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Designing on a Dollar
Part 4 in my bootstrapping is all about design. I use Canva for Work and absolutely love it. I started with the free version of Canva but quickly upgraded to Canva for Work. The extra features are well worth the money that I spend.
Let’s start with pricing. You can use Canva for FREE yes free 🙂 That is how I started using Canva myself. If you decide, like I did, that you need to take it up a notch you can upgrade to Canva for Work which is $12.95 per month or $9.95/month when paid annually. When you upgrade to Canva for Work you get some extra tools like:
- Magically resize your designs (one graphic – click a button and you have graphics suitable for Facebook, Pinterest, twitter, etc. – literally just click a button)
- Upload custom fonts for your brand (I use this to personalize graphics for my clients by using their branded fonts)
- Set color palettes for your brand (No more looking up Hex codes constantly)
- Save templates for you and your team (I share designs with my clients or other team members)
- Organize your photos with folders (Makes it quick to find graphics for a particular client or project)
- Easily find your designs with search (search your account for designs you’ve saved)
- Priority support (access to excellent support)
Canva is kind of a love it or hate it tool for some. I love Canva. In fact, I literally use it every day to create blog graphics, Facebook graphics, Course Modules for my clients, logos, etc., the list can really go on and on. I first started using the free version and that worked for me for a little while. As my graphics became more advanced, I needed access to more tools so I bumped up to Canva for Work.
I always edit images in Canva before uploading to my website, blog posts, etc. It is so easy to do. You can upload photos that you have taken. I have done this with some flat lays that I made and some images for an eCommerce Shop. You can also pull in stock photos from Creative Market, 123RF, Pexels, etc. After I select the image I want I add overlays, borders, text, etc., depending on what I am using the image for. For example, I have used lots of images with a simple quote inserted for posting on my Facebook business page. It can be inspirational, witty, or share a special offer that you are running.
This is a quick graphic that I made in Canva to share on my Facebook business page for a special I was running. This graphic literally took me about 5 minutes to make. I chose a background image and added a few elements, like the outline and the square in the middle. Then I added in my text and it was ready to download and add to my FaceBook page.
I don’t use Photoshop or Illustrator and honestly at this point I don’t really need this skill set in my business. I am able to do everything I need with Canva. So I will save myself from the cost and educating myself for now. And that is certainly not a rub against Photoshop or Illustrator, both are awesome tools, it’s just not in my wheelhouse for now.
I hope you enjoyed this series. If there are other tools that you have heard about but want more information before diving into a commitment, let me know. If it is something that I have used or know a little about, I’d be happy to share my thoughts.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear about the other amazing business tools I discuss in this series here:
Scheduling on the Skinny
Stop Marketing Like a Monkey
Business on the Broke
Designing on a Dollar