Should I Hire a Canva-Only Designer?
Before we get too far into this, we want to preface this by saying we love Canva. Well & truly, we do. We use it almost daily for client work, and it has become an invaluable tool that saves us time & unnecessary emails. Canva is a powerful tool to help create content for your blog, social media, website, posters, and more. It’s incredibly user-friendly, and it has almost no learning curve. We recommend it to friends & family alike as it’s just such an easy tool to use. However, it has its time and place and is not the only software we use. Not even close!
There is an industry of folks who exclusively use Canva and label themselves as graphic designers. That is misleading at best, as Canva is not a professional graphic design software, and it does not require an extensive skillset to use it. You may be looking for a graphic designer to create your branding, and you should be wary of anyone who only uses Canva for their design work. Many professional graphic designers either study this field in post-secondary or have years of experience working with professional programs to develop their expertise. Any graphic designer who says they don’t use anything but Canva should be a red flag.
We only use Adobe Illustrator to create our client’s brand identities and never use any fonts, elements, or designs from Canva for their brand identity. Once we have completed all the brand elements for our clients, we often upload them into Canva to help them create social media designs, posters, newsletters, etc. In our opinion, this is the only way Canva should be used, and we’re ready to tell you why:
1. You can’t trademark your logo designed in Canva.
In the agreement terms for Canva, it’s clearly stated that Canva owns the legal rights to all the elements, and you are not allowed to use their key elements or features to create your logo. Yes, you read that correctly. When you agree to use Canva, you’re agreeing to no ownership of any of the elements in your designs. This is a big issue because you may want to trademark your logo eventually. And because you cannot trademark your logo and ultimately don’t own any rights to the elements used, and if someone copies your logo, you’ll be left out to dry with no legal leg to stand on.
But we just said we upload our designs into Canva - does that mean they own them now too? Not at all. Canva’s agreement also explicitly states that any uploaded elements are considered User Content and that you own all the rights to them. So either a licensed design or created design from outside Canva can be uploaded, and Canva does not have rights to it.
2. Canva isn’t a vector-based program.
This means none of your files can be exported in a vector format, and your designs cannot be scaled up beyond their original size. Canva is a raster-based program, which means it creates everything just like a picture made up of pixels.
“Vector graphics are digital art that is rendered by a computer using a mathematical formula. Raster images are made up of tiny pixels, making them resolution dependent and best used for creating photos.”
Have you ever tried to enlarge a small photo only for it to become blurry and terrible? That is because raster images (like JPEG and PNG) are made of building blocks called pixels, with a finite amount of them in a photo. When you enlarge something small, you’re trying to stretch that small amount of pixels over a larger area, which leaves images blurry or pixelated. This severely limits customization and creativity and can make your brand look unpolished and unprofessional.
Professional graphic designers overwhelmingly use Adobe software, mainly Illustrator, to create their work because it is a vector-based program. It is a powerful & professional program, and your designer can create a truly unique design for you as the possibilities are literally endless. This leads to our next point…
3. Lack of creative control when designing.
With Canva, because you cannot manipulate elements or fonts beyond color, resizing, and placement, your design is very limited and easily replicated by someone else. If I upload a version of my logo in black, I can’t change it to green in Canva. I can’t rearrange the elements of my logo or modify any details. Even if you can upload some of your own elements, the ability to manipulate them is still, again, very, very limited. Canva is truly a drag & drop program, which is great for creating social media templates, invitations, etc. However, its limitations mean you can’t make an entirely unique & custom logo. Take, for example, this logo:
If we do a quick search with Google Lens, we can see dozens of the exact same logo. In fact, other “designers” on non-Canva websites are selling this basic design as a custom logo.
This lack of control means your logo will look just like someone else’s logo. This defeats the purpose of having a logo for your business. Your branding is intended to create an identity for your business & overall brand. Hard to have a unique identity if it looks like someone else’s logo!
4. Canva has a small export size limit.
Canva’s size limit is 3000 x 3000px, which is about 10”/25cm at most unless you pay for the Pro plan. Even on the Pro plan, your file size limit is 8000 x 3125px or 26” x 10.5”/66cm x 27cm. This seems pretty big, but this can limit your ability to use your logo both now and in the future. If you ever plan to use your logo on something like a canopy tent, large poster, or any other printed physical product – the shops will ask you for a vector format, and you’ll be left wanting a better-quality logo. All graphic designers will create your logo in a vector format, which means it is infinitely scalable. You can print it 3” or 300” wide if you have a vector format. This might seem unimportant now, but if ever in the future of your business, you find yourself needing larger, high-quality versions of your logo, you’ll end up paying a graphic designer to re-design it in a vector format. In the long run, it’s wiser to ensure your branding is always done in vector so you’re never stuck in its application. Additionally, you can only download PNG with a transparent background and/or in CMYK profile (what all printers use) if you have Pro.
So what should I look for when I’m looking to have my business branding done?
When you’re ready to create a strong brand identity for your business, you should look for a few things in a graphic designer or design studio:
Technical skills: Look for a designer with strong technical skills, including proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and knowledge of typography, color theory, design theory, and more. Hiring someone with a strong understanding of graphic design principles means you’re more likely to get a great logo and branding at the end.
Creativity and originality: A good designer will come up with something that is not only unique but also represents your brand in the best possible way. You want someone with boundless ideas to help hone in on the ideal branding to help you attract your ideal customers.
Professionalism: Look for a designer or studio that is, above all else, professional in how they run their own business. They should be timely, effective at communication, and organized in their processes.
When you decide it’s time to take your business to the next step of it’s life, with professional branding and a deep strategy to go with, be sure to look for a professional studio or designer that is NOT a Canva-only designer.
At Terra Digital, we love all things branding, design, and strategy! Our favourite work is getting to help clients dive into their brands and work together to create a beefy brand that speaks to them.
Take a peek at some of our latest work for some of the coolest brands out there that are making a difference. If you’re ready to elevate your brand, let’s work together to create a rich and unforgettable brand experience.
