I'm Pretty Sure You Need This App

I have been using this free graphics tool for three years. Canva is a graphic design program that anyone can use. It is drop-dead easy. Check it out here.

Canva has proven itself to be so helpful that I recently started using the Canva For Work version that has a few bells and whistles I like. $12.95 a month saves me at least an hour a month, but you won't need that. Canva is free and really powerful.

The App is browser based, so there is nothing to maintain and any modern browser can handle the app. There is also an iPad version that works very well, too. Elements are drag and drop with the recognizable 'handles' to re-size, rotate, or re-position. You can change the color and transparency of each element too. Add or change the background. Upload and insert your own photos, graphics, logos, maps, screenshots. As you add these items, crop and re-size on the fly. Add text, change font, change size and color of the text, even the orientation. As I said, it is easy. Unless you have never even played with 'WordArt' in MS Word, the learning curve is about 15 minutes. But there are plenty of tutorials and How-To demos to help you expand your capabilities. 

You start your graphic by determining the size you want. There are standard templates for blog graphics. Facebook covers, Pinterest, Invitations, letter size (brochures or newsletters). You can also specify a custom size. There are lots of icons, text bubbles, and standard graphics to pull into your masterpiece. Plenty of these are free. Some are a buck to use. 

So if you have been steering clear of graphics, you ought to try this out and open up a whole new thing.

Thinking about how architects could use Canva gave me the idea of creating a logo for every project. Impress your client. Besides, a project logo gives you something to blog or post or both. Use it on drawings and report covers. 

Here's one I threw together to illustrate the idea, but I'm sure you can do lots better.

I grabbed an 'exercise' icon from the Canva archive. Added the Project Name. Imported a screenshot of a Google Map, which I cropped as I brought it in, and added the red star for location. Total time - 15 minutes. Total cost - $0.00.

The 'artwork' is saved in the program. You can download it in a couple of formats, and you can go back and edit it or duplicate it for another version. 

There is really no reason for not adding graphics to every deliverable you turn out. After all, your client will probably be using this free app, too.

I have been encouraging you to start a blog and use it as a simple, cheap and easy marketing tool. Canva opens up lots of opportunities to enhance your blog posts. Easily add text of the right style and color for legibility to your photos. Add backgrounds for interest. 

Keep in mind that Canva is so easy that anybody could be pressed into service to help increase the graphic appeal in everything that you produce.

My tools that you might find helpful because they helped me:

Trello-PM - project management system

FeeCalqs - fee estimating system

OFFPLAN - work load projecting system

MyCorbu - timekeeping and project bookkeeping system

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