Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool for creating posters, resources, logos, newsletters and social media content. It can be used to create PDF, JPG, PNG, MP4 and SVG files. The design and editing aspect of Canva is similar to Publisher and PowerPoint.

You will need to create a FREE Canva account before you can amend any Canva poster! You can do this via www.canva.com. To edit the template posters you just need the basic version of Canva (just enter your name, email address, verify your account from your email - and you are good to start). NB You can sign up to Canva Pro at a later date. Canva Pro offers more functionality, access to a greater stock of images etc. It is also free for non-profit organisations (including churches) but registration can take some days/weeks as Canva will check your status

Click on the template link in the email you have been sent. Then click on the ‘Use template’ icon. The file will automatically open in Canva and you are ready to go.

You may want to make/work from a copy of the original file in case you need to go back to it (or if you lose the email link). Go to File, Make A Copy and then Save. You can rename any file in the very top blue bar. It’s prudent to check it is saved by going to ‘Home’ and checking it is there or in a folder you have set up.)

• Any element of the design and text is editable. Hover your mouse over any element and you will see the ‘edit box’ appear.
   
• You can edit text by clicking on any text box. You will see the edit bar at the top, allowing you to change the font, font colour, bold/italic, centre text etc just like you can do in Word.
   
• You can move text boxes around by clicking on the box and using your arrow keys or physically dragging the box with your mouse. You can also delete a box.
   
• If you want to change any of the graphics then delete the image you don’t like, go to ‘Elements’ in the left side bar and you can browse a number of images or type in a search term eg ‘group of people icon’. Note: only some of these stock icons/images/photos are available in the basic version. Anything with a ‘crown’ next to it is only available in the premium version of Canva (Canva Pro).
   
• You can also copy and paste a graphic from one poster to another (or just drag them between Templates 1 and 2).
   
• If you want to replace the icons with any photos in Templates 1 and 2, then follow these steps (though it may look neater if you do this with Template 2b):

Ensure the photos you want to use are downloaded on your computer somewhere. They should be good quality (but not huge files) as the poster can be printed out as A3.

Click on the ‘Upload’ button in the left hand side bar and open your photo. It should appear on the left.

Drag it onto the page where you want the photo to be and resize by clicking on it and using the arrows around the boxes to do so.

• To insert a photo into one of the blank circles in Template 2b, follow steps 1-2 and then:

Drag the photo to the circle you want to place it in, hover over the circle and it will ‘click’ into the circle. Note: it’s often better if your original photo is square shaped, so the whole image is included in the circle.

• If you change your mind about any of the photos, right click on the circle/photo, select ‘detach image’ and it will pop out of the circle. Delete the photo from the screen and drag another photo across.
   
• You can change any background colour as well – which you may want to do if you use particular colours in your church communications branding: Click your mouse over a block so it is highlighted. In the bar just above the poster you will see the existing colour as a small block. Click on this small block to bring up the colour palette. You can either select a new colour – or insert the relevant CMYK colour code to get the exact match to your church’s branding.
   
•  If you change your mind about anything you have done, you can always click the ‘Undo’ arrow button on the top bar to reverse the changes.
   
• Downloading and/or printing your work:

Click on the ‘Share’ button on the top right of the screen.

Click on Download – you can choose to print Template 1 or 2 or both.

Select the format – generally JPEG or PNG for sharing and PDF Print for printing. Note these posters have been created so they can be shared digitally or printed as A3 (or A4) posters.

There is plenty of additional help online – or contact Juliet Evans, our Fundraising Advisor