You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create beautiful layouts, social media images or even marketing pieces like business cards. If you’re short on time, budget or creativity, or if you just want to put something together yourself, Canva is the platform for you. Bonus: You can use it on mobile, tablet, desktop or any combo of those – whatever you find easiest!

With many distributors operating as a one-person show, getting everything done can be a challenge. That’s why I love the Canva app. It’s a free graphic design platform (although you can pay extra to access more layout options and features). It contains such a large variety of templates and is super easy to use, with mostly drag-and-drop features. Just some of the designs you can create include:

• Social media graphics – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn 
• Marketing items – Logos, business cards, gift certificates, coupons, email headers, blogs
• Event-related marketing – Invitations, tickets, posters
• Documents – Presentations, resumes, invoices, letters

In fact, there are so many great design choices that it’s sometimes overwhelming to search. We find ourselves saying, “I like that one.” “What about that one?!” “Can we do all three and post on different days?”

Here’s how it works:

1. Search or browse through existing designs. Some are themed for specific things (i.e. food, sale, spring), but you can also search by keyword.
2. Select the design you want to customize.
3. Tap on any aspect to edit. You can change images, text, colors, transparency and more.
4. Save and share!

Sound too easy? It basically is. If you’re having trouble using it on mobile, try a tablet or desktop. We’ve noticed different people find different vehicles easier to use, so you may like the functionality better on different devices.

Now let’s take a look at some of our favorite features.

Social Media by Platform

Canva divides designs by social media platform, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Why is this helpful? Different platforms use different aspect ratios for how media is displayed. Ever upload a video that looks stretched? Or the edges of a picture are chopped off? (This is most noticeable in Instagram where posts are square with a 1:1 ratio.) That’s because the media isn’t the same aspect ratio as what the platform uses. You don’t have to worry about that if you use Canva. Bottom line: Your image or video will display at the correct aspect ratio and look awesome.

Branding Consistency

Canva makes it easy to maintain brand consistency. You can select the same colors in your brand’s palette, as well as the fonts you like, and keep using those in everything you design. It saves your most recent colors so you can easily select them again. Whether you’re working on a social media post or an email header, you can maintain a look that will become recognizable.

New Designs

Canva doesn’t stop – ever. Whatever is trending, they have designs for it, so it makes it easy to connect with your audience with relevant themes. There’s always something new, so it’s not like every time you search, you only see the same designs over and over. And you can always pay for an expanded version to access EVEN MORE designs.

So, go ahead, check out Canva.com and let us know what you think. Also, if you’re looking for more lifestyle images for social media posts, your website or emails, Unsplash.com has free images you can use. You can even download them and add your logo with Canva! If you’re in need of promotional product-specific images, check out our library of free stock photos.