Master Canva in 20 Minutes with EXPERT'S Top Tips [Canva Tutorial 2025]

in this video you'll learn how to master

canva in just a few minutes we'll go

through the key features and some cool

tips to get you designing straight away

I'm Natalia and I help you create better

content and grow on social media so

let's do this of course you do need a

canva account but it's free to use and

it's super easy to sign up so you can

use the link in the description box

below once you have your account this is

what the Cana homepage looks like it's

very simple very intuitive and you see

your recent designs in here there's a

panel to the left with your own projects

so your own designs and folders and then

you've got templates and Brands and apps

different things to help you navigate

there's also this panel in here where

you see your recent designs the ones you

had opened and also you can St some of

your folders for easy access apart from

that what I want to show you is how to

start a new design and there are so many

different ways in which you can do it on

the homepage the first way is to go to

this purple button in here and this

indicates that you can start anything

from scratch there's also this middle

panel in here when you can start um an

Instagram post in a portrait ratio your

story docs whiteboards presentations

social media because canva is a very

versatile tool or you can go to the

search bar here at the top and actually

go to search for something so I'll maybe

say yoga Instagram and as you can see in

here I have canva template selected if I

didn't have that selected you can see

that I can search my own content my

brand templates or or I can just go for

canva templates and apart from that

below you can see that not only it

understands my keyword but it also

suggests other keywords that might be

useful for for the search term and in

here through this icon you can see that

these are actually post formats the post

Dimensions that it suggests for you

which are quite popular you can see

Instagram post again in the portrait

ratio and then in the square and also

some of my older designs that have

something to do with this keyword now if

I were to just go for can templates

because I want to search specifically in

the canva templates and not in my own

content you can see that I've got

different keywords again so let's say I

want to say yoga Instagram post so I'll

just search like this and you can see

that all of a sudden canvas suggests all

the different templates that might

pertain to my search and this is where I

can browse and maybe find something that

I really like so that I don't have to

start from scratch of course apart from

that there are also filters in here that

help you really hone your results and

check if there's anything that might

make it easier to browse through you can

just hit apply once you're ready with

all the filters and now you've got less

templates to browse through and find

inspiration for your post now the moment

you find something that you like all you

have to do is to click on it and then

hit customize this template and what

happens is that it takes you straight

into the canva editor this is what the

canva editor looks like you've got the

top panel with the different settings

you've got the left panel in here um

with the elements and the text and the

brand and the upload so you've got all

the access that you need to all the

assets are very important for you to be

able to design and also some of the

crucial features now apart from this

what you can see here in the middle is

your actual canvas and as you can see

once I hover over all the elements you

see that some of the things get

highlighted so this is how you actually

select things and how you can see that

everything at the top changes depending

on the element that gets selected so for

example this is our text you can see

that this contextual menu at the top

changes and then if I click an image it

changes as well just because you've got

different features based on the specific

element that you're using then down

below you can see that you can have more

pages if you want you can add pages from

this panel you can also you know delete

them from here or move them around if

you're dragging them like this and also

you can zoom in zoom out very very easy

to maneuver and again very intuitive

because canva is here to really make it

very easy for us now I've shown you how

to search for a template from the

homepage but if at any point in here you

feel like this is not really the

template that you want to go to you can

always jump into the first tab in here

and check for other options I could also

go and search in here cuz it still

applies but it will only look for

templates in this particular format so

if I say liked this Des design I can

always click on it and it will replace

the previous page if I felt like I

wanted both I can always add a page like

this and actually just go ahead and add

a few now I know we've got our templates

in here but I actually want to empower

you to be creative and start designing

from scratch so apart from you know

changing the templates just like this

you can also start something completely

new and this is what I'm going to do

next so if I go back to the C a homepage

in here you can see that again you can

use this create a design button but I

want to create an Instagram post not in

a square ratio but in a portrait ratio

which which is 1,80 pixels by

1,350 so I'm going to click on it in

here and again it takes me to the editor

but creates a separate file so this is

what my file looks like right now and

we're in the design panel but we don't

need to use the template I'm just going

to click away like this and the first

step that we want to take care of is our

background now as you can see here in

the middle I can always click on the

background there's nothing on top of it

as you can see we're starting with a

blank page and then if I go in here at

the top you see the comments you see the

background color and the position of

course I cannot really reposition the

background because there's nothing else

on the canvas but if I click on the

background color this is what the color

panel looks like you've got some def

default colors in here you also have

gradients but apart from that you can

just click on this plus sign and this is

where you can choose your color for the

template now one very important thing is

that you not only can create a solid

color for your background you can also

select a gradient and that will allow

you to create a smooth transition

between different colors and as you can

see it comes with different styles as

well just like this you can change the

whole vibe of your background and you

can also keep adding different colors

and there's also the transparency option

so let's choose something a little bit

more um visible so that you can see

clearly what it looks like and then if I

change the transparency you can see that

it kind of Blends a little bit into the

background a little bit differently now

I actually have a very specific color in

mind and this is what happens when you

have your own brand colors chosen so

what I want to do is to actually go to

the new color and then go to solid color

and from here I can actually paste my

own hex code and this is how it changes

it to the color that I want and then it

retains it in here so at any point if

you want to use that color again it will

be here as long as it's anywhere on any

of the pages within your design now

let's move on and add a first element to

our canvas and that's going to be an

image so if you go to the elements tab

here to the left you can see that there

are different things that you can find

in the canva library and this is how you

access it from here you see the

different shapes you see the graphics

there's an AI image generator there are

stickers which are actually animated

there are photos videos audio charts s

poles and quizzes tables frames grids

there are so many options for you to be

able to design with the different

elements to make your design come to

life now what I want in here is to

search for something specific so let's

say I want a woman for example so I can

just search for it and you can see that

I can choose from all of these

categories either in here through the

sections or here at the top and I can

just go to photos and from here at the

top you can also filter the results so

maybe I want something vertical I can

just search for it like this you can

also filter through colors if you want

to so you can add something a little bit

more funky like this the way you add a

specific image is by just clicking on it

and as you can see it seamlessly gets

added on top and I can just make it

smaller reposition it I can rotate it

like this what if I actually want to use

my own image and upload it into canva

well it couldn't have been simpler I

actually have my own photo in here it's

not my own it's made by Ruben Valenzuela

an amazing photographer I can just drag

and drop it into canva just like this

and you can see that just gets uploaded

and this is our uploads tab in here and

you can see that just got uploaded and

again if I ever wanted to add another

one like this I can just tap on it in

here and it's going to add it on top as

you can see canva always allows you to

align everything properly and as I'm

moving my image across the canvas my

alignment appears so we can see the

solid lines appearing now in here in the

middle and also here in the center so

you can see that this is your guidance

as to where the center is there's also

the margins in here to leave a little

bit of a uh breathing space in here so

this orients you um as to where your

element is positioned so let's say I

want it right in the middle now another

cool feature in canva is the ability to

use frames you will find them in the

elements tab again so if I click again

and just deselect the search I can

scroll down and you can see the frames

and grids in here and you'll recognize

them by this lovely Horizon picture if I

go to see all you can see that we've got

all the different frames and shapes that

really help us mold the image into the

shape that we want of course as with any

other elements in the conver Library you

do have the option to search for frames

as well so I want something like an arch

maybe and I can just search for it like

this and then browse through it and I

think I like something like this and

this is how I add it on top and of

course if I want my image to go inside

it all I need to do is to select it and

then drag and drop it onto the frame and

it seamlessly fits it into that shape

the next thing I want to do is to

actually add a border to add a bit more

visual interest so if you click on the

image and go to the top you see the

Border style in here so from here I can

just drag it ever so slightly and you

can see the Border weight at three you

can change it to dashed and dotted but I

want the solid line going through it and

I can actually change the Border color

from here as well but I'll leave it at

Black in here of course designs very

often rely on text as well and this is

our next tab over in here this is where

you can add a text box from here you can

also add your own branding if you have a

brand kit set up you can just use it

like this from here or you can add some

of the combinations that were

pre-created by amazing canva designers

professionals to help you with choosing

different font combinations and also

font effects so that you've got this um

nice base and you don't have to worry

about finding the right option for you

now it got added here in the middle so

I'm just going to drag it a little bit

higher and from here I can change the

font so you can see that this opens up

an amazing library of fonts there are

thousands of fonts for you to choose

from you can choose handwriting

corporate and of course you can search

for something specific or a keyword I

actually have one in mind so this is L

in Polish or lato if you're pronouncing

this in English and if you see this

Arrow right next to a font this means

it's a part of a font family which means

it has different weights so you can

choose something a little lighter or go

all the way to Black for a bold effect

now I can also go to the top in here and

choose uppercase so that everything gets

capitalized for me very seamlessly and

from here you can also change uh the

size of the paragraph and you can also

change the text color from this panel if

I just um double click on it and then

start typing I can actually enter the

text that I want I want to say six most

useful canva apps and I can actually

separate it a little just like this and

from here you can see the spacing and I

always advise you to adjust the spacing

a little bit because sometimes the

spacing between um the different fonts

is a little bit awkward so I'll go for

something around one in here and if I

drag it from here you can see that it

changes the sizing for me as well so I

can just use that to resize my of course

one piece of text is not enough and this

is a great opportunity for me to show

you how easy it is to actually design in

canva when you're using shortcuts of

course in any app shortcuts are there to

speed up your workflow and it's no

different in canva and I really advise

you to start learning little tips and

tricks in terms of this shortcuts

because it will help you design much

faster and get comfortable with the app

so the first shortcut I want to show you

especially with text is that if you hit

T you can see that the text box appears

like this in the middle or you can also

duplicate any of the existing elements

on your canvas by holding alt and then

dragging your text again in this case or

if I wanted to do the same for the image

you can see that this is what it looks

like and it just seemlessly duplicates

it without you having to copy and paste

over again so I'm going to add my text

again by using T and now I want to say

for Content creators just like this I

just pasted it like that I can make it

smaller and maybe drag the text box over

so that it's forming just one piece of

text now apart from spacing out the

lines you can also space out letters so

if I go here to the top you can space

them out a little bit just like this and

another cool option that canva has

within their ecosystem is the effects

stab so if I go to effects in here you

can see that I can add a shadow

underneath my text and change this

Sliders in here there's lift there's

Echo there's outline there's um Hollow

like this super cool effects that really

help you a lot in Creative designing and

also there's a curvature as well if you

want to you can add it on top of any

effect as well but I don't want that or

this one I want the background one so

you can actually add a little bit of an

outline underneath your image now I

actually don't want any roundness in

here I'll go for right in the middle for

the spread and leave the transparency

fully cuz I don't want any opacity in

here to be dropped and in here I can

choose the colors I'll go in here and

actually enter this lovely deep rich

blue color but of course now I have this

um kind of off black in the middle so I

can just jump back to the text color and

go for my light so that it Blends nicely

in the background now I'm happy with

what it looks like but I want to add

more visual interest to all of it and

create a little bit more of that

striking effect so the next thing I want

to do is to add a few shapes so if you

go back to the elements you can see that

the second tab in here is the shapes and

if you go to click on it you can see

that we've got different styles of lines

and also different shapes for you to

choose from now I'll start with a bit of

a rectangle and if I drag it to the top

like this I can just make it a little

bit smaller and just drag it all the way

up so that it creates a little bit of an

outline for me another way for me to do

it to pull up a rectangle would be to

hit r as a shortcut and that will give

me another rectangle in the middle just

to work with but I'll delete it in here

now I want to show you another cool tip

and this is for you to jump into the

color panel and I actually love this

color of the trousers in here so I want

to maybe pull from that and have it

guide me in my designing process so if I

go to the top to the color and then

scroll down you can see this photo color

section and what canva does is actually

when you add any of the images to your

um design it actually pulls the colors

from it some of the key um colors that

you can use in your designing process if

I want to tie this whole thing together

I could click on this one now it's not

exactly what I want so another way that

I could um access it of course is to um

change things up in here or I can go to

the Color Picker and start to Glide over

the trousers just to pick something from

this color palette and voila this is

what it looks like from here I want to

add a little bit more text to it so I

could just start typing here in the

middle or I can hit T again to to create

another text box just like that I can

just select all three of those and then

another option is to actually group them

because I don't want to accidentally

move them over I can just go to contrl G

or actually hit group here at the top

again I'm using shortcuts a lot because

I'm very used to canva but you could

just go to group and this is what it

looks like you can then reposition it as

the whole element like this amazing so

I've adjusted the text ever so slightly

and added another panel just by

duplicating the top to the bottom and

this is what my canvas looks like at the

moment I want to add even more visual

interest now I want to add a little bit

more text I could just go for Te but I

want to make my life a little easier and

I will just copy over this text in here

and now as you can see when I drag it

over it actually goes underneath so

another very useful thing to know about

canva is that you can reposition all of

the elements if I now go to the top to

position and then go in here you can see

the arrange tab and I can just move it

forward move it to back move it to front

and I can actually align it to different

parts as well so this is quite a useful

thing for you to know that this is how

you reposition um your elements and also

you can go to right click and there's

that under layer as well so it's very

easy of course I wouldn't be me if I

didn't change things up so this is what

it looks like at the moment and now I

want another one just like this so again

I'll hold old and duplicate it like this

and I'll rotate it ever so slightly and

now I want to push it to the back so if

I hold control and go for a um a square

bracket so any of the brackets one will

push it to the back and one will push it

to the front so that's another way to

arrange your elements and reposition

them without having to go to position

and range so again we're reducing the

clicks and designing quicker and quicker

another cool way of repositioning

visually is to go to position and

instead of arrange you can also go to

layers and from here you can see that

you can drag things over visually so if

you're someone who prefers to see what

they're doing this is an great option

now I'm happy with what the design looks

like so of course we never want a design

for an online drawer we want this design

to see the world so we're going to go to

the share button here at the top and

from here you've got all the different

options to download it and to share it

with the public you can give people

access for viewing or for editing or

commenting which is great for

collaboration or maybe when you're

designing something thing for a client

there's also an option to save it as a

brand template which saves this within

your account and it's for you to be able

to recreate that same style of template

very quickly so you'll have a master

almost that you can just copy over and

over and this will uh retain that brand

template for you so it's very easy to

maintain that consistent brand image and

another very important option if you

click the three dots in here for more

ways to publish is the template link

option so we know the brand template

saves it with within your account if you

go for a template link like this you

will be able to create a template link

for anyone else to actually use it as a

template which is fantastic if you've

got you know if you're selling products

maybe if you're selling canva templates

or if you're selling something specific

that takes people back to canva to

recreate it as the basis of their design

so this is absolutely amazing and a

great way for canva to create that

passive income for you now of course I

want to go for a classic so I'll just go

to download and as you can see you've

got different file types that canva

allows and of course because we use the

Instagram uh post canva suggests PNG for

us which is an amazing format to use for

social media you could also download it

as a JPEG if you ever want to print it

you can go for PDF print or if you don't

want a bulky file you can go to PDF

standard if maybe this is a file that

you're using to send off the stuff I

told you again about lead magnets maybe

you've created a workbook in canva and

you want to share it as a PDF you will

be able to use this file type as well so

you've got all the different options in

here and then you can just hit download

like this and you're sorted and this is

how easy it is to create and design in

canva you can also design videos in

canva you can create presentations

whiteboards and documents so canva is

really a Powerhouse for any of your

design needs and Publishing so if you

have any questions at all as to you know

any of the other portions of canva make

sure to leave them down below I'll make

sure to respond to you and and also if

you want me to create any other

tutorials on the different parts of

canva make sure to drop them in the

comment as well by the way if you want

to learn even more about the useful

canva features that it offers then sign

up on the wait list for my upcoming

course and for a longer more in-depth

tutorial explaining CA in much more

detail check out this video here don't

forget to subscribe and hit that like

button thank you so much for watching

and I'll see you next time