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Creative Ways to Use Canva Templates

Creative Ways to Use Canva Templates

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If you’ve ever had to design something from scratch, you’ll know just how frustrating it can be to try and create something that you’re 100% happy with. 

Thankfully, by using Canva, you won’t need to buy expensive design software. 

And not only that, but your designing process will also likely be a lot easier with the premade templates that you can customize in any way you like!

Simply replace the preset images with your own, add your text, change the colors and position, resize the template, and voila — you’ll have your unique design put together in no time. 

Canva isn’t limited to social media graphics either (although it’s certainly great for that!)

From infographics and thank-you cards to business presentations, you can find Canva templates for just about anything.

Looking for some inspiration for your next great design? In this guide, we’ll be covering:

  • The different types of Canva templates
  • How to utilize Canva for your everyday life
  • What features these templates have that make them suitable for your project.

Let’s get into it!

1. Social Media Graphics

Canva provides a wide variety of social media graphic templates, including ones designed for use as Facebook cover photos, Pinterest posts, and Instagram stories (among others).

Obviously, these templates are designed for you to use for regular posting, but you can do a lot of different things with them as well!  

For example, Canva recommends using them to post reviews of your business on social media to make sure that you have a visually engaging experience that supports your good reputation.

The templates also allow you to brand images easily, meaning that they can’t be reshared without attribution.

This means you’ll be able to drive more engagement with your social media accounts – whether they’re for a business or something else!

To make your graphics stand out from others that use the same templates, it can be a good idea to switch up the general arrangement of design elements; swap the order of an image and a text box, for instance. 

Of course, your designs should be unique anyway – seeing as they’ll have your images and personalized text on them!

2. Business Cards and Brochures

We’ve all seen business cards and brochures that don’t look quite right (or are just straight-up boring)

Even if these businesses offer great services, poorly-designed brochures or cards can make any business seem unprofessional.

Whether it’s for your business or yourself, your business card should sell your services and leave a lasting positive impression on potential customers and connections. 

That’s why having something visually engaging is a must; you want to make sure that you stand out in a good way!

With Canva templates, you can make your business card suit you or your brand by using a plethora of great designs that are available such as modern, funky, elegant, or even simple templates.

You might also want to think about whether to stick with a more traditional landscape business card or if you want to leave a unique impression with a portrait card.

Canva also has templates that are created specifically for your industry in mind, including real estate, events management, and even the arts sector.

Have something to promote? Whether it’s relevant to your business or you’d just like to share educational and instructional advice, Canva templates can help you to create professional brochures that establish you as an authoritative source of knowledge.

You even have the option to add a QR code to your business cards and brochures using Canva’s free QR code generator. By doing so, you’ll be able to provide your potential customers with easy access to your website and social media links.

Finally, Canva also offers printing services. Once you’re happy with your design, it’s super easy to get it printed and sent straight to your doorstep. You can then quickly and efficiently distribute these designs and promote your work!

3. Invitations and Event Fliers 

Have a special event coming up? Regardless of whether it’s a wedding, birthday party, baby shower, or graduation in the cards, you can design some absolutely gorgeous invitations and event fliers that will have everyone buzzing for the big day!

If your next event is something smaller and more lowkey, proper invitations — printed or sent electronically — ensure that your guests will have all the details they need to plan and prepare for your event.

Just find a template that works for you and insert your images, play around with design elements, and add all the relevant information for your guests. 

You can find templates made specifically for events like birthdays, bachelorette parties, baby showers, and more!

If you’re sending out your invitations digitally, excite your guests and raise their anticipation even more with animations!

Trying to increase engagement for a special occasion like a social get-together or fundraiser? An event flier will surely get people interested — as long as it’s eye-catching too!

With Canva templates, you’ll be able to make fliers and spread the word about your event quickly and effortlessly.

4. Personalized Gifts and Cards

Make your friends and family feel extra special with gifts and cards designed using Canva. These mementos are unique, heartfelt, and (most importantly) easy to put together.

With Canva templates, you can design a shirt inspired by your sibling’s favorite band, make a tote bag with an inside joke on it for your best friend, or create a mug celebrating your father which he’ll use to drink his coffee every morning!

Once you have your design ready, use Canva’s printing services to turn it into a lovely gift. All you have left to do is wrap it up and surprise (and delight!) your loved ones with the present.

Along with your gift, you’re also sure to impress your loved ones with personalized cards made just for them.

No more store-bought cards with a hasty message scrawled on them — Canva has card templates for all sorts of occasions. Just personalize the card with your recipient’s name, add a thoughtful message, and print it out!

5. Infographics

Have some vital knowledge to share? Sometimes, the best way to explain an idea is to present it visually. 

Infographics are a great way to share knowledge and educate people, but they have to be fun and engaging too! 

Canva’s infographic templates allow you to do just that.

All you have to do is find a template that fits your theme, add the information, and customize it to fit your purpose. 

To make the design even more thoughtful, ask yourself these questions: Does the color scheme work? Do you have specific images or illustrations that will make your infographic more relevant?

Once that’s done, save it as a PDF, share it online, or print out your infographic and hang it up in the office, classroom, or wherever you see fit!

6. Recipe Cards and Food Menus

Whether you’re a foodie who wants a way to save your grandmother’s recipes or a busy professional who just wants to have an easy reference when choosing what dishes to prepare, you may want to try making recipe cards for an aesthetically appealing step-by-step guide to cooking your favorite meals.

Choose a template that works for your recipes, type in your ingredients and directions, add a photo of your meal if you have one – and you’ve got a recipe card that looks professionally made!

Have a whole bunch of recipes you want to write down? You can even design a standardized (and stylish) recipe card! Then, all you need to do is print multiple copies and scribble down your cooking direction by hand.

Restaurants can also make the most out of Canva. No matter the cuisine, branding, or vibe of your eatery, you’ll always be able to find a perfect template for your food spot.

For example: Once you’ve chosen your template and typed up your menu, you can add complementary design elements and illustrations, play around with the colors, and add pictures of your meals.

With Canva, you also get to save your menus and edit them again another time – which is particularly convenient if your menu changes seasonally, as you can then simply edit and change it out as you go!

7. Mood Boards and Vision Boards

If you’re the creative type, you might like to try organizing the ideas for your projects with Canva’s mood and vision board templates.

Mood boards and vision boards aren’t just pretty collages (although using mood board templates is great for creating stunning and unique collages); functionally, they’re also handy ways to visualize and play around with your ideas and keep your creative project on track.

Whether you’re collaborating with someone else or coordinating with a client, mood boards allow you to ensure that everyone understands each other’s standards for the project.

Vision boards, on the other hand, can help you feel like you’re on the right track to achieving your goals – and to create a visual representation of what these goals are.

While your mood or vision board will be unique to you and/or your project, starting it off with some templates to organize your layout or mood of your project will help you play around with different inspirations.

From these templates, you can then create a collage of your favorite pictures, choose your color scheme, and make something that expresses your vision. Hopefully, this will help start you on the right track for planning your projects and goals!

The Bottom Line

Regardless of the size of your designs, there’s no limit to the fun you can have with Canva. 

The pre-made templates are sure to help you communicate with others visually, even if you don’t consider yourself a designer!

So, what are you waiting for? Get started by browsing through Canva’s templates and choosing from thousands of available designs! 

Do you already have a desired aesthetic? Start typing a few adjectives into the search bar for inspiration, and start creating!