Published On: January 3, 2023

More than 100 million people use Canva.

But most people who use it barely know what it’s capable of.

That’s why I put together a short, info-packed course that’ll teach you everything you need to know about Canva. Here it is:

Design Creation In Canva: From Beginner To Pro​

In the meantime, here are 11 Canva tricks that will level up your design game:

1: Edit videos.

​Sometimes you want to just cut a few bits out a video and you don’t have video editing skills.

  • Upload the video
  • Click the scissors icon
  • Cut as you need to
  • You can even remove the background from your video

Simple video editing in a few easy clicks.

2: Create a QR code.

Want a QR code for your slide deck?

  • Click ‘Elements’
  • Type ‘QR’ into the search box
  • Choose QR code
  • Enter your url
  • Select ‘Generate code’

Now you have your own QR code to add to your designs.

3: Save your brand colors.

Do you use the same colors all the time?

  • Click ‘Add another palette’
  • Choose all your colors
  • Name the palette

Now it shows up every time you choose colors, so you don’t have to enter them each time.

4: Design a mockup

Need a mockup for your new product?

  • Select the image
  • Select effects
  • Use the Smartmockups integration
  • Choose from all the product options

Download it and use it on your website.

5: Remove backgrounds from photos.

Want to get rid of the background from your photo?

  • Select the image
  • Click ‘effects’
  • Choose background remover

It magically removes the background for you.

6: Create a stroke effect for thumbnails.

Want to make that classic YouTube thumbnail effect?

  • Duplicate your image
  • Choose ‘effects’ then ‘duotone’
  • Pick one for the back image
  • Change highlight and shadows to white
  • Then resize it
  • Adjust as needed

Now you’ve got the perfect thumbnail image.

7: Add a drop shadow.

Want to enhance your text with a shadow?

  • Select the text
  • Click ‘Add a shadow’
  • Adjust the direction
  • Change the blur
  • Alter the transparency

Make your shadow exactly how you want it.

8: Add a gradient.

Need a background with a nice gradient?

  • Search for gradient
  • Choose the square
  • Adjust it to full size
  • Change the first and second color

Click on flip or rotate to adjust to make it just how you like it.

9: Crop images.

Need to use just part of an image?

  • Choose the elements you want to crop
  • Click ‘crop’
  • Drag until you crop the bits you want
  • Click ‘Done’

Simple cropping.

10: Upload images faster.

Need to upload a bunch of images at once?

Instead of clicking upload an image, just drag and drop.

It’ll upload quickly and save you loads of time.

11: Group elements.

Want to group some elements together?

  • Hold shift while selecting the elements you want
  • Choose ‘Group’

Now you can move the whole group together.

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