Pros and cons of Canva and a quick ?? noodle dish

March News & Musings

I recently chatted with several design colleagues to see who was using Canva and when and how it made sense. We had this same discussion about a year ago, and the good news is that Canva is even better now. That said, some designers voiced concern that it would take business away from the professionals. I am not concerned about this. I welcome this program and will help my nonprofits embrace it. Canva has a much easier learning curve than Adobe Suite.?

Besides, no one thinks they are master carpenters because they own a hammer. Nor should they think they’re professional designers because of a design tool; it’s a tool.

Below are some takeaways:

• Cost-Effective:?The pro version is available for free to certain nonprofits and K-12 education (see eligibility guidelines?for nonprofits and?education). But even if you do not qualify, the $120 price for the year is very affordable.
• It is easy to use,?making it accessible even for non-designers within a nonprofit organization, and their?“Design School”?videos are easy to follow.
• Schedule social media posts?within the platform (what’s not to love about that!).
• The pro version?lets you add your branding (logo, fonts, color palette).
• The good, bad, and ugly about templates:?using their templates for a school bake sale is fine, but not having custom-branded templates built for you will water down your brand and make you look like everyone else.
• I still would not design a long-format publication?like a magazine or annual report in it; it’s not there yet.

My overall impression is excellent. I think having a designer set up your brand guide and create some custom templates will help maintain a polished, on-brand look.?

But, you need to set boundaries on what pieces can be pumped out by staff versus your design team. Templates only take you so far. If you are printing a piece and unaware of bleeds, live space, and trim marks, you could be surprised when the printed piece comes back. Also, not paying attention to whether an image is high or low resolution will impact the final output. You need a pro if you want a direct mail piece or a custom brochure for an event with complicated folds.

Having Canva as part of my tool set let’s me offer cost effective options. You do some, I do some.

For example, I create all the collateral for a significant gala event. We have a new theme each year, so after making the logo and branded look, we implement that look onto 20 pieces of collateral ranging from the printed invitation to the auction sheets that describe the prizes. Special events usually have a team of volunteers; we use the volunteers to fill out the auction templates we built. They can duplicate the flyer in Canva, easily add last-minute donations, and then print quickly at a local shop. It saves time and money.

Have an event you want to discuss? Reach out, and we’ll see the best way to handle it.

What’s Cookin’

I am currently in love with this New York Time’s Cooking section noodle dish. San Francisco-Style Vietnamese American Garlic Noodles has 20 cloves of garlic added to melted butter until fragrant. That clinched it for me. And it comes together quickly. I added sauteed boneless, skinless chicken thighs and mushrooms to the dish to bulk it up. Let me know what you think.