In my internet business these days, I’m all about working smarter, not harder (can I get an amen?!).
And so, after switching between Photoshop, InDesign, and Canva for far too long, I eventually made the decision that it was time to totally dedicate myself to just one design application for all of my online business visuals.
Canva was also used.
**gasp**
Yes, I am aware of your thoughts. “Hold on, Fal… If you’re using Canva, then you’re not a true designer.
Well, I am, in fact. Insane improvements that allow me to 10x my content production and design workflow were also released with Canva 2.0 and Canva Pro, making it a no-brainer to sever all previous links with complex design software.
After all of that, check out my must-know Canva tips, tactics, and design hacks below to 10x your content creation workflow and free up more time for the important things in your online business.
A brief aside before we get started…
I’m sorry to all my friends on the free plan, but the majority of the capabilities in this article are only available to Canva Pro customers.
However, I pledge to provide positive news;)
You’ll discover the following Canva hints in this article:
- To make animated GIFs, use Canva Animator!
- Use Canva Magic Resize .
- To maintain consistency in your branding and design graphics, use Canva Brand Kit.
- To proportionally scale elements, press Alt and drag.
- Keyboard shortcuts for Canva that you absolutely must know will cut your clicks in half.
1 . To make animated GIFs, use Canva Animator.
For animated GIF creation, use Canva Animator.
OK I must admit that until writing this piece, I had never actually used the Canva Animator (sorry!).
Although I had created several GIF animations with Photoshop, for some reason I was completely unaware of the number of GIF/video options that Canva had made available with their Pro plan.
So I gave the Animator a try, and let me tell you, I’m addicted!
However, I must admit that there were a few problems with GIF file size that I encountered. You can choose from the following choices when exporting your GIF:
Fade,Pan,Block,Rise,Breathe,Slide,Simple,e.t.c.
With the exception of the arrow sticker (seen below), there were no moving parts in the “basic” GIF animation, and I had no problems with the export. The file was approximately 220 kb in size.
But when I used the “Block” animation option to export the same GIF, the file size was enormous (I’m talking about around 800kb).
So, this is what I did: I exported the GIF as usual.
The file was then compressed using EZGif.com’s GIF Optimizer. By selecting “Remove every third frame,” I removed a few of the frames.
Then I selected “Lossy GIF” and set the compression to 80…
… and I was successful in reducing its size to about 250kb—not bad!
2. Using Canva Magic Resize
Consequently, Canva Magic Resize is pretty much the greatest invention since bread…
Because if you’ve ever created a visual template (which I’m sure you have), you are aware of the time lost when having to redesign images to fit various platforms.
Thank goodness, Canva Pro’s Magic Resize tool takes care of that issue for us!
In a word, the application allows you to batch-resize your visuals to fit different, pre-set formats (see below for a visual reference!).
This eliminates the need for you to spend many hours looking for the most recent aspect ratios for social media platforms.
… and it also means that you can resize layouts with a single click to accommodate all of your favourite platforms! #ThankYouCanva
3. Brand Kit from Canva
While templates are a great place to start, you should definitely alter them to fit YOUR brand.
Additionally, you may save a tonne of time during the design process by using the new Canva brand kit function. You will have quick access to your brand imagery, Canva fonts, and colour swatches.
See how practical it is? This wonderful little function is available on the main page of your Canva (Pro) account!
I adore the Brand Kit because it enables you to always maintain consistency with your design graphics (yep—even if you’re hiring a designer!).
See also: Mastering UI/UX in App Development
4.To proportionally scale elements, press Alt and drag.
… but I felt that this one in particular, which I honestly use so much in my creative process, deserved its own little home.
Therefore, you may drag your design pieces out to scale them appropriately while holding the ALT key, just like with Adobe products.
To scale elements, you can either use the side handles or the corner handles.
However, seeing things in motion is always preferable, so take a look at my tiny GIF below to discover the shortcut for yourself.
The element’s dimensions will be preserved if you simply drag out on one of the element’s corners.
…the element simply won’t scale outward from the centre like it does in the GIF above.
5. Keyboard shortcuts for Canva that you absolutely must know will cut your clicks in half..
Despite the fact that I actually know a tonne of keyboard shortcuts, I’ll keep the lengthy list for a different post and instead share the ones I use the most frequently:
To your document, add the following line: Press the “L” key.
To your document, add a rectangle: Press the “R” key.
Shift + cmd/ctrl + “K” key will change all text to uppercase.
Ctrl/Cmd + “B” key to make text bold
Ctrl + “D” for duplicate elements
Cmd/Ctrl + “G” for group elements
Shift + Ctrl + “G” to ungroup elements
Pick up everything on the layer: Ctrl/Cmd + “A” key
CMD/Ctrl + “+” key to enlarge
cmd/ctrl + “-” key to zoom out
CMD/Ctrl + “]” to send an element ahead
CMD/Ctrl + “[” to send an element backward Want some pictures as examples? View my list of the best Canva keyboard shortcuts to speed up your DIY commercial graphics creation!
