If yes, don’t worry! That’s the whole reason for this blog post today. This isn’t exactly going to be a full beginner’s guide to Canva, but I will make sure that I’ll share some Canva tips I learned when I was starting to use it.

Ready to learn? What are you waiting for? Let’s get to it!

What is Canva again?

So, just to recap: Canva is an online (online, as in to use it, you need an Internet connection) design tool that many people use to design pretty much anything. You can use it on any mobile device or laptop, provided that your device meets the Canva minimum requirements for technology. 

The great thing about Canva is that you don’t have to download it. You can use it directly on your browsers like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. It also has a mobile app version. So as long as your Internet connection is working fine, you can use Canva.

Plus, all the projects you make are saved online! You can easily go back to a project you’ve done before without needing to remember where you placed it. It’s all there.

Why do I need to use Canva?

Here’s the thing. You don’t really need to if you don’t plan on selling anything, or if you don’t really want to make your learnings in The Bailiwick Academy a business. Or if you already know how to use more complicated software like Adobe Photoshop or Premiere, you might not need this tool.

But for the rest of us who aren’t really good at graphics, we need Canva, especially for social media posting and other business materials. It makes everything super easy!

There are many other tools out there, but Canva is the one I really like using. Yes, I am already biased, haha!

What can I use Canva for as a beginner?

And this is why I am biased. I use Canva for so many things! Of course, for the purposes of this blog, since I am typing this on the laptop, I’m going to be talking about the computer version of Canva. The principles for the Canva app though, are generally the same.

So, take a look at what I use Canva for:

Graphics

The term graphics encompasses so many things! But here are the things that I appreciate about Canva when it comes to graphics.

Templates

Templates are what make Canva so easy to use for even beginners. Looking to do a social media post? Just go to the templates section and look for what you need. Let’s say you need to do an Instagram story. Go to the template and click the Instagram Stories part. Choose which template resonates with your brand. Let’s choose this as an example:

Click the Customize Template option and you’ll be able to change the design further.

For example, if you want to change the rice photo, that’s easy! Just go to the Photos section on the left, and look for the photo you want, like say, apple pie.

Choose the photo you like, then drag it over to the template to replace the rice. And since chopsticks do not make sense with apple pie, you can delete that element. If you want to be even more specific with the kind of food, you can change the word “Food” to “Pie.” So here’s what the new design will look like:

I was able to do all that in less than five minutes. Amazing, isn’t it?

And these aren’t just for social media posts. You can make whatever you want. Just go back to the home page, and type your need in the search bar, say, “Menu.”

If you want to make an e-book, there are templates too!

The possibilities are endless!

Custom design

If you feel like none of the templates of Canva are working for you, you can always create your own design. That means you’re not limited to templates, which is great especially if you feel like you’re on your way to not being a Canva beginner anymore.

An example of this is our YouTube Thumbnails, such as this one:

And once you have a custom design, you can use that as your own template. So even if the class is changed, the design is generally the same.

And because of Custom Design, it’s easy for us to make social media materials like this one:

Again, the possibilities are endless!

All you have to do is click the “Create Your Own Design” at the upper right corner of the screen…

Then choose the parameters you want. When the file is created, just play with the elements on the left side, like the elements, text, and so on, and enjoy making your design!

Background removal

No need to hire a graphic designer to take your image out of the background! Canva does that automatically for you, like my sample photo. So you can take any photo after, download it as having no background if that’s what you require, or within Canva, place your photo on a different colored background.

Using this tool definitely made me feel like I wasn’t a beginner since it was so easy to edit the image out of the original background!

Do take note that this tool works best if your original photo has a plain background. If you’ll notice my photo with the background removed, some elements that aren’t supposed to be affected (like the book in the middle) are affected. So it’s amazing, but it’s not perfect. Just remember that.

Stock photos

If you currently do not have photos of your offerings, there’s nothing wrong with using stock photos that can represent your product. For example, if your offering is Chef Allan Mertola’s Ramen Made Easy class and you don’t have photos of your ramen yet, just go to Canva and look for photos. Pick the size of what you’re posting from the templates (i.e. Facebook, Instagram). Once you open it, just go to the Photos section on the left side of the screen. Type in the search bar “ramen.”

You’ll see the many different photos of ramen that Canva has!

Look for one you like, then just drag it to your document on the right. And that’s it, you have a photo of ramen that you can use! You can do the same for your other offerings.

Do take note that with stock photos, there are limitations. For example, if your offering is related to Filipino food, there’s no guarantee that Canva will have their photos. And you do run the risk of having the same photos as everyone else.

Of course, you can always enroll in our Mobile Food Photography class if you don’t want to use stock photos anymore.

Video editing

With the emergence of TikTok and Instagram reels, you may want to get into the action of adding videos to your social media channels. And that’s a good idea since studies have shown that video content has helped increase the sales of e-commerce business. And we agree, that’s why we have reels, like this one featuring Chef RV Manabat’s House of Lechon and Paella class.

Going back, that’s the reason you should also take advantage of this option by Canva! It’s not just for still images. Like the graphics, videos have templates.

Again, just choose a template that appeals to you, then drag and drop elements according to your liking. If you also have separate video clips, you can edit that as well.

Of course, do take note that Canva video editing is slightly limited, in the sense that it’s not easy to cut up clips. There’s also no way to take sound away from your uploaded clips, so if you want to put a song on top of your video, you’re going to have to upload clips without sound.

If all that sounded complicated, just be like me and stick to being a Canva beginner… at least in terms of video editing.

Presentations

This is another option I use extensively. I have to present to chefs to join Bailiwick, right? Or when I have a business meeting with other brands. Obviously, I can’t show my presentations here (they’re confidential!), but do know that with Canva and its templates, presenting is so much easier for me. I don’t have to think about how the slides in my presentation will look one by one! That saves me plenty of time in creation. I can focus on the message of my presentation (which is more important after all) instead of the appearance.

And if you have kids, you can also let them use Canva for their class presentations. Say goodbye to built-in computer programs that have boring templates and are hard to use and say hello to Canva!

How easy is Canva to use for a beginner?

Is Canva easy to learn? Well, its taglines include “Online Design Made Easy” and “Design for Everyone,” so I would definitely say one big yes! Canva, for beginners in design, is one big blessing.

What makes Canva easy to use is that everything is just drag and drop. Just select the elements you want to use, and drag them around your canvass until you get the positioning you like. Using various texts, colors, and so on presents no difficulty. I would say Canva is absolutely dummy-proof.

Of course, I would suggest just going to Canva right now, signing up, and just trying it out. You’ll see what I mean about its ease of use.

But if you want more in-depth instructions on how to use Canva, you can always go to the Canva Learning Center. Just navigate to the top left bar of your Canva home page and click the arrow next to the word Learn. You can watch videos or read articles on whatever design aspect you want to learn more about.

Is Canva actually free?

Does Canva have a free version? Actually, yes it does! That’s how I started. For beginners, free Canva is more than enough. You’ll still have access to stock photos, templates, and so on. Of course, since it’s a free version, you won’t be able to use premium features like the Background Remover or the songs in the library. 

And if you’re a heavy user of stock images, you might get disappointed once you see that an image you like is hidden behind a paywall. Those are the images marked with a crown. You’ll only get to use them for paying accounts.

But good news! The first time you sign up for Canva, Canva will actually give you a trial of Canva Pro for thirty days! And if you want to actually continue using Canva Pro, it’s just a mere Php299 a month. It’s a very minimal investment that is sure to give you maximum returns.

Get started on using Canva today and stop being a Canva beginner!

Canva is easy to use, beginner-friendly and has a FREE version. Plus, you can always refer to its learning center for tips and tricks for using Canva. And the more you use Canva, the sooner you can stop calling yourself a beginner.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Canva here and get started in taking your visuals to the next level!

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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more tips, tricks, and more! And of course, if you want to experience our life-changing, on-demand classes, don’t forget to enroll in The Bailiwick Academy today!

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