Create Eye- Catching Visuals for FREE with Canva
Graphics and visuals are important things to consider for your blog if you want to make it as appealing as possible to your readers. Therefore, it is important to have an eye- catching logo and eye- catching graphics. For this blog, I used a freemium online graphics tool called Canva to design the logo and make a business card, which I will be discussing in this Hacks & Tips post.
The Tedium of Using Microsoft Publisher To Create Visuals
A couple of years ago, I made a website called FilmForce using Moonfruit to showcase wallpapers and short animations I made in my spare time. Now I admit it wasn’t a great website at all, but at the time I would’ve denied it. I used Microsoft Publisher to design these wallpapers, make graphics, and a business card for my website. In my opinion, Moonfruit is not that good if you’re interested in making a website and the themes aren’t either. This blog used WordPress and Bluehost, which offers great prices and a great selection of tools.
Furthermore, I found Microsoft Publisher quite tedious and time consuming to use. For instance, it can be quite difficult trying to align images, and find decent images to use. While Publisher does have more features than Canva, if you are looking to design a logo with little effort in less than 5 minutes, then Publisher is not for you…
What Visuals Can You Design with Canva?
Canva is a freemium online tool which can be used for created visual content such as social media art. What’s even better is you don’t have to download and install it on your PC to get going. All you need is a decent internet connection! Here are some of the things you can design:
- Logos
- Facebook covers
- Business cards
- Invitations and flyers
- YouTube thumbnails and Channel art
- Newsletters
Designing a Logo with Canva on the Free Version
Ease of Use 5/5
User Experience 5/5
Choice of Themes 4/5
The best way to find the Logo Maker is to simply Google the term, or you can access it here. And the good thing is you don’t need to make an account either.
In terms of how easy it is to use Canva’s logo maker, I would rate it a 5/5. I could easily choose a theme, change the colours, and add elements quite easily. Once you have selected a theme and colour scheme, it is simply a case of ‘dragging and dropping’ text and images to create your logo. There was a good selection of clip art to choose from, and what I like is that Canva keeps track of which ones you have ‘Recently Used’. Some of the clip art comes with the premium version, which I will discuss later.
Finally, after you’ve completed your logo, you can simply download it in a range of file formats including printable PDF. To ensure it has the highest quality, I always opt for PNG.
Designing Business Cards with Canva on the Free Version
Ease of Use 5/5
User Experience 5/5
Choice of Designs 5/5
When I used to make business cards for my old website, I used to use Microsoft Publisher. But thanks to Canva, I no longer need to do this as they also provide templates for business cards too. To find the business card maker, all you need to do is Google it, or you can click here instead.
Like designing a logo, you can easily make a great card in less than 5 minutes by dragging and dropping images, text, and shapes. Below is a card I made earlier this week. After finishing your design, you can download it or have batches of them professionally printed.
Is It Worth Purchasing Canva Pro?
The short answer is it depends greatly on what you want to use it for. If you want to make a quick logo, then it is better to use the free version. The screenshot from Canva’s website below lists the differences between Pro and the free version. As you can see, Canva Pro has a lot more perks and features, but it does depend what you want to get out of Canva though.
Verdict
Overall, I would give Canva a 5/5 rating for designing visuals! It is so easy to use and there is a great selection of clip art and fonts you can use, so you can easily create something in less than 5 minutes. Unlike other graphic design tools such as Publisher, Canva does not need to be downloaded and installed on your PC to get going. Nor is it necessary to create an account with them.
All you need is a strong internet connection, some ideas, and you’re ready to give your blog a facelift… What are your experiences with Canva? Or is there another tool you prefer to use? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Canva Logo Maker:
Canva Business Card Maker:
I’m very happy with the free version on Canva, I use it mostly for creating Pins but it has a lot of features.
I used it to make this logo, and promotional posters for other projects too
I love Canva. I use it for EVERYTHING: blog post headers, social media graphics, logos e.t.c Still using the free version though.
https://truehealthcorner.com
Yeah I haven’t felt the need to use Canva Pro yet, as the free version has so many capabilities! It’s so easy to use, and you can quickly make visuals so easily as well.