Chamber Creative Collection: Canva How To's
Date Published
With our new and improved website, we’re excited to launch a blog series focused on sharing easy, practical tips to help you feel more confident posting on social media, creating assets, and more.
In this post, we’re diving into how to use Canva to design your graphics. Canva is a user-friendly and affordable design platform packed with templates, stock images, and graphics—so you don’t need advanced design skills to create something great.
We use Canva every day at the Chamber. It’s easy to navigate, saves us time, and the Pro plan is under $20/month, making it a worthwhile investment.
There are plenty of tools within Canva, but in this blog, we’re focusing on the ones we use most—and how they help us create content we’re proud to share.
Branding
Canva’s Brand Kit is one of our most-used features. It allows you to store everything you need to keep your designs consistent—fonts, colours, logos, and more.
You can even create multiple Brand Kits. For example, we have one called “2026” for our core assets, and we’ve started building a separate Summer BBQ kit with its own vibe while still using some of our main brand elements.
Having this set up means everything you need is just a click away—and if your branding evolves, it’s easy to update.
Fonts
When choosing fonts, keep them:
- Easy to read
- Clear and concise
- Visually distinct
Try not to overdo it—we typically stick to two fonts: one for headlines and one for body text.
Canva also offers themed fonts, which are great for special campaigns. For example, when promoting Pumpkinferno, we searched keywords like “Halloween” and “spooky” to find something that fit the theme while still feeling on-brand.
Colour
Colour plays a huge role in recognition. In our designs, we consistently use green, blue, black, and white—pulled directly from our Brand Kit.
For collaborations, we blend our branding with our partner’s. Canva’s colour dropper tool makes this easy—just hover over a logo or image to pull the exact shade and adjust it as needed.
Example:
In a recent Spring workshop campaign with NT Power and the Severn Sound Environmental Association, we worked with blue, yellow, and black—colours found across all brands involved. Using the dropper tool helped us create a cohesive look that represented everyone.
Photos
While we often use our own photos (or ones from members), Canva’s library is a great resource when you need something extra.
You can find both photos and graphics under the Elements tab—just search what you’re looking for and explore.
Even better, most elements are customizable. You can adjust colours, brightness, warmth, and more using the Edit and Adjust tools.
One important note: you can’t download a design using only a stock image—you’ll need to add text, a logo, or another element to make it your own.
Example:
For a recent design promoting Windlee Farms’ Maple Weekend, we combined our own photo of their maple syrup with a Canva stock image of pancakes to create a warm, inviting graphic.
Design Tools We Use Most
Here are a few of our go-to tools:
Background Remover
Perfect for isolating a subject (like a product) from its background. Canva does a great job identifying the focal point and pulling it out cleanly.
Magic Grab
Useful when you want to extract multiple elements from an image. It’s not always perfect, but it’s a great starting point.
Magic Eraser
Ideal for cleaning up small imperfections left behind by other tools. We recommend zooming in and using the brush for more precise edits.
Additional Tools
Transparency
We often use this when layering text over images—keeping the background visible while ensuring the text is still readable.
Shapes
Great for creating contrast behind text. We frequently use rectangles, but there are plenty of options to explore.
Frames
Perfect for placing logos, headshots, or product images neatly into your design.
Templates
If you’re not sure where to start, Canva’s templates are a great jumping-off point. You can search for what you need and customize from there.
One of the best things about Canva is that it helps you create designs that feel uniquely yours. While it uses AI to assist, it still relies on your branding and input—so your content stands out and feels recognizable.
So jump in and start experimenting. Everything is clearly labeled, and there are plenty of helpful tutorials online if you need guidance.
Stay tuned for more in our series as we continue sharing tips to help you elevate your online presence.
Happy designing! 🎨