Canva Series: Use Canva To Create Your Own Branding
Think of how much visual branding you consume on a daily basis–logos, brand colors, text, and more. These things are ever-present; they impact and inform how you perceive and interact with a brand.
They also help you and your brand look professional, and develop a sense of trust between you and your audience. Visual branding creates your visual identity, and this communicates who you are and what you do.
If you’ve been following along with our Canva series, you’re probably familiar with the basics of Canva–how to create a design, where to find templates, etc.
Today, I’m going to break down how to actually create your own brand kit within Canva. This way, you won’t have to keep searching for colors or fonts, and your logo file won’t get lost in a sea of uploads. Every major part of your branding will be accessible.
You can spend more time creating, and less time searching for things.
(Note: you will need to have Canva Pro to access the Brand Kit feature. If this isn’t an option for you, there are still ways to create your own branding with the free version, you just won’t have some of the convenience that the premium version provides.)
Getting started…
As usual, log in to Canva. On the bottom left-hand side of the homepage, under the “Tools” tab, click “Brand Kit.” This will bring you to the page where all your branding features can be edited and uploaded. Here’s what you’ll find:
Brand Kit name
Brand logo/s
Brand colors
Brand fonts and text styles
Now, onto the actual branding part…
1. Create a mood board
This is one of the first steps in figuring out your branding, especially if you’re in the early stages. If you already know the basics of your brand identity, skip this step. If not, welcome to the fun part!
Ask yourself these questions:
What overall feeling do you want to convey? (ex: peaceful, colorful, thought provoking, etc.)
Do you want to keep things simple or bring in other elements? (ex: clean lines with a few colors, different shapes and dimensions, etc.)
What’s the focal point? (ex: colors, text, an illustration, etc.)
Now, search for images and other elements that support the mood of your brand (Pinterest is a great place to search!). Once you have your images compiled, add them to a blank Canva template (any size/dimension will do–this is just for you) and play around with what works and what doesn’t. This will help give you a better sense of what colors, text, and design elements you want to ultimately go with.
2. Have or create a brand logo
A logo is one of the most important parts of developing a brand. It helps clients and customers recognize you–like putting a face to a name. If you already have a logo, all you have to do is upload it into your brand kit and you’re ready to go.
If you don’t already have a logo, use Canva to create your own. Head to the “Create a design” button and search “logo.” Browse different templates or create your own design. Once you’ve created a logo, export the file and re-upload it to your brand kit. If you’re using Canva Pro, export it with a transparent background–this will make it easier to create content down the road.
To export:
Click the “Share” button in the top right corner of your file
Select the “Download” tab
Choose your file type (I recommend PNG)
Click the option that says “Transparent background”
Hit download
3. Customize a color palette
It’s no secret that colors can evoke different feelings in us. Some make us happy while some feel calm and soothing. Some colors can even evoke feelings of anxiety and sadness. This is why creating a good color palette is one of the most important parts of visual branding.
Ask yourself:
Is this pleasing to the eye?
How is the readability with these colors?
Are these colors creating the right mood and perception?
Are these colors a good reflection of my product or service?
Hopefully creating a mood board was helpful in this process. If you’re still struggling to choose colors though, I recommend looking into color theory for a little extra help.
Canva will allow you to choose four specific color codes for each palette. If you have exact color codes, great! If not, no worries–just choose the closest match. Once these are added, each color will be accessible anytime you create a design.
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4. Personalize text styles and fonts
Canva has a pretty comprehensive list of fonts to choose from. It’s got everything from clean, modern sans-serif fonts, to fancy script and cursive fonts, to classic serif fonts. And if you are able to use Canva Pro, know that you’ll have access to a wider range of options.
Some basic tips:
Mix and match fonts to add dimension and interest.
Play with effects, and letter and line spacing to customize the look of the text.
Be sure to include a basic, readable font as one of the options in the “Text styles” section of your brand kit. This will be necessary for creating content with written information on it.
Be consistent with your font usage.
5. Bonus: create your own templates
Now that you’ve created your brand kit, you can design your own templates to re-use for batching content or making series-style posts. This is great for platforms like Instagram.
Some examples:
Quotes
Introducing a team member
Newsletter or blog reminders
To create your own templates, you can use a pre-existing one from Canva or make an original one. Customize everything to match your brand kit and bada bing bada boom, you’ve got yourself a customized template! To create new posts from your template, make a copy on your homepage, or duplicate the page itself to keep the continuous stream of posts in one design file.
Before you go…
At the end of the day, Canva is a tool for you to CREATE.
So, create branding that you love and that speaks to you. As long as you follow some simple guidelines to create visuals that are professional and appealing, branding will serve its purpose to support and enhance your business.
Related:
Canva Series: Make A Virtual Business Card To Use As An Email Signature
Tips For LinkedIn Banners That Don’t Make You Look Narcissistic
5 Tips To Elevating Your LinkedIn Profile Headline To Get Noticed Fast
Meet The Writer!
Hello! My name is Lea Rose and I am an avid writer with a love for all things international. I recently graduated from UNC Charlotte with degrees in Communication Studies as well as Dance Performance and hope to be a full time travel writer one day. My writing primarily focuses on the ways places and experience shape us as individuals. Please feel free to check out my blog or connect with me through LinkedIn or Instagram @writtenworldblog.
