Free Online Course

Design Better with Canva

All Courses

The Dashboard

Become familiar with the screen you'll start with when you log into Canva.

The Editor

In this lecture we'll learn about the main editor itself, where we'll create our design.

Understanding Layers

An important concept when designing, we'll discuss layers & how elements lay on top of one another, and how this will impact our designs.

Templates

In this lecture we'll walk through how to find, implement, and edit Canva templates.

Photos (and where to find free ones)

In this lecture we'll discuss how to search for and apply photos from within Canva.

Elements

In this lecture we'll walk through Elements within Canva, which range from simple shapes to complex illustration, and how to apply and edit them.

Text and Fonts

How to add and design with text and fonts, including general tips for ensuring your text always looks great.

Sharing

Download, Present, & Post

In this lecture we go through the various ways to download, present, and share your work.

Better Design with No Anxiety

In this lecture I walk through some ways to remove that anxiety and free your creative processes.

Design Trick: Duplicate

To come up with a great design you need to experiment and try new things. In this lecture we discuss how to use duplication to achieve just that.

Design Trick: Inspiration

In this lecture we'll review the secret to so many great designs...they almost always start as inspiration from others!

Design Trick: Target

In this lecture we walk through the basics of having a target in mind to help inform our design decisions.

Design Trick: Spacing

In this lecture we review the design principle of spacing in Canva, and how applying it correctly can vastly improve your work.

Design Trick: Alignment

The human eye loves order, and ensuring there is alignment in your design will greatly improve it.

Design Trick: Drama & Contrast

When working with your designs, ensuring that there is enough difference between elements can ensure that the design can be read and understood.

Design Tricks: Colors

In this lesson we walk through the basics of color theory, free resources that will help you choose a color palette, and how to apply it in Canva.

Design Tricks: Applying Photos

In this lecture we walk through methods to ensure the photos you apply to your design look great in Canva.

Design Tricks: Hierarchy

In this lecture we discuss how to use the design concept of Hierarchy in Canva to control how our viewer will go through the design.

Shadow Trick

A few approaches for adding shadows for some extra polish to your design.

Little Square Trick

This simple trick will allow you to quickly and easily ensure things are spaced and aligned evenly.

Design Trick: Copy & Paste in Place

An incredibly useful trick to know as you go between designs and boards.

Design Tricks: Download & Upload

This new way of approaching the software can really help your designs and creativity.

Design Trick: Travel Through Time

Design Course - Design Better with Canva

All Free, No Signups

Discover practical guidelines while being taught how to use Canva. Create beautiful work for Social Media, Websites, Presentations, and more.


First learn the ins and outs of Canva's tools

A walkthrough of what Canva has to offer:

  • Navigate the interface
  • Understand the tools and how they work together
  • Tips and tricks for efficiently creating design
  • Learn how to publish, download, and share your work


Add powerful but practical design guidelines

No grand theories, just useful ideas you can apply.

This course won't include a 20 hour lesson on design history, but rather concise concepts you can use to immediately improve your work, including:

  • Refine with alignment and spacing
  • Find amazing color palettes and learn to apply them
  • Find and use great font combinations
  • Increase the drama and impact of your work
  • How to enable creativity


Then bring it together with some advanced tricks

Take your designs to the next level

You'll learn a number of simple tricks and techniques to push your designs further.

First Lesson