Canva's greatest strength is the simplicity of its interface and other options. The ease with which it lets you create a poster or template in a few simple steps is commendable. However, this popular design tool does more than just compile many elements into templates and stories. It has many handy tools that can make your graphic design easy and convenient in the long run.
Contents1. Overlapping objects2. Crop the image into shapes3. Create animated GIFs4. Adjust the transparency of the image5. Create a custom filter6. Lock messy items7. Add a hyperlink8. Manage pages easily9. Know the shortcutsHere are the savvy designs
So if you want to get the most out of Canva, here are some tips and tricks to help you out.
Let's check them out.
Designing a basic template requires a horde of elements, whether it's a simple shape or a complicated mass of clipart-like elements. And the key to any well-designed template is layering. Luckily, Canva lets you easily organize layers with just a few clicks.
Once all items and objects are in place, right-click on a particular object and select Send Backwards or Forwards to change its location. The good thing is that you can also take care of it via keyboard shortcuts (more on that later).
If you want an object at the base, the Send to Back option will do the trick.
The ability to crop images into shapes is perhaps one of Canva's most useful features. From Instagram stories to postcards, apply this simple trick in multiple scenarios. All you have to do is make sure the shape is available in Canva.
To get started, upload the photo you want to crop to Canva. Next, select Elements from the right panel and click the See All option next to Frames.
Once you've selected your frame, go back to Downloads and drag the new image to the frame to crop it. Easy isn't it?
To adjust the image size, double-click the image inside the frame. Now drag any of the four white dots to adjust the image size.
Cool tip :You can also use the images from the image gallery to crop them into any shape you like.
As stated earlier, Canva is not limited to designing Instagram templates or stories. This neat tool also lets you play with animations. You can create small and silly animations or GIFs with just a few clicks.
For example, if you are creating an Instagram story, you can add an animated frame. To do this, click to select the element you want to animate and select Animate from the top ribbon.
Once done, select one of the page animations from the right panel as shown above. You can also animate other elements on the page. When done, click the Play icon at the top to see the full image.
Animated files are downloadable only in MP4 format.
Cool tip :As an object? Select it and click the Information icon at the top. Then click Add to likes. After that, it will also appear under Folder> Like, for easy access.
The degree of transparency of an object or image is essential for designing a quality model. Luckily, the web version of Canva lets you change the transparency of the image quite easily.
Select the object or element and click on the small checkerboard icon at the top right.
Now all you have to do is drag the slider to your preference.
Canva comes with tons of presets for editing images. However, if you don't like the out-of-the-box filters, you can adjust the image to your liking. And this is made possible by the Adjust tool. The good part is that you can also save filter settings to use in future projects.
So the next time you adjust an image, copy and save the filter code as shown in the screenshot below.
Whenever you want the same filter setting on a new image, open the Adjust panel and paste the filter code at the bottom. The image will transform almost immediately. Cool, right?
The Lock tool comes in handy when working with a ton of elements. As its name suggests, it allows you to lock the position of certain selected elements. This way you can continue designing without disturbing the completed module.
To do this, select a single item, click the little lock icon in the top ribbon, and you're done!
This will lock the group's position. You are free to continue with further modifications. Once the design is finalized, click the icon again to (you guessed it right) unlock it.
Cool Tip: To lock a group of objects into position, group them first, then lock them.
Canva doesn't just process JPEG or PNG images. This graphic design tool also lets you download templates and designs as PDF files. And it does not stop there. On the one hand, you can link a page element (text or clipart) to an external website.
To do this, select the object you want to link, click the Link icon at the top right and enter the site URL.
Now you need to make sure to download the design in PDF format.
One of the main highlights of the Canva web tool is that it allows you to create a bunch of pages for a single project. But, sorting through all the pages can be difficult and time-consuming. The nifty page manager icon at the bottom will take care of that.
To view all of your pages at once, click the Pages icon in the bottom ribbon.
Next, select the page you want to visit again, then double-click on it
Cool tip :The magnified view also allows you to easily rearrange the different pages. Simply drag and drop the different pages to rearrange them according to your preferences.
They say there's no turning back when you get used to keyboard shortcuts, and rightly so. Shortcuts not only make your work easier, but also save you a lot of time. The good thing about Canva is that it has both keyboard shortcuts and conventional shortcuts.
For example, you don't need to browse all of the wreaths in Canva's library if you only want red wreaths for a Christmas-themed card. Simply enter "red + wreath" in the search box to get search results and add Christmas themed items.
Similarly, if you want to exclude all red crowns, you can simply add the minus denominator to your search query.
Apart from the above, Canva also supports several hotkeys apart from the usual Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V combination.
So here are some of the tips and tricks for the free version of Canva, using which you can create a range of attractive flyers, posters and templates for Instagram stories. The key to any graphic design is to keep it to a minimum so that each element stands out.
So which Canva feature do you prefer?
