Canva: Graphic designing that’s so easy a caveman can do it!

by Christina Salvadore, Assistant Dean of Online Learning

Have you heard of Canva? No – not canvas. Canva! Canva is a great web-based design tool that I’ve been using for several years, primarily to create images for college social media accounts that I’ve managed. Consider using Canva to create more eye-catching flyers, infographics, presentations, photo collages, and more. If you look at the Online Learning Instagram/Twitter/Facebook accounts (@OnlineAtNCC), most of the images you’ll see were made through Canva. Although I took an undergraduate course years ago that was based on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, I didn’t regularly use the software after the class ended. As a result, within a years, I found myself struggling. I wanted to create graphics but I was hesitant about diving back into relearning Photoshop and Illustrator. For the average person, programs like Photoshop and Illustrator can be overwhelming. Canva can serve as a great option for people who aren’t familiar with these more complex graphics editors. They can also be helpful for people like me whose experience with Photoshop and Illustrator has diminished over the years. Anyone can quickly create free Canva accounts (www.canva.com) but Online Learning & Educational Technology is excited to announce that we have purchased the professional version of Canva which features more options in fonts, images, and templates. Email OnlineLearning@northampton.edu if you’d like to use our professional version and we’re happy to share the login information with you. Also keep an eye out for Canva tutorials in the CTLTs! If you can’t wait for the tutorial, feel free to reach out to me (csalvadore@northampton.ed) and I’m happy to show you the ropes!