Reference, Instruction, and Outreach (RIO)

12 attendees joined us for this meeting, with Kate Moss of the College of Saint Rose and Lauren Puzier of the University at Albany leading our discussion about the Canva graphic design system.

Kate showed the group the basics of Canva, starting with its templates and tutorials.  She showed that the entire design, as well as individual elements, can be resized, including template sizes for specific purposes such as Facebook postings. She informed the group that you can use Canva to create or promote your organization's brand.

Lauren showed some of the differences between the paid and free versions. There are many design templates. It was noted that you should double check the DPI for a design depending on how you want it viewed or printed. Not for profit organizations can make accounts that have more options than the standard free accounts, but still are missing some of the options from the paid accounts.

Lauren has made a libguide for using Canva, it will be included in the resources section for this meeting.

Deanna DiCarlo showed the group some of the designs she has created. It was discussed that Canva is great for providing ideas through its templates. The group also discussed finding free images that you can include in your designs, as well as using Canva to create slides instead of Powerpoint.