a photo, and we’ll use those hues to create an online design that’s just right!

With Canva’s palette generator, you can create a customized combination in seconds. Simply upload an image and we will use its colors to make one just right!

9. Canva content planner and schedule social media

Another new feature is the content planner, which was added to make it easier for users to manage their content.

With Content Planner, you can design stunning social media posts and coordinate them across your platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest. The simple interface of this app makes managing all these accounts easier than ever before!

With Content Planner, you can see how your posts performed across social media. Click on any published post within the planner and tap into insights for performance analytics that will help make informed decisions about future content strategy!

10. Brand Kit

The Brand Kit (Pro) is an essential tool for any company looking to establish their brand and keep it consistent across all designs. Simply store your logo, colors, or fonts in the pre-set kit with easy access via templates that can be applied without a single click!

Give employees this valuable resource so they too will know what standards are expected when working on projects related directly out of work time — never have anyone question where you want them to go next because there isn’t enough room here yet; just make sure everyone has quick turnaround times through using these readymade resources as needed.

11. Business cards

Show your business card to be a step above the rest with custom printing. Have it printed in various high-quality paper stocks and finishes, or choose an elegant print design that will make you stand out from other professionals on any given day!

Business cards are a great way to give your contact information in an easy-to-carry format. The standard business card size has been carefully designed so that it’ll fit easily into most wallets, while still being able to tell people you have important stuff going on!

12. Canva Calendar Template

Inspiration is everywhere! Personalize and design the perfect desktop wallpaper to unleash your inner creative genius.

With 9,284 templates to choose from and a database updated daily with new ones — there’s no excuse for not having the perfect template.

More Samples Created Using Canva

It is not possible to describe each of the marketing functions, but I can write some of them separated by commas.

Marketing: Poster (portrait), flyer, label, gift certificate, email header, circle sticker, menu, newsletter, yard sign, Facebook & Instagram ad, ticket, coupon, youtube video ad…

Office: Resume (CV), A4 document, report, planner, letter, letterhead, proposal, graphic organizer, invoices, checklist, memo, wall calendar

Presentations: talking presentation, brainstorm presentation, game presentation, powerpoint presentation

Social:

• Instagram (post, story, Ad, reel, animated, story Ad)
• Facebook (cover, Ad, event cover, video, story, App Ad, Shops Ad, Shops Cover)
• Youtube (thumbnail, intro, banner, video)
• Twitter post
• TikTok video
• Pinterest Ad, Pinterest Pin
• WhatsApp statuses
• Linkedin banner

More: Photo collage, book cover, mind map, magazine cover, zoom virtual background, calendar, worksheet, class schedule, concept map, artistic CD cover, graphic organizer, tag, invoice, youtube intro, ebook cover, lesson plan, program, blog graphic, bookmark, phone wallpaper.

Once again, this review of Canva cannot physically include a description of all the functions of this program because there are so many of them.

Cons of Canva

Although Canva is a great tool for creating designs, it does have a few drawbacks. Some of the cons of using Canva include:

• Canva’s file storage is not your standard local option. This means if the website goes down, you’ll have to wait before accessing and making changes to those designs- which could potentially be hours or even days’ worth of work!
• The quality of the file is superb but you cannot edit or share it without an account from Canva. Also, when opening a .cdr file in Illustrator there’s no way to access your design as raw data so that would be impossible for any kind of editing work outside what Photoshop does with files stored inside its own program itself!
• The great thing about designs is that they’re reusable, but you have to make sure not everyone’s using them at once! Use more creativity in your next design and see what happens.
• Canva is a great place to find affordable templates for all sorts of projects, but you’ll have been willing and able to pay to use some features.
• Canva’s mobile app is not as feature-rich compared to its website and desktop versions. The lack of certain elements, like layers or export options can make it difficult for designers who want access on the go without having an internet connection handy (or at least waiting until they are back home).

How to Use Canva

Canva is a great online design tool that makes it easy to create beautiful visuals. You can use it to create posters, social media posts, infographics, and more.

Here’s how to use Canva:

1. Sign up for a free account.

2. Choose the type of project you want to create.

3. Select a template or start from scratch.

4. Add text, images, and other elements to your design.

5. Save and share your finished design.

Choose a visual type

Theming is one of the most important aspects of designing an effective website. It can help you stand out from competitors and gain more customer trust, which will increase your conversion rates!

There are many ways themeing has been done before but we’ve found that there’s always room for improvement when it comes down to creativity or flexibility with workflow — so make sure yours looks great by choosing between different skins (templates).

Canva has unique customization features. For example, you can select patterns by meaning or event: school, food, birthday, collage, wedding, and more.

Choose by category, by style, by color, and by theme!

You can see this in the Template section after you go to the home page.

Select a template and modify it

Let’s choose one of the templates, something universal. Let’s make a picture for Instagram and Facebook so we can share the picture on social media.

Like pizza! (I must be hungry because I really enjoyed writing this review on Canva).

As you can see in the picture above, we already have a ready-made template, where we can change the text, insert any picture or logo of our company, add or change the phone number, insert a website, any social accounts and whatever you want.

But I suggest creating something fresh and from scratch….

For example, some kind of advertisement for a coffee shop! Everybody likes coffee, don’t they? By the way, I’m making myself a cup of coffee right now ☕

Choose a photo

To create a visual timeline, start by choosing an image. Next visit the Photos tab or Uploads section of your account (to add pictures) and then more if you want to import images from another site without verification for copyright permissions!

Add overlays

Let’s go to Elements and see what we have here. I decided to add some lines as well as stars. Maybe later we will remove them, and maybe we will move them around. I don’t know yet. It will all depend on the idea and what the overall picture will look like.

We can add lines and shapes, graphs, stickers, photos, video, audio, charts, tables, frames, grids, collections.

You can select any element that you added and then change the color of the element, apply animation, make it more transparent, fix or unmount the element, and change the position. Whatever you can think of, you can do it.

I decided to add a new element (image) to diversify our picture a bit.

You’re probably looking at this picture right now and thinking, “What did he do? Why did he smoke a cup of coffee?” 🤣

Send Backward

To have our cup with coffee in the foreground, we need to select the function — Send Backward. And now our coffee beans will go to the greedy background and will carry out the effect of background and thirst for coffee. Also.

Transparency

I also want to use the function — Transparency, to blur our background a bit.

Add text on your image

You can also add text to your image. Just select the T in the left corner and start writing! You can use different fonts and colors. You can also adjust the alignment, size, and spacing of the text.

I decided to add the name of the coffee shop, hours of operation and website.

There are many different fonts that you can use for your design projects. However, when creating things on the web it is important to keep in mind what type of engagement and conversions will be desired by readers since they may become distracted easily with all their options available online; this could lead them away from reading any further than just looking at one paragraph which would ultimately lose revenue because people don’t buy anything without seeing an example first-hand (or close enough). So remember — a simple ATM Roman theme works best!

Adjust the alignment as required

Align all the elements in your visual so it’s consistent and aesthetically pleasing.

Add page

You may have seen in past screenshots often under the picture — Add Page. What does this mean?

I for example use this function to compare backgrounds or pictures or you can make several pictures in one project. How do you want to …

I’ll choose “Duplicate Page” to add a background.

If you make a whole project in which you will use a lot of pictures or presentations then of course you can save your project in Canva and you can always return to it again and again to edit or change it.

I liked the white background better, so I’ll leave it white!

Resize your creation

It can also happen that you have made a picture and the size does not fit your requirements. Don’t worry!

Canva’s resize feature lets you take an image from any size and make it the perfect fit for your project.

The most recent update to Canva design software includes a simple-to-use scaling tool that will help speed up production time by letting designers Resize images in their account with just one click!

Download or share

You can either save or share the image after it’s finished, or schedule it for future use. Click SHARE → Download, select a format from the drop-down menu, and click the Download button to get your file.

To share it on Facebook or Instagram, click the “Share on social”

Click the “… More” button, select the platform you wish to distribute it on or choose Schedule. You may schedule a post while selecting a time and the various social networks.

You and I made a picture from scratch. I think that’s a good place to start.

You have seen with me that there is nothing difficult and the most important thing is desire!

If you liked it and you think it was a good review, I will ask you to share this article on your social accounts.

Oh, by the way, don’t forget to register and get a free account! CLICK!

Conclusion

I remember the first time I ever heard about Photoshop. It was back in high school and one of my friends was talking about how he was learning how to use it in his graphic design class. He told me that it was this amazing program that could do everything. I remember being so jealous, thinking to myself that only talented people could use it.

Flash forward a few years and I’m finally taking a graphic design class of my own. I’m excited to learn all about Photoshop and start creating some incredible designs. But when I get to class, I quickly realize that my friend was wrong — Photoshop is not an amazing program that can do everything. It’s incredibly complex and takes a lot of time to learn how to use it properly.

Thankfully, over the past few years, there have been some great alternatives to Photoshop coming onto the market. One such program is Canva, which is designed for people who want to create simple visuals without having to learn a complex program like Photoshop. And the best part? It’s free!

That’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed my review and found it helpful. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and share please on your social accounts! Thanks for reading 🤗