Articles: Canva

Canva makes the first step easy, because you do not need to learn a graphics program to see a result. The trouble usually comes later: when the file has to be saved, and when you suspect the print will look different from the screen. The articles here walk through both stages, calmly and in order.

A template is a starting point, not a finished design

One point comes back again and again: thousands of people use the same template, so it is worth reworking. A few changes are normally enough.

• Colour - swap the default palette for the colours your business actually uses.
• Lettering - one typeface, two at most, across the whole piece.
• Photos - your own pictures change more than any graphic effect.
• Amount of copy - you are allowed to delete from a template, not only add.
• Empty space - margins tidy a layout far better than another frame.

Before you send the file

The second half of these guides is about the moment the design is finished. Save it as a PDF rather than an ordinary image. Leave a little spare space at every edge so no part of a heading disappears when the sheets are trimmed. Check that the photos are good ones, not something pulled off the internet and stretched. It also helps to remember that a screen gives off light while paper reflects it, so colours in print tend to look quieter than on a monitor. A separate piece covers large formats, which are read from several metres away rather than at arm's length.

If you run a business, look at the article on building your own set of colours, fonts and templates. Once it exists, every later leaflet, card or invitation looks like part of the same family, even when somebody else puts it together.