How to Upload Written Work to Canva

Back in 2014, Peg Fitzpatrick and Guy Kawasaki penned a post for the HubSpot Marketing Blog that approached the topic of visual marketing equally the "adjacent large matter." But since then, it's gone to "here to stay." After all, articles with an prototype once every 75-100 words tend to get 2X social shares than manufactures with fewer images.

Only in the previous commodity, Kawasaki -- chief evangelist for Canva, a remarkably uncomplicated online platform for graphic design -- stressed the importance of including shareable images in blog posts , and regularly creating custom, relevant visual content for Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts. Absolutely, following that communication is easier said than done. Information technology's time-consuming and requires multiple tools. That is, without Canva.

It might seem similar yous need myriad resources to create just one custom graphic: Photoshop to edit an prototype, InDesign to lay it out, VSCO for filters, and a multitude of stock photo sites. But Canva combines all these editing and publishing tools -- plus a comprehensive image library -- in i online design platform. Even better, it comes equipped with a collection of templates that can exist applied to a number of unlike industries.

But whether you're creating a Facebook banner for your retail store, or an infographic for your police force house, you might wonder where you should begin with Canva. That'due south why we put together this walkthrough of how visual marketers -- at any knowledge level -- can utilise Canva. Using an animate being shelter's promotion of its weekend adoption off-white as an example, we'll guide you through the eight steps of creating visual content with these tools and templates.

8 Steps for Creating Visual Content With Canva

1) Begin with a content marketing strategy.

While we don't recollect you lot accept to become through the whole process of creating Gantt charts and editorial calendars -- though they tin can go along you organized -- it's important to place your content goals, and the platforms that will all-time conform them.

For the animal shelter's weekend adoption outcome, the main purpose is to let people -- similar social media followers -- know about the upshot, and make them want to share information technology on social media. In this instance, we want to create a post to share on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, and a visual that would piece of work as a affiche to impress and display locally.

2) Scan the templates library to find and create the correct content.

Canva has a collection of specific, professional person templates for a wide multifariousness of content. The templates folio is arranged into categories -- types of content -- and subcategories for themes or topics. For example, you lot tin can choose between templates for posters and or presentations, based on the content marketing strategy your formulated in the previous stride. Plus, each one is already optimized in the right dimensions for things like banners, headers, and cover photos for specific sites similar Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Go on in heed that these templates are meant to be your springboard to start designing. For many creative professionals, from writers to designers, starting with a blank canvas tin be 1 of the biggest challenges. With these templates, yous don't have to create your content from scratch, or hire a professional person designer but to create your twenty-four hours-to-day graphics.

For our animate being shelter example, nosotros'll first with this social media graphic template:

In the next steps, we'll show you how to edit this template using Canva'south elevate and drop design tools.

3) Discover the correct visuals to go with your mail using Canva's built-in photo library.

Visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content. And since we desire our pet adoption fair to get a lot of appointment on social media, like comments and shares, we have to include the right kind of visuals in its promotion. Using Canva'southward built-in media library, we'll look for a picture of a cute kitten to catch people'due south attention -- and hearts.

To start, type a keyword or two into the search bar, and choose from whatever of the photos or illustrations -- that means no more Google image searches. The all-encompassing photo library hosts a wide multifariousness of subjects and themes, like abstract images, textures, landscapes, people, and animals. In one case you've found the perfect image, just drag it over to your pattern, and drop it where information technology needs to become.

Canva also allows you to upload your own images and use them on your pattern, which is perfect for adding your logo and other branded visuals to content. (Y'all'll notice the text has changed in the image below -- nosotros'll become to that in our next footstep.)

four) Ally prototype and text through typography.

Now that we've got a cute kitten image to describe attending, nosotros need to give our audience some details near the adoption off-white. And since nosotros're already working with a template, nosotros tin just edit the placeholder text and add in the correct details.

The best social media content is a marriage of visuals and text -- remember the statistic nosotros cited before most the shareability of copy that includes the right corporeality of imagery. However, making sure your font complements the rest of the visual content can be tricky. While some professionals accept years of feel to help them pair fonts, Canva provides a shortcut: The font pairing tool.

First, choice your starter font. Then, this handy tool shows you lot the all-time font combinations for your called typeface, as well as real-life examples from the spider web.

5) Enhance your image with a filter.

Filters are a great tool for hands changing the tone of an paradigm. Plus, applying a custom filter across your various posts tin can help to create a theme and necktie your campaign together, boosting consistency and recognizability.

To add together a filter, select your paradigm, click on the filter button, then choose from any of the 14 custom filters bachelor in Canva. Utilize the slider to command the intensity of the filter. There are also advanced options that permit y'all to play with different settings like brightness, contrast, and saturation, or to add together effects like a vignette.

half dozen) Resize your whole design to fit various platforms.

Nosotros're done creating our visual. That was quick, right? At present, we have to mail service share it beyond various social media networks, and print our poster. That as well means we might have to resize for those various outlets -- just rather than going dorsum and re-designing the entire visual according to the dimensions required by each i, nosotros can use Canva's Magic Resize tool.

The Magic Resize tool is available for Canva for Work users -- a paid plan starting at $12.95 per month. But if you're using the costless tools, fear not, as we've included some alternative resizing directions below.

That said, Magic Resize is quite a time-saving characteristic that lets you lot copy and resize ane blueprint into formats for diverse channels. Just click on "File," navigate to "Magic Resize," then choose the different formats you want to use to adapt your visual. Then, click the "resize" button, and you're done.

Users of Canva'due south gratis tools can nonetheless resize their designs by creating a copy of the original visual. Click "File," "Change Dimensions," and select the format to which you'd like to resize the blueprint.

7) Collaborate with a squad, or post the visual to social media.

Canva allows you lot to interact with your team or pattern partners on a visual, within the same platform. Only click on "Share", navigate to "Link," and choose the "tin can edit" option to generate a link that allows others to edit your design. Alternatively, you may cull the "tin can view" pick to permit someone to run across your design, without the ability to edit it.

Otherwise, you tin can mail your final design directly to Facebook or Twitter. There'due south also an embed pick, which generates the code to embed your design into your blog or website.

For other channels, or if yous desire an offline copy of your design, y'all can download an prototype file in a JPG, PNG, or print-fix PDF format. For our animal shelter visual, nosotros'll download the flyer version of the design as a loftier-quality PDF file, to enhance its printed appearance.

8) Larn to create better designs with Canva's costless, interactive courses.

Squeamish work -- yous've fabricated a corking pattern, with amazingly simple tools. But maybe you desire to learn more than about design -- and Canva's Design School is just the place to practice it.

The Pattern School is a resources hub for learning the basics of pattern -- everything from essential blueprint tools, to typography, to photograph editing, to consistent branding. Some of the near pop offerings are Canva'southward 30 "Pattern Essentials" tutorials, roofing fonts, layouts, and images. Plus, you can rails and share your progress as you make your style through the unlike lessons.

Starting with the post-obit tutorials tin can help you hone your skills in some of the visual content design steps we've covered today:

1. Marrying Text and Images
2. Brilliant Backgrounds
3. Choosing the Right Font
4. Enhancing Images
5. Fantastic Photo Filters

It might also be worthwhile to check out the daily Design Schoolhouse weblog, which takes a more in-depth await into specific subjects, like designing for social media, creating better electronic mail headers, blueprint principles, and even pattern psychology.

Describe Inspiration

Despite the options we've covered here, there are actually many more designs and tools to explore in Canva. In addition to promotional visuals like the animal shelter example we used, you tin can create presentations, infographics, brochures -- and a lot more than.

One of Canva'south most differentiating factors, even so, is that the above steps are pretty much the same across these dissimilar types of documents, thanks in large part to the gear up-made templates. So don't let visual content blueprint intimidate you. It's more than than achievable -- and nosotros can't wait to see what you come up with.

What are some of your favorite visual content cosmos tools? Let usa know in the comments.

Originally published Apr 18, 2017 6:00:00 AM, updated April 18 2017

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Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-use-canva

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