In the 21st century, as we all know, technology has in a way taken over our world. It has infiltrated and completely transformed our society, workplaces, and education systems; some may think this is a negative change. However, for designers, Canva seems to be the biggest game changer since the printing press was invented. Let’s jump into some background information and what makes this platform such a revelation for the industry.
Canva was founded in 2012 in Perth, Australia by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams. The main reason for the creation of this platform was to develop a program that allows for people to develop designs that are accessible to everyone across the world. Canva allows anyone to create their own flyers, social media content, graphics, etc. by using templates from thousands of designers. The interesting thing about Canva is that most of the design work is already done on templates so all you really need to do is personalize it with information you want on it. This allows you to not only get your creative juices flowing as a designer, but keeps you informed on current design trends going on around the world that could be crucial to your pieces.
Time to delve into what makes Canva so great: its accessibility and simplicity. No matter what graphic you need, no matter the topic, 99% of the time there is some designer on Canva that has produced something that you are envisioning- it’s the most satisfying thing envisioning what you want your piece to look like, and then it’s the first thing that comes up when you search for your graphic. Once you find your desired style and aesthetic, all you have to do is make small tweaks and adjustments to make sure the message you want to get out is there and you like the outcome of the design.
The only downside to Canva is that some features on the program are exclusive to premium account holders (like background remover and specific graphics to insert), requiring a monthly subscription to have access to certain tools and resources. However, Canva still has so much to offer just by using the free templates and graphics that premium, in my opinion, is really unnecessary. Not only are there different graphics with thousands of aesthetic options, there are animations that allow you to add features to the design elements on your piece- adding another aspect to your graphics.
Here is some additional advice from Fleishman’s Senior Career Consultant, Jordan Smith:
- “Consider using Canva to help you with class projects or different responsibilities with your extracurriculars! This will not only help you develop your skills with Canva, but it will also give you pieces for a portfolio and additions to your resume bullets and interview responses that will impress employers and graduate school committees!
- Going off of that, if you are looking for any kind of support for writing your resume bullets or crafting your interview responses, and really any other area of career development, don’t hesitate to use our drop-ins Monday-Friday from 12-4 or to schedule an in-person or virtual appointment through handshake! We are always happy to support you with your career development!”
Best,
Hannah Paseltiner
