Free Graphic Design For Social Media

In a world where graphics and images dominate the landscape, Photoshop and other Adobe products have reigned supreme. For the professional graphic designer and the advanced user, there is simply nothing better. But what about the novice user, or the individual who wants to simply create images for their social media? Of course, Photoshop can be used by anyone for any graphic need, but it is pricey and for the beginner or intermediate user, much of the functionality goes unused. Luckily, for those users, there is now an alternative that is easy to use and that allows anyone to become a graphic designer. That alternative is Canva.

What Is Canva?

Canva is an online tool that lets users design and create images and infographics, especially for their social media platforms, which, if we are honest, is primarily who the novice user would turn to a graphic design platform. Getting started with Canva is as simple as visiting canva.com, and best of all, it’s absolutely free! Signing up is fast and easy, and then the creativity begins. Once an online account is created, users enter the world of Canva and the site is incredibly user friendly. Aspiring graphic designers are asked to tell Canva what they are going to use the site for and are given examples of what Canva can help them create. Options include social media graphics, presentations, posters, postcards, graphics for blogs and much more.

Once the designing begins, users have access to all their designs on their individual dashboards, where they can also see designs that have been shared with them by other users. What has attracted many users to Canva, besides the fact that it is a free platform, is the multitude of templates available. Creating an image really is as simple as choosing a template and adding a graphic and text. For example, users who want to create a Facebook cover can choose that template, which is already designed to the correct size and pixel specifications. Once the image is created, it is a simple process to upload it onto a user’s Facebook site.

For those who don’t find a suitable template, creating an image from scratch is incredibly easy.  It’s just a matter of creating a space to design using custom dimensions and you can create using pixels, millimeters or inches. There is one caveat that must be mentioned. Although, it is free to sign up to use Cava, and to create an image from scratch, many of the templates and existing images do have a cost to use. This is how Canva generates revenue, and that is understandable. The site will always let a user know if the template or image they choose is free or if it involves a cost.

Still, Canva is very user friendly with drag and drop elements, the ability to customize an image with lines, illustrations and icons and many pre-made text layouts. Once complete, downloading an image is simple, and as mentioned above, the user will always know if they are working with a template or image that involves a cost.

As with any new platform, Canva has some minor bugs that need to be worked out, but for the novice who just wants some great graphics for their social media accounts, Canva does the job. Head on over to www.Canva.com to check it out. We also created a video tutorial about how to use Canva on our YouTube Channel