How To Use Canva For Your Business. The Pros & Cons.

Canva is a popular and quickly growing online design tool used to create digital graphics for small business owners. We have seen the debate between using Adobe Illustrator and Canva for a long time now, comparing the low-skill and easy-to-use platform with the industry standard.

We recommend using Canva or Adobe XD for our clients to create their own graphics after completion of their brand identity package. We use Adobe Illustrator for our everyday design work but believe that if used correctly, Canva is a great tool for holiday rental or Airbnb hosts.

Here is our deep dive into how to get the most out of Canva and what to avoid.

Social Media Templates

The main reason we recommend Canva as a useful tool for our clients is for pre-set Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook templates. These size-appropriate templates make it easy to create content for your business without having to think whether the size of the post you are exporting is correct. You don’t have to worry about your artwork being blurry or off-centered as the templates match social media post sizes. There are also print templates available like posters and flyers. After creating content you can easily duplicate the template and alter it later to show new information or imagery.

Import Brand Assets

Once we complete a project with a client we can import their brand assets into Canva. These brand assets include all logos, icons, brand patterns, brand colours, illustrations, and specific imagery. Once the logos and assets are imported in colour & size variations, our clients are able to have the freedom to create their own content without having to rely on us every time. We develop a brand identity guide for each client that has specific rules around font choices, layout guidance, and how to be true to their brand. This makes it easy for our clients to create very on-brand graphics.

Test & Experiment

You can test and trial different graphic styles that you might be interested in. There is a lot of inspiration online and on Canva to inspire you to try different graphic layouts quickly and easily - just be careful you aren’t swaying away from your Brand Identity guidelines though! You have the freedom to not solely rely on your designer and can create personal graphics as well as graphics for your business.

Easy to Use and Collaborative Platform

The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate if you have little to no experience with creating graphics. We also create video tutorials that walk our clients through creating their specific layouts and tips and tricks for using the platform. If in doubt, Canva has a great resource help center if you have any queries or questions. You can also add collaborators to your project to ensure everyone who is in charge of creating for your business is able to review projects.

Time Saver

It’s easy to create graphics using your brand assets while connected to the internet. The project duplication feature allows you to quickly create multiple content pieces efficiently. The time-saving aspect is solely related to graphic layout and duplication and not "the generic search and paste" factor of using Canva.

…But using Canva to create your logo and Branding is a bad idea.

Lack of Consistency

It is easy to be overwhelmed and inspired all at once when first using Canva with a large amount of pre-fabricated templates, logos, and graphics. You can fall into the trap of spending precious time creating a higglety-pigglety folder of graphics that look cool but do not suit your brand identity. Having “random” graphics that do not speak to your brand aesthetic / look and feel, cheapens your brand and makes it look less professional. This is what you want to avoid and a part of the reason why you invested in your brand’s brand identity with your designer in the first place.

No Vector Format

You can’t export logos or graphics as vector files from Canva. A vector file format essentially allows you to scale at a high resolution without losing clarity or becoming pixellated. This is crucial when it comes to creating your brand assets to ensure versatility and scaleability across different mediums. For example, you can scale your logo for a postage stamp or a large wall sign. You can also manually edit and make changes to a vector file.

You Don’t Own Your Logo

Imagine spending time creating a logo or set of logos to realise you don’t actually own it or have copyright authority…Canva has strict licensing laws which only allows you to own basic shapes and line work aspects and restricts you from owning the copyright on templates, icons or digital elements supplied by Canva. You are also unable to apply for a trademark and anyone can copy your design.

You Look Like Everyone else

Enjoy looking just like everyone else, using the same images, icons, and layouts as the other 4 million Canva users. No, seriously you can copy anyone's work which makes your branding and or logo very inauthentic and lacks real brand strategy and unique development. You might think that a simple text Canva logo would be “good enough for now” but you are putting yourself at a disadvantage without investing in proper branding.

Lacks Creativity

The use of templates makes it easy to click, fill, and export, but this impacts your level of innovation and creativity. It is also easy to be distracted by popular graphics or designs that don’t suit your branding and end up wasting your time.

Overall Canva is a great tool to create graphics by using their size appropriate artboards and allows our clients to get creative with their brand assets. It is important to be equipped with a full brand strategy and brand identity first to ensure everything you create is a positive contribution to your brand and therefore attracting your ideal customers and connecting to your community. We will also mention that Above XD is free to download and is fast becoming a great tool for our clients as you can set up and create your own artboards and effectively create brand graphics.

Are you ready to start using Canva effectively for your holiday rental or  Airbnb business? Reach out to us if you want our help creating a brand identity for you to get you started!