When You Should — and Shouldn't — Use Canva

Any marketing professional that’s had to wear more than one hat has likely dabbled, to say the least, in the world of Canva. While Canva does an excellent job of making design tools accessible and easy to use, there are situations where you are better off hiring a graphic designer.

Read on for my recommendations as a professional designer for when you should and shouldn’t use Canva!

Canva can be great for:

1. Social media graphics

Social media graphics top my Canva recommendation list. Their easy to use, pre-sized templates allow you to create graphics for a variety of platforms with just a few clicks. Simply update with your information, fonts, colors, or pictures and download your ready-to-use files.

Keep in mind, though, that anyone with a Canva account has access to these same templates. If you’re looking to level-up, consider a hybrid solution where a graphic designer creates a series of unique, on-brand template designs that you or your team can update.

2. Presentations

Canva offers an alternative to PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote for easy presentation creation. Even with a free Canva account, there are thousands of templates to choose from.

Additionally, because this is a cloud-based tool, Canva is a great resource if more than one person will need to update or access this presentation.

Again, a hybrid solution would be to hire a graphic designer to build out your branded template to work from for a completely unique presentation.

3. Low-stakes projects

Perhaps you are looking to update an existing flyer template to email internally for a team-building luncheon. Or, maybe you need to drop your logo and address on a #10 envelope. Canva can help you get these small jobs done with little hassle.

4. Brainstorming

You might have a general idea of the direction you’d like your design to take, but lack the professional skills to execute it. You can use Canva as a space for collaborative brainstorming—perhaps to share color palette or layout ideas—and your designer can use this as a jumping off point for the final iteration.

5. Small-budget projects

There are certainly times when hiring a professional graphic designer is ideal—but if you don’t have the budget, you don’t have the budget. Canva does offer you the tools to DIY a wide range of projects for free. When you aren’t able to make an investment beyond time spent, this may be the solution for you.

Canva is not ideal for:

1. Logos

You can run into multiple problems if you try to create a logo for your business or campaign in Canva. Not only are you limited in what you can trademark, every other Canva user has access to the same libraries you do—meaning they could end up with a logo just like yours.

Additionally, Canva does not have the capabilities of a program like Adobe Illustrator when it comes to the creation and manipulation of shapes and text. There is so much more a professional graphic designer can do than you are able to do yourself within Canva.

Finally, a graphic designer will know the exact file types and variations you’ll want and need within your logo suite. This will save lots of headache down the road and set you up for long-term success.

2. Highly unique designs or campaigns

As mentioned in several sections above, the assets and templates within Canva are available to all users. Most Canva templates…look like Canva templates. When it’s time to differentiate and create something highly unique or specific, it’s time to bring in a professional. They will have the skills and tools to help set you apart.

3. Print projects

Can you create designs that are intended for print through Canva? Yes. Is it the most efficient way to do so? Not exactly.

Many Canva assets are raster-based rather than vector-based, and while your graphics might look ok on screen, they aren’t always high enough quality for print.

Additionally, if you’re using an outside vendor for printing, they likely have specific file setup requirements that aren’t easy to replicate within Canva itself. In those cases, a quickly designed piece in Canva might need to be completely recreated in a design program for the proper final files.

4. Long-form documents

Adobe InDesign is still head and shoulders above Canva when it comes to laying out multi-page documents. There are features within InDesign that a graphic designer will know like the back of their hand that just aren’t available in Canva.

Not to mention, a professional designer is trained to maintain consistency and cohesiveness with hierarchy, typography, margins and more—things that may not be intuitive to an average Canva user.

5. Complex photo retouching

While Canva does offer photo editing capabilities, a designer can still do so much more with a tool like Adobe Photoshop. When you are looking for advanced editing for your project, a designer is the way to go.

To sum it all up:

There is a place for Canva for many marketing teams or businesses. However, it’s important to treat it as a tool rather than a replacement for skilled professionals. There are times when the tool is appropriate, and times when it just won’t get the job done. Keep an open mind, and consult a graphic designer when you’re unsure which direction to take.