Week 10: Canva Creations
This week, we were asked to design multiple pieces for social media using a browser-based program called Canva. In many ways, Canva was a departure from programs we’ve been using like Photoshop and InDesign. Canva is more user-friendly and doesn’t require anything “from scratch”, per se. Canva facilitates designs, but I feel it also has potential to dumb down design.
I decided to design for Speedway, my favorite gas station and convenience store chain. Existing Speedway social media branding wasn’t really anything impressive and didn’t give me much to go off of, so I just went for it and did my own thing. In one hour and fifteen minute class period, I created a Facebook cover photo, Facebook post, Twitter header photo, and Instagram post for Speedway.
Designing images for social media almost feels too easy or simple, but it’s important to remember that no image will be without some sort of contextual information. For one, the image will be tied to the brand as it will be posted on the brand’s account, so logos on the images aren’t always necessary. Also, there doesn’t need to be heavy text or explanation because explanation, if necessary, can and will come outside of the image.
I thought my designs looked pretty good. I didn’t spend a lot of time planning or executing them, but I didn’t have a lot of time to plan or execute them. I think I successfully accomplished the objective of the assignment. I don’t really know why I feel this way aside from the fact that I have no reason to not feel this way.
As I said before, Canva facilities design. Most tools are self-explanatory, things are generally easy to find, and projects are set up in templates before you even begin. This is handy. Canva also provides images, text placeholders, borders, backgrounds, etc. While this is also handy, I think this can lead to work being less creative and/or original. If you see something that looks good and just slap it on there, you aren’t making conscious choices for your design in the same way you would be if you had to seek your own image, background, or whatever element it may be out. My design process definitely changed based on technology for this reason.
Twitter header
Facebook cover photo
Instagram post
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