How To Create A Brand Kit Using Canva Free And Pro Version
If you have a brand, creating content is probably high on your daily tasks.
If you are newer to the content-creating world, first off welcome but that means you are most likely using Canva. Canva has widely become the go-to place for any sort of content creation or virtual marketing, with a free and pro version of their site anyone can feel like a graphic designer. One of my favorite features in the pro version is the use of a brand kit however, I also want to show you a way to use the brand kit feature in the free version.
If you have an established brand you most likely already know what your site colors, fonts, and logo look like. If you are just starting with your brand, no worries Canva has you covered in those areas too! Canva’s possibilities are endless with what your creations can look like. The free version gains you access to at least 250,000 templates for your designs, 5GB of storage, free use of graphics, stock photos, and much more. The pro version is for creators with a team of 1-5 people. The fee for it is $12.99 a month or $119.99 annually. For the pro subscription, you get everything the free version has to offer but more access to things like free stock photos, graphics, templates, and tools such as a background remover for your photos. They also have an enterprise plan but that is for teams with 25 people minimum. I assume if you are reading this blog it’s just you or you have a small team so I don’t think that applies to you, but if it does check them out. Now that you know how you can utilize Canva in its free and pro version, let’s break down the use of a brand kit!
Pro Version:
In the pro version, you will see the brand kit pop up on the left-hand side under tools. Once you click into it you see three options in your brand kit. Brand Logo, Brand Colors, and Brand Fonts. Completing these three items is a great step to take before starting to create any content on Canva. Now, let’s look at the different options broken down.
-Brand Logo
If you need to create a logo, head to Canva’s search bar at the top and type in ‘Logo’ from there you get an array of different logo templates. Don’t see anything you like? No problem, you can create your own. Obviously, this isn’t the fanciest way to get your brand logo up and running but it works! If you are just starting out in your business and you don’t have the budget for a full branding session, then this is a great place to start. Your logo can be used in multiple different ways, but one way is your browser icon on Squarespace. Squarespace gives you the option to have your logo on your browser corner, you know the little picture thing at the top left corner of your million tabs that are open. Using Canva to design this icon is super simple and keeping it in your brand kit helps you get easy access to it if needed later down the road.
-Brand Colors
Brand colors are one of the more important pieces to keep consistent when creating content. For example, if your brand colors are pink but you always create your Instagram content in blue your customers might think that you are two different people. When you put our brand colors all together on Canva’s brand kit, you can easily switch between them as well. If you haven't found your brand colors here are some tips:
Head on over to this color palette generator and check out the different options they give you to find a color palette. You can upload your favorite photo and get color inspiration from that or browse their color pallets
Pinterest some images to a board and see what colors stand out
Find your colors based on what you want your customers or clients to feel when they see your content. Dive into the color meanings and theories.
-Brand Fonts
Let’s talk brand fonts! Your branding font is another way to keep your brand content creation consistent. One thing that I've learned over the years with this is that you want to make your font readable, not just cool. There are plenty of times where I think cursive will just look so pretty but no one can read it, which is obviously a big problem! Canva suggests using three sets of fonts, your heading, subheading, and body font. I usually only like to use two fonts here instead of three but that is up to you.
Now that you have completed these different parts of your brand kit you are ready to start creating content on Canva! Having this brand kit makes content creation so much faster by having your different fonts and color options available to you in an easy-to-access way. This is a great way to keep your brand consistent as well because you will be using the same fonts and colors across all of your brand's messaging.
Don't want to get the pro version but still want a brand kit? I got you covered, keep scrolling!
Free Version:
For the free version you kinda have to go a longer route to do a brand kit, but if it helps you stay on brand and consistent for your creations then I think it’s worth it! As mentioned above you have three key elements to your brand kit, in the free version you only have access to one of those elements and that’s color. The free version lets you pick up to three brand colors and keeps them in your tool kit when creating.
-Use of folders
When you first sign into Canva you will see ‘Your Projects’ on the left-hand side of the screen. There is where you can create up to two folders and where your makeshift brand kit will be living. When creating your content just keep that folder open in a separate tab and you can easily copy and paste from those projects.
-Brand Logo
When creating your logo make sure to name your project ‘LOGO’ so you can find it easily in your brand kit folder. To name the project when you are in the creation mode, look at the top right-hand side, and next to the button ‘Try Canva Pro’ you will see a name for the project. Click inside that box and edit the name. When you are done just press enter and voila your project is now named!
-Brand Colors
As stated above Canva gives you a little taste of having a brand kit by letting you experience the easiness of three brand colors in your palette when creating. My workaround for this is going to be similar to how you will have your brand logo living in that project folder. You are going to create a new project and have it whatever size you want, I chose an Instagram size, but from there you are going to change those blank sheets to represent each color you want your brand colors to be. In the top left-hand corner of your design screen, you can click the color box icon and input your custom color numbers. Again don’t forget to name the project ‘COLORS’ so you can find it easily.
-Brand Fonts
Finally, let’s talk about brand fonts. Again same content as before, you will create a new project named ‘FONTS’ and put your favorite free fonts on the canvas. From here you can easily copy and paste into your projects to keep your brand consistent with the same fonts for each project. Now you can totally combine all three of these elements into one project, but I think separating them into their own just helps keep things more organized. Don’t forget that you need to keep your ‘brand kit’ tab open when creating new projects.
Well, folks there you have it! A go-to guide about how to create your brand kit feature in the free and pro version of Canva. One thing I forgot to mention about the pro version is that you can create multiple brand kits and toggle through them easily when creating content. This is great if you are a social media manager or content creator for multiple brands. Canva is hands down one of my favorite tools to use for virtual marketing and I can’t recommend them fast enough when someone asks me how to create something.
What is a tool that you can’t live without in your business? Let me know in the comments.
