I am a professional graphic designer, and I use Canva

The pros and cons of DIY graphic design services

The headline is true.

This Post: I am a professional graphic designer, and I use Canva

*Raising hand in air*

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Hello. My name is Heather Bragg, owner of a creative marketing agency. I use Canva.

If you aren’t already familiar with Canva, it’s a free do-it-yourself graphic design web and mobile device application. There are a bevy of templates from which you can choose to customize for just about any online and offline marketing endeavor, including Instagram stories, Facebook posts, posters, menus, infographics, etc.

Oh, you know about Canva? You like it, too?

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The reason why this article reads like a dirty confessional is because for professional graphic designers, Canva could be a gut punch to the bottom line. Why would anyone need to hire a professional designer if they can do it themselves for free? 

I am an Adobe nerd. InDesign, PhotoShop and Illustrator are typically my go-to design applications. I decided to use Canva in part to stay on top of trending technology and and also because professional creatives need to find a way to work with DIY marketing tools. Because they aren’t going anywhere.

Overall, I found Canva fun and easy to use. It felt less like work and more like when I discovered the first version of Windows Paint when I was 9. Like any free marketing tool, however, there are limitations. Here are the pros and cons of Canva that everyone should know.