Recently I received an email from Canva, a fee and subscription-based graphics application. I make heavy use of Canva in my day job, and I was interested to see that they were promoting their planning templates.
Canva has a free, although somewhat limited membership, to create graphics designs both on the web and as a mobile app. I use the free version to create simple graphics for my podcast (everything from Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest images, to YouTube thumbnails). The free program gives you the ability to adjust colors, fonts on a limited basis, upload and include your own photos and graphic elements. You can create simple animations, and there is some stock photography that you can use. The paid version includes many more options (tons of templates, additional stock photography and fonts, creation of color palettes, and more), but the free version is perfectly adequate for simple designs.
Which brings me to their planner templates. We’ve all found a million planners, but not QUITE the one we want. Or you just want to print out a simple calendar that you can update each month. Canva allows you to easily select your size (either through inputting a standard size like A4, or through the custom button where you indicate the dimensions you want). I just took a quick perusal through some of the weekly and monthly options available.
You can take any template and easily adjust colors and fonts to your own preferences, and if you have the hex code for the color you want, it’s easy enough to input that as well. Many of the templates are 8.5″ x 11″ US Letter size, but if you build yourself a custom sized graphic you can adapt the template to fit your size. (A paid account lets you automatically resize to different dimensions rather than recreating each time – a huge time-saver if you’re creating graphics for tons of different platforms at once). You can also share what you create with others and download in a variety of formats (mp4, jpg, png, etc.)
So if you’re looking for a new format for some planning pages, check out Canva and see if you can come up with something that’s perfect for you!
DISCLAIMER: I use Canva’s graphics application as a tool in my daily job. I received no compensation for this review and all opinions are my own. Please see the About page for more details.
Thank you for your feedback. I have six Pilot Metropolitans with fine nibs that I adore. I have a couple more JetPens on my wish list, but I’m having problems justifying purchasing more just because they’re gorgeous and I want Ed to have one of each color… It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.