Editor’s note: This article is not sponsored by Canva and is not an endorsement from the Northern Star as an organization. 

Canva, an Australian website, is known for its graph design and provides tools that can help create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and more. 

Teachers can use Canva to educate their students on digital design and many organizations can use it to create flyers to promote themselves. Other useful tools that are available to use include invitations, business cards, flyers, lessons and many other professional templates. 

On the website you can publish your own templates. You can use Canva to make unique content for your social media accounts such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Canva can be used to improve cover photos and branding images to grab the attention of your intended audience for your product, blog or homepage.  

The founders of Canva are Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams. This app was founded in 2012 in Perth, Australia.

Perkin’s goal was to create accessible designs for all to use.This idea came to mind when Perkins taught other students how to use difficult design programs to make things easier for others. Perkins and Obrecht went to work on building an easy to use program, according to a CNBC article.

Kayla Stowe, a senior psychology major who has used Canva in the past, shared her experience and initial thoughts. “I started using Canva in High school, it was easy to use because its format was similar to Adobe Graphic Design,” Stowe said. “People that want to make posters or flyers, for parties and organizations should use Canva, because it would be aesthetically pleasing to eyes and the app is simple to use.” 

Stowe said depending on your major, this app can be put to good use for instance art. She believes STEM majors probably don’t need Canva but knowing how to use it is still a good skill. 

“I started using Canva about two to three years ago,” AJ Justalero, a senior art illustration major said. “My initial thoughts were that it was super simple and very easy for beginners in graphic design or for anyone who needed to do something but didn’t necessarily want to make that a career.” 

Justalero said she uses Canva for classes that require her to make presentations or if she needs to make quick designs for her projects. “I’ve always had good grades while using Canva,” Justalero said.

If you’re looking to spice up your presentations and get good grades on them, Canva may be worth checking out. Canva is free to subscribe and offers over 25,000+ free templates.