I see you - you have projects that need to be completed, and you want to get things out, even if that means that things are thrown together.
Canva is amazing for reactive quick turnaround imagery with limited skills in-house, but, you still need some sense of skill in design, or at least be artistic so you can craft a compelling set of visuals for storytelling.
It has its place in the design world, even if it's a love-hate tool across the industry.
So, when is it time to level up from Canva?
You don’t know who you are and defo not a unicorn in a field of horses.
One thing that stood out about Canva when it first came on the scene was giving everyone the chance to design on their own. But very quickly it’s started to look like everyone is using the same design elements from the open-access library.
If you look like everyone else, you start to blend in - I know I would rather stand out from my competitors.
There seems to be a stigma attached to being different in some industries and I’ll never understand why everyone wants to be the same. Use black when all your competitors are using white, try different imagery when they all use stock, aim for a different tone of voice when everyone else is super corporate. It will set you apart from the competition.
If you want custom imagery, then you need to step away from Canva and level up - get a professional eye on your brand.
Level up to stand out.
People want to know you but your story is disjointed and the journey is too.
Creating a sense of harmony and cohesion starts with your identity and story. Chances are that people are getting confused because you’re churning out content that doesn’t reflect who you are, with no clear sense of the company or brand.
Cohesion comes from your visual elements following the same look and feel, using the same language and creating a strong visual and written story of the company.
Harmony comes from using all of those elements in a beautifully succinct way in your marketing and design.
Recognising a visual style straight away will put your customer at ease and build trust over time. They’ll soon start seeing your company from the style or wording alone, bringing them on that journey with you.
If your imagery is all over the place, it could be time to level up from Canva.
Level up to build trust.
You should be inviting customers and clients to follow along but no-one knows or cares.
If you’ve fallen foul to the last two points, your future customers probably don’t know you, don’t trust you or don’t care. Streamlining your content and visual style is a huge trust factor to gain potential customers.
No matter how your customers interact with your brand or content, they should know it came from your company. Your visual style should be recognisable across all touchpoints - social, videos, slide decks, collateral, and anything that a potential customer will interact with.
They want to be your advocates but if they can’t pick you out in a sea of competitors then your recognition is poor. That’s when you know you need to level up from Canva and get a skilled professional on the task.
Level up to gain recognition.
Final thoughts
Whether you use Canva or not, put your best foot forward with your visuals.
Remember that time you were swayed on a purchase because the brand looked or sounded unprofessional…yeah don’t be them!
Levelling up from Canva doesn’t have to be scary or expensive, but having skilled eyes on your brand is a huge advantage.
If you’re low on budget, putting your trust in a freelance designer to get started could free time up for your team to spend elsewhere and come up with some killer content. It may seem like a commitment but a great freelancer is worth their weight in gold.
