How to use Canva for non-designers

You’ve got content. You’ve got ideas. What you don’t have? A design degree—or time to wrestle with Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.

I was in the same boat. Over 10 years ago, I stumbled upon Canva while looking for a way to make blog graphics I couldn’t afford to outsource or design in Adobe.

Fast forward to today: I still use Canva regularly, not just because it’s the affordable option, but because it’s fast, collaborative, and easy to share with clients and teammates. It just works—whether it’s for a post, proposal, or a quick mockup.

But here’s the thing: Canva won’t make your design ideas better. You will — when you treat it like a tool for communicating your ideas, and not just as a design tool.

In this article, I’ll show you how to use Canva like a creative pro, even if you’re not a designer. (Full disclosure: I’m not a designer yet either. But I’ve learned a lot from the basics of good design, and I’m sharing it all here.)

🧠 Canva Won’t Do the Thinking for You

When using Canva, I find that the biggest mistake people make is clicking a ready-made template, swapping colors, adding some text, and calling it done. The result: cluttered visuals, mismatched fonts, and confusing designs.

The fix: Think like a communicator, not an artist.

It’s not about self-expression and using styles that only appeal to you. It’s about clarity: helping your audience understand what you’re saying at a glance.

Design, especially in the context of marketing and content creation, is functional. It’s meant to nudge your audience towards taking action.

Before you even choose a font or shape, ask yourself:

• What should my audience notice first?

• What message do I want them to take away?

• What action should they take next?

When you treat Canva as a tool to communicate, not just decorate, your designs will look better and work better. Here are more ideas to consider.

1. Layout: Hierarchy > Symmetry

Good design follows visual hierarchy, not just visual balance. Before dragging a single shape to add to your design, ask: What should my audience read or notice first? Then second? Then third?

Show hierarchy through:

• Size — the bigger the text, the more important it is.

• Weight — bold text draws focus

• Spacing — adding white space helps draw attention to the design’s focal point

Tip: Don’t cram everything in. Empty space gives your design room to breathe. Use “Position,” “Guides,” and “Margins” in Canva to align elements cleanly.

2. Typography: Use Two Fonts Max

Canva offers a galaxy of fonts. Resist the urge to use them all.

Stick to:

• 1 headline font – expressive, bold, attention-grabbing

• 1 body font – clean, readable, neutral

Some reliable font choices:

• For headlines: Bebas Neue, Anton, League Spartan

• For body text: Inter, Lato, Open Sans, Raleway

And skip the fancy, curly scripts unless you’re designing invitations, not LinkedIn posts.

3. Colour: Choose a Palette, Stick to It

Maintain a cohesive palette — not every graphic needs a multitude of colors.

Try this simple system for choosing your colors:

• Primary – your dominant color; your main brand or background color

• Accent – for CTAs, buttons, and highlights; use this to add contrast

• Neutral – black, white, or grey for body copy

Some tools that can help:

• Use Coolors to generate cohesive and visually appealing color palettes

• Set up your “Brand Kit” in Canva to stay consistent across projects

Tip: If you're in a “serious” industry (finance, B2B, government), go for muted tones. If you're in a more youthful niche, you can play with bright shades — but sparingly.

4. Icons, Shapes, and Imagery: Less Is More

Visual elements should support your message, and not steal attention. Use icons only when they:

• Reinforce your text

• Follow the same style (outline or solid — not both)

• Stay consistent across the whole project

Resources I use:

As a rule of thumb, ask yourself: Is this helping me drive home my message? Or am I just adding visual clutter? Every graphic should have a clear focal point.

5. CTAs: Design With the End in Mind

A graphic without a clear call to action is just decoration.

If you want engagement:

• Put your CTA in the graphic

• Use contrast or placement to make it stand out

• Repeat your CTA if it’s a multi-slide post

For instance, if you’re designing an image carousel for social media:

Remember: design can nudge behavior. Make your next step obvious.

How do we apply this? Say your blog post is “5 Common Mistakes in Content Writing.” Here’s how you can design your carousel on Canva:

How I Avoid the “Canva Starter Pack” Look

A few things I don’t do:

• I never use templates “out of the box” — I strip them down first

• I don’t use more than 2–3 colors or 2 fonts in one design

• I don’t design for aesthetics — I design for clarity

TL;DR: Non-Designer Design Rules

You don’t need to be a designer to create content that looks polished and performs well. But you do need to think like one.

Canva makes it easy to create good designs — especially when budgets are tight and turnaround times are shorter. But the tools don’t make the design: you do. And it will only work if you know the basics of good design.

And remember: sometimes the simplest designs are the ones that get the most clicks.

Thanks for reading!

Got a Canva project you’re proud of? Share it—I’d love to see how you make it work for you.

Warmly,
Janis