Canva is hands down one of the best design tools and one that I recommend to all of my clients to ensure their branding is consistent all throughout their businesses. Canva is one of the most accessible design tools to help you look professional, whether you’re creating social media posts, business cards, or informative guides. The intuitive and easy to use platform is PACKED with features for small business owners like you (especially the Canva Brand Kit… but we’ll get into that).

My friends used to assume I hate Canva because, as a professional graphic designer, it has a reputation as being “for amateurs”. But I absolutely love Canva for so many reasons. When it’s used well, Canva can make all of your visuals look like they were custom made by a designer, even if you’re not a pro. But, to make the most of Canva, it’s important to know what works best on the platform.

If you already have branding for your business and are looking to implement it into your business using Canva, this is for you! Let’s dive into a few best practices for using Canva, and how you can leverage its powerful tools to set your brand up for long-term success.

Why I recommend Canva (and why you should opt for a Canva Pro subscription)

Canva is one of my top recommended design tools for my branding and web design clients, especially those who are new to design, who work with a team, or who need efficiency. Canva’s Pro version unlocks a bunch of features that make it even easier to design faster, with more flexibility and most importantly, keeping it aligned with your brand. While the free version is great, the paid version offers access to advanced tools like Canva Brand Kit, extensive font libraries, AI tools, and more, and these features make a huge difference. You can compare all Canva’s different plans and pricing here!

I DO recommend using Canva for:

Marketing collateral like social media graphics, client guides, business cards, presentations, and any print materials. Once you have your brand guidelines nailed down, you can add them into your Canva Brand Kit and then easily plug and play to make everything look on-brand and stunning.

I DO NOT recommend using Canva for:

Designing logos or foundational brand assets. These require the precision and scalability of professional design software, and you want to make sure they’re custom and designed by a professional if you’re going for longevity in your business. Think of Canva as a toolkit to extend your branding into everyday visuals and make your social media and marketing look professional and cohesive.

Use Canva’s Brand Kit feature

Canva’s Brand Kit feature is an amazing tool for any business owner serious about maintaining brand consistency. It allows you to set up your brand’s fonts, colors, and logos so they’re always just a click away.

Upload Your Brand Fonts

With Canva Pro and Canva Brand Kit, you can upload your own custom fonts, which is helpful if your brand uses custom or licensed fonts outside of Canva’s offerings. Canva’s font library is extensive, so if you don’t already have brand fonts, you can explore and select from the Pro options.

If you’re using a custom font, remember to verify that you have the proper font licenses for commercial use. When setting up your typography, I recommend using a clear type hierarchy, for example a primary font for headings and a secondary font for body text. This will make your content easier for your audience to read and understand what information is most important.

Upload your brand’s color palette

Your brand colors are one of the first things people will notice about your designs, so having a consistent color palette is key. Canva Pro allows you to upload custom colors using hex codes, which are unique codes that represent your exact brand colors. If you’re a client of mine, I always provide hex codes with your brand color palette, so setting this up is simple.

Upload your logo(s)

Your logo should be as accessible as your fonts and colors, and uploading it to your Canva Brand Kit makes this effortless. For best results, upload your logo in SVG format (which I always deliver as part of my branding packages) so you can resize and recolor it as needed without sacrificing quality. I also recommend uploading variations of your logo – like a full logo, an icon, and a wordmark – to give you flexibility when designing for different platforms and formats.

Use on-brand templates in Canva

Using templates is one of the easiest ways to keep your designs consistent and save time. Canva has a variety of templates you can use for all kinds of projects. But you can also purchase templates from Creative Market, Etsy, or even work with a designer to create ones tailored specifically to your brand. My branding packages now include custom social media templates to help you launch your social media pages on the right foot!

Once you’ve chosen some templates that match your brand’s look and feel, you can save them with the “star” button and then customize them with your fonts, colors, logo, and imagery. I recommend sticking to a general design style that feels aligned with your brand, and refer back to your brand guidelines whenever you’re unsure.

Use photos, illustrations and imagery in Canva

Imagery plays a huge role in defining your brand’s visual style. I recommend creating a folder of your own brand photos to Canva right away to simplify the process of plugging them into your design projects. If you don’t have custom brand images, take the time to source high-quality stock photos that feel aligned with your brand. Canva has a lot of great stock photos, but avoid images that are overly staged, corny or generic. (If you’re a branding client of mine, I love to help with this!)

I always include illustrations and icons with my branding packages (when the client wants them), so you’ll be able to upload those into Canva for easy use. If you don’t have custom illustrations for your business, you can find tons to use within Canva. If you find graphics that you like, you can search more by the artist to discover more illustrations in a similar style, helping you create a cohesive aesthetic all around.

To find similar graphics: Select the graphic and click the three dots > choose “Info” > choose “View more by ___” for more graphics by that artist.

Or Select the graphic and click the three dots -> choose “Info” > choose “See more like this” for similar graphics, or “View Collection” for all the graphics in one collection the artist created.

General tips for using your branding in Canva

To ensure your Canva designs always look polished and on-brand, keep these tips in mind:

Simpler graphics are often better

To test this, try the “squint test”: if the design’s main message isn’t clear when you squint, simplify it.

Limit your fonts to two (MAYBE three) per image

Using more than two or three fonts can clutter a design, so keep it simple and stick with your primary and secondary fonts.

A tip for social media graphics

Keep key information within the center square, as this is what will display on your Instagram grid.

Use some variety

While templates are helpful, your entire feed shouldn’t look identical. Rotate between a few designs to keep things fresh.

Take advantage of Canva’s tools

Tools like the background remover, AI expand, and color match can elevate your designs, making your visuals look even more professional.

In summary, once you have branding for your business, Canva is a fantastic tool to keep your branding consistent across all your platforms and media. Take advantage of the Canva Brand Kit, templates, and customization features to design professional, consistent graphics that show off your brand.

If you’re just launching your business and don’t have brand guidelines yet — you’re in the right place! Click here for more information on my branding, web design, and combo packages for small business owners. I’d love to help you bring your vision to life!