Something all of us busy entrepreneurs have in common is we don’t have a lot of time to spare!
That’s why Canva is such a wonderful tool for all of us! It saves countless hours of learning difficult programming and tons and tons of money on hiring professional graphic designers and developers.
Canva allows you to be looking like a professional designer in no time!
That’s why we have created this easy to follow video tutorial walking you through the tips and tricks that are going to get you designing more professionally and efficiently!
If you’re looking for a specific trick, you can check out the time stamps below and fast forward to the spot you need in the video.
We can’t wait to make your life easier and get you one step closer to being a Canva pro!
Everything you need to start and grow a wildly successful online business.
1. The Lock Feature- 0:49
The lock feature is a great tool to organize a busy page!
You can select an item(s) and move then to the back then lock them so they do not move. This allows you to freely edit whatever is in front.
The lock feature works best with larger items, if you have a bunch of small items locked it really becomes a pain when you try and unlock them all.
To unlock, you simply click on the item then click the lock again to release it. Easy!
2. Using Canva Layers- 2:17
Technically Canva doesn’t have visible layers, like adobe software.
But objects, text and images can all sit in front or behind one of another creating an invisible layer.
This can get tricky if you are trying to select a specific object and it feels like it is locked. It is most likely trapped behind an object.
To adjust these layers, you can go to the position tool and send the object to the back with the behind tool or forward with the forward tool.
A great shortcut is holding down the control or command button on your keyboard. When you hold down this key, and click through the images with your mouse, it will select elements behind one another.
Keep in mind, even though there is no layers panel, there is still a sequential order to the objects!
3. Canva Brand Kit- 5:32
If you take a look at the left hand side of your Canva dashboard, you will see the Brand Kit tab under the Home heading.
This wonderful feature will not only keep you organized but will also save a lot of time.
Now keep in mind, if you are a Free Canva user you will have less options.
Under the Brand Kit you have the ability to add in hex codes for your brand colors.
Free users get 3 colors and Canva Pro users will be able to add 6 colors at a time with multiple color palettes.
You can also select the fonts you want to use for your headers and if you are a Canva Pro user you can upload custom fonts to use!
4. Canva Page Manager- 7:43
The Canva page manager is a really great tool that changes the appearance of how your project looks on your screen. If you look down on the bottom right hand side of your screen you will find it there.
The page manager allows you to select a full birds eye view layout of your project.
From here, you can move pages around, duplicate a page and even delete one!
Once you double click on a page it sends you back into full size view of the specific page.
This is super helpful if you have large documents. You don’t need to be scrolling along forever, getting lost in your document.
Another little trick to make your life easier!
5. Cutting Canva Elements- 9:08
This is a feature that allows you to get a little more professional looking with your design.
If you take an element in Canva and you click on the object a border appears to allow you to crop the element within the frame.
If you have a busy logo and you need to open up some space within the shape, you can take 1/3 of the object and place it on the top of the text. Duplicate the object and place it below the text finishing it off with the lower half of the shape.
Little tricks like this help create flow and cohesion within your designs making it more appealing to your viewer.
6. Hyperlinks in Canva- 11:24
Hyperlinks are amazing if you are making an eBook, Lead Magnet or a PDF for your subscribers.
The hyperlink allows your viewer to click on a link in the PDF and bring them to a specific location online.
In order to create a hyperlink, select the text you want to make the link.
Once selected, you can go up to the top right hand side and click on the link icon, add in the url for your link and press apply.
Keep in mind, in order for these links to work your document must be downloaded as a PDF only!
7. Save As A Template- 12:52
The template feature in Canva Pro is a major time saver, and a tool that I personally use constantly!
For example, let’s say you have made yourself a Pinterest template. It is a document that you are going to be using frequently and each time only a few small tweaks will be made in it.
This is the perfect type of document to save as a template!
On the top right hand side, under Publish, click on Show More, scroll down until you see “templates”.
You can then select the folder that will house the template and select Publish.
In order to now access these templates, all you have to do is go to your home page, go into the folder on the left hand side you saved it in and click on the template.
Canva will ask you if you want to “use the template” or “edit the template”.
Unless you need to make a change to the master document you will always choose “use the template”.
8. Magic Re-Size Feature- 15:27
The Magic Resize is a Canva Pro feature that has the potential to save you the most time out of all of these tips!
When you are in your design file, move up to the top left hand side of the screen and you will see “Resize”.
Once you select this button you will see a number of different sizes.
You can search through the templates to find an exact size you would need (for example Facebook Ad).
You can also select multiple sizes at once! Time-saver much?!?
Once you hit ok, Canva generates a template for each size and now all you have to do is adjust your elements to properly fit on each page.
Voila it’s done for you!
So that’s it! I hope these tips and tricks will get you on your way to working more efficiently in Canva!
It is such a wonderful resource for busy entrepreneurs, and is so so versatile.
If you know any other amazing tips that we forgot to include, let us know in the comments below.
Happy designing!
