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Canva is an amazing tool, but let’s be honest—sometimes, those projects can feel like they’re taking forever. Over time, I’ve discovered a few clever tips, features, and shortcuts that have helped me cut my design time and work more efficiently.
1Starring Favorite Elements
Whenever I find a stock image, icon, or graphic that I know I’ll use frequently, I simply right-click it and selectStar. This saves the asset to Canva’sStarredsection. Over time, I’ve built a personalized library of my go-to assets—containing everything from icons to photos—that I can use without having to search.
Screenshot by Pankil Shah – No attribution required
I also use the Star feature tosave Canva templatesthat align with my style or brand. It’s a small change, but it significantly streamlines my workflow.
2Brand Kits
As someone who designs for multiple clients or projects, I find Canva’s Brand Kit tool incredibly handy. It allows me to organize logos, fonts, colors, and other design elements for different brands in one centralized location. This way, I can access everything quickly and ensure consistency across all designs.
Sure,setting up a Canva Brand Kitfor each client takes time initially, but once it’s done, I no longer have to waste time re-uploading logos or hunting down color codes. Everything I need is readily available, which makes the design process much more efficient.
3Copy Style
As part of the design process, I often need to style and format text or elements to ensure they’re visually cohesive and impactful. When working with multiple text boxes or design elements that require the same formatting, Canva’s Copy Style tool saves me time.
Instead of painstakingly adjusting each element individually, I simply need to format one element with the desired font style, size, spacing, and effects, and then use Copy Style to replicate those settings instantly across others.
It’s incredibly easy to use. All I need to do is right-click on a text box or element and select theCopy Styleoption. Then, I click on the other text boxes or elements I want to format, and voilà—everything matches perfectly.
4Duplicating Pages
When creating Instagram carousel posts, presentations, or any design that follows a consistent structure but requires slight adjustments, I rely heavily on Canva’s duplicate page option to speed up the process.
I also like to use this feature when I’m experimenting with variations or unsure about the final design. Duplicating the page lets me try out new elements, colors, or layouts without worrying about ruining the original design or having to undo everything.
5Magic Studio
Canva’s Magic Studio is one of thosefeatures that makes Canva Pro worth every penny. I find myself using it all the time, whether it’s to remove backgrounds from images, edit out unwanted elements, or even isolate specific parts of a photo.
One of my favorite features in Magic Studio isMagic Edit. It allows me to modify parts of an image—or even the whole image—using a simple prompt. Whether I want to change a color, add a new element, or remove something entirely, it’s all done in seconds.
6Canva Apps
Canva offers a wide range of powerful tools, but it doesn’t fulfill every creative need by itself. However, with hundreds ofuseful third-party apps integrated directly into Canva, I don’t necessarily need to switch between programs while creating my designs. Everything I need is just a click away.
For example, theMockupsapp in Canva lets me quickly visualize my designs on real-world objects like mugs, T-shirts, or even packaging in seconds. I also often use theDynamic QR Codesapp to generate scannable codes that can be updated later.
Apps like theGradient Generatorhelp me create smooth color transitions, andText to Speecheffortlessly turns text into voiceovers for engaging presentations or videos.
7Magic Resize
Here’s how it works: I create my design, click theResizebutton, select the formats I need, and that’s it—Canva does the heavy lifting. It adjusts the dimensions, layout, and proportions, giving me a great starting point for any platform. After that, I only need to make minor tweaks to perfect each version.
8Tidy Up Tool
Although Canva’s alignment tools make it easy to arrange elements, the Tidy Up tool takes it a step further by instantly aligning and distributing objects evenly with just a click.
All I need to do is select the elements or text boxes I need to evenly space, right-click on the selection, and clickSpace evenly > Tidy Up. Canva instantly aligns and spaces everything evenly, creating a clean, organized layout in seconds. This tool handles both horizontal and vertical alignment, saving me the time and effort of manual adjustments.
9Use ChatGPT to Bulk Create Content
One of my favorite time-saving tips isusing ChatGPT to bulk-create content. For instance, if I’m designing social media posts for a campaign, I’ll use ChatGPT to come up with different headlines and then tweak them to my liking.
Once I have my content, I add it to a Google Sheets spreadsheet and generate a CSV file. Then, I simply turn to the Bulk Create app in Canva and upload the CSV file. It instantly populates my design with all the content variations I need.
10Keyboard Shortcuts
Using keyboard shortcuts is one of the best ways to speed up workflow in Canva or any other app for that matter. Basic ones likeCtrl + Zfor undo andCtrl + Ato select all are a given, but there are others that have made a huge difference in how efficiently I work in Canva.
For instance,Ctrl + Ggroups selected elements, andCtrl + Shift + Gungroups them in Canva. When I’m working with multiple pages,Ctrl + Enterquickly adds a new page, whileCtrl + Backspaceremoves it. Another useful one isCtrl + Dfor duplicating selected items instantly.
Canva’s help page lists all these handy shortcutsby category, so you can easily refer to them when needed.
While it’s difficult to single out one tip that has been the most impactful, these Canva tricks have undoubtedly transformed my design process. As a result, I’ve been able to spend more time focusing on creativity and less on executing repetitive tasks.
