Making Time for Graphic Design

Circular Communities Scotland members often share challenges around finding time to market their charity or social enterprise. With so many other important things to do, and often no dedicated marketing professional on staff, it can be hard to find time to learn new skills and make space to be creative.

Canva is a free online graphic design platform, created for beginners, with an easy-to-use interface and thousands of free graphic design templates for you to edit, removing the need for you to start from scratch.

With only a small amount time, Canva can become an invaluable tool that requires little expertise to create professional standard graphics, to help you share your events, products and community and environmental focused services.

What is Canva?

Canva is an online graphic design platform that allows users to create a wide range of visual content. It can be used for social media graphics, presentations, logos, business cards, leaflets and more. Using a simple drag-and-drop interface it helps to make professional design accessible to everyone at low cost, regardless of their design experience.

Canva for Charities in Scotland

Canva offers a programme called Canva for Nonprofits, which provides eligible charities with free access to all the premium features of Canva Pro for up to 50 team members.

Scottish charities that are registered with OSCR for tax exemption and with HMRC as a charity are eligible for this programme.

Key Features for Charities

Canva for Nonprofits provides a suite of tools that are equivalent to the paid Canva Pro and Canva Teams plans.

  • Extensive Template Library
    Access to thousands of templates, including ones specifically for nonprofit campaigns, social media, and events.
  • Brand Kit Management
    Maintain consistent branding by uploading your organisation’s logos, fonts, and specific colour palettes, making it easy for anyone in your team to create on-brand assets.
  • Premium Content
    Unlimited access to a library of over 100 million+ images, videos, music, and graphic elements.
  • Collaboration Tools
    Share designs and folders so you can work as a team and add up to 50 members to your account for free.
  • AI-Powered Tools
    Utilise features like “Magic Resize” to instantly adapt designs for different platforms (e.g resizing an Instagram post into a flyer or presentation slide and “Background Remover” for images.
  • Storage
    Each team member receives 100GB of cloud storage.
  • Affinity Suite Access
    Eligible charities can also access the professional creative photo editing, layout, and illustration software suite (Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher) for free.

Application Process

  1. Have a Canva Account
    If you don’t already have one, sign up for a free Canva account using your work email address.
  2. Check Guidelines
    Review the specific eligibility guidelines for your country. For charities in Scotland you must be registered with OSCR for tax exemption/with HMRC as a charity.
  3. Submit Application
    Fill out the online application form and provide the required documentation to verify your nonprofit status. In Scotland, this will include your Charity Registration Number or a tax exemption number from HMRC.
  4. Verification
    Canva will review your application and notify you of their decision via email, usually within 7 to 10 days.

Once your status is verified, your account will be upgraded to the full premium version, and any existing designs will be automatically transferred.

How to use Canva

To use Canva, sign up for your account and immediately start creating designs using the platform’s large library of templates and drag-and-drop editor.

Getting Started

  1. Create an account
    Sign up for a free account on the Canva website and apply for your Canva for Non Profits programme.
  2. Choose a design type
    On the homepage, use the search bar or browse the “Create” menu to find a template with the optimal dimensions for your project (e.g., “Instagram Post,” “Flyer,” “Presentation,” or “Video”). You can also choose a custom size.
  3. Select a template
    Browse through thousands of pre-made templates and select one that fits your needs or start with a blank design.

Using the Editor

The Canva editor has a central canvas area for your design and a side panel with various tools.

  • Templates
    In the side panel, the “Templates” tab lets you search for and apply different layouts to your current project.
  • Elements
    The “Elements” tab provides access to shapes, icons, graphics, photos, and videos. Click or drag an element onto your canvas and use your curser to resize, rotate, or reposition it.
  • Text
    The “Text” tab allows you to add text boxes or use pre-set font combinations. You can customize fonts, colours, sizes, and apply effects.
  • Uploads
    The “Uploads” tab lets you upload your own images, videos, or other media from your device.
  • Background and Colour
    Use the colour picker tool in the top toolbar to change the colour of backgrounds, text, or elements.
  • Photo & Video Editing
    You can edit photos by applying filters and adjusting brightness, saturation, and contrast. For videos, a timeline at the bottom allows you to trim clips, adjust timing, and add audio.

Finishing and Exporting

  • Collaborate
    Click the “Share” button in the top-right corner to invite others to view or edit your design, using their email address and setting their access level.
  • Download
    Click the “Share” button, then select “Download” to save your design in a format like PNG, JPG, or PDF.
  • Publish
    You can also share your design directly to social media, order prints, or present from within Canva.

Canva Design School

Canva Design School is an online learning hub which offers free courses and resources to help users of all skill levels use Canva.

Online courses from Canva

Canva’s Design School features free video courses that cover basic design concepts and how to use the platform’s full range of tools.

  • Canva essentials
    This 10-lesson course teaches you how to navigate the platform and get to grips with the basics. Perfect for beginners!
  • Graphic design essentials
    A course covering fundamental design elements, principles, colour theory, and how to create mood boards.
  • Canva’s visual suite
    This course provides a walkthrough of Canva’s full suite of products, including Docs, Whiteboards, Presentations, and Websites.
  • Canva design for social media
    A quick 11-minute introduction on how to get the most out of Canva for your social media, including making scroll-stopping posts and how to resize content for all platforms.

Extra Training & Support

Business Gateway hosts regular support webinars and shares recorded tutorials, including “Introduction to Canva”, “How to Build Your Brand” and more. Search on their website to see upcoming events and resources.

Just Enterprise also hosts marketing events and resources including “Digital Marketing”, “Introduction to Branding” and more. Search on their website to see upcoming events and resources.