"We Don't Talk About Canva"
Star Castle Studio provides soul-centered entrepreneurs with tips and custom-created visuals needed to beautifully run a professionally branded business and make an unforgettable impression online.
Why Canva Sucks.
With Love, From a Designer
Canva is a program for creating graphics that has, unfortunately, grown in popularity over the years. I often get requests to create Canva templates for my clients, but I’m always quick to explain why that is NOT a good idea. As a graphic designer with over 10 years of professional experience, let me start by telling you that Canva definitely is not all that it is hyped to be!
Canva has found success in helping ‘anyone’ create graphics (which may be fine if you only need it to create your annual digital Christmas card or a one-off graphic) but if you are an entrepreneur that truly cares about your business and how it’s portrayed online, you may want to rethink using Canva for your branding and social media needs…
Boxed into a boring Template
A lot of people think that they can just ‘throw something together’ using a template they found in the Canva library but then wonder why their brand isn't standing out online. This is one of the biggest problems with Canva: everyone accesses the same templates. Your graphics may match what's trending, but they will say nothing about who you are as a business owner. Your authenticity is going to be lost in an ever growing market.
The last thing you want is for your visuals to blend into everything else on a potential client’s feed! Only custom graphics can show off the personal nuances of your brand and make a powerful impact on your audience.
Limited Capabilities & Restricted Creativity
When it comes to accomplishing the magical dreams that you’ve envisioned for your life and your business, you have to push aside anything that is holding you back - no clouds allowed in the sky! So, why are you letting Canva hold you back from the dreamy designs you could have?
Canva has a TON of restrictive capabilities! Text set on a path, individual spacing between letterforms, clipping masks, character/paragraph styles, custom tab spacing, the list goes on and on… Occasionally, I’ve had clients ask me to reformat a custom design in Canva so they can change it as needed down-the-road – but Canva is unable to duplicate some of the magical attributes from other programs that I’ve curated to make the best design possible. Suddenly, I’m limited in what I can create for one of my amazing clients due to Canva’s restrictive capabilities!
unnecessary work
You also can't change canvas sizes per graphic in Canva, so you have to recreate the design every time you need the original graphic for a different function– such as reusing an Instagram picture for a website banner or something else that you would think would be simple. This means that there’s a lot of unnecessary duplication & work in using this system. Whereas in a professional program, like Adobe Illustrator, you can create one file per campaign, with countless artboards of all different dimensions! (Did somebody say streamlined?!)
For example, for one of my retainer clients, I create one file for a whole month of social graphics, with 30 squares and 30 ig story size artboards. Reformatting a post into a story graphic is simple drag & drop, not to mention grabbing final assets is a simple export away! (Id need two separate files in Canva and would need to copy and paste each individual page design to the other document to keep things consistent. No thanks!!)
far from print-ready
Plus, Canva is not built with prepping for print in mind. Without the ability to customize bleeds, margins and gutter space, your design will enviably look different when printed & in hands. for example, a full page design built in Canva would come back from your printer with a big white border around the edge. Not cool if you’re wanting eye-catching flyers, handouts, etc.
Terrible Time-Suck
All of the above can add up to you spending more time frustrated and fumbling with a program when instead you should be focused on growing your business! It’s all well and good to say you’re going to learn a new program, but we’ve all been there when hours go by trying to make even a little headway in an app you’re unfamiliar with. Consider how many gorgeous designs an experience designer could output in that same number of hours you wasted fumbling in Canva to create a less than perfect design,
As a business owner, TIME is your most valuable commodity. Instead of looking at what you gain by designing your own visuals, compare it to what you’ve lost: time from finding clients/customers, time interacting with those clients/customers, time working on all the other small things that go into building your brand.
Your time has a hefty cost (there are unfortunately only 24 hours in a day) - make sure to invest it confidently and purposefully.
Be True to Yourself
Your business is NOT templated, and you shouldn't conform to one just because everyone else is doing it.
Canva profits off the fact that so many people are looking for cheap shortcuts for their graphic design needs. However, remember that you get what you pay for. Settling for low-quality designs will inevitably hurt your business in the long run as it will be harder to make a good first impression and first impressions can be everything in business, whether online or in person.
YOU are what makes your brand unique – own that confidence in your brand and its visuals and invest in one-of-a-kind designs so you stand out from the crowd in your unique & personal way!
So Canva Sucks, What Should I Use Instead?
Adobe Illustrator is far superior to Canva in soooo many ways. The professionals use it for a reason. If you want high-quality graphics, your best bet is Adobe Illustrator for sure!
If you want truly stellar graphics for your business, outsourcing is the easiest way to get designs that stand out and best represent your message and service to the world. A good graphic designer knows what works and what doesn't work when it comes to getting the attention of your target audience and can create consistent, powerful graphics that match your brand! Plus you never run the risk of using the same template(s)!
If that sounds like a better option than grappling with a program you don’t understand, let me support you by creating beautiful and impactful visuals that embody your passion and vision! My Magical Maintenance design retainer packages were crafted for business owners, like you, to get a professional designer on their team. + Packages start at as little as 5 hours a month! (Yes, you CAN have it all!)
