Let’s start off with a disclaimer: this is not an anti-Canva piece.
What this online design tool has done for accessibility to design and other creative templates is simply what any other good tool has done before it. But therein lies its fallibility: it is simply a tool.
Canva was created with the objective of “democratising design” by giving anyone the tools to create professional designs for a fraction of the cost of design programmes (and hiring designers to work these programmes in the process).
As we mentioned, this isn’t new. A slew of design templates have always been available online, and, although purists will fight you on it, the likes of Microsoft Word used correctly can be and have been used by non-professionals to create designs for years.
Canva has simply streamlined and improved this process.
So that’s why it has a fanbase – it’s simple, cheap, and effective!
However, and this is important, Canva (and other free or cheap design tools) cannot replace the skills and expertise of graphic designers and agencies.
Firstly, the design output is homogenised which means your branding and business goals and ideals will be lost in the identical templates available across the web. Secondly, the art and study of design is complex and includes visual and cultural cues that cannot be created on an AI level.
Core brand assets and highly visible assets require the skilled input of a graphic designer. In this Canva vs Graphic Designer instance, paid graphic designers or agencies come up on top. Logos, brand assets, colour schemes; these are all integral to how your business is perceived and the impression it makes on others. Similarly to how you wouldn’t expect a free site to offer business advice, free sites cannot do the work for a graphic designer.
There’s no need to abandon easily accessible tools altogether! It’s simply about discerning the value of the design. Once you’ve set up your brand CI with a graphic designer, you can absolutely use the tools to get quick and easy designs out when needed.
At Little Big, our ethos is to deliver big agency results at a small agency cost which means, when it comes to design, we’re here to provide professional assistance without breaking the bank.
This is what our CEO, Catherine Reimers, has to say on the Canva vs Graphic Designer debate:
“Canva is a great tool to use if you’re a small business or brand just starting out across social media platforms. However, as you grow your online presence needs to grow and for that you’d need a graphic designer. Someone who can create a cohesive look and feel that people can readily identify as you; to create a strategy to either gain followers, make sales or direct traffic to your website and give your brand that little extra flare that an online tool can’t.”