Graphic design is arranging text, images, shapes and colour so that a message is clear and attractive: a social media post, a flyer, a business card, a presentation, a YouTube thumbnail. Every business needs it, every day, which makes it one of the easiest freelance skills to start earning with.
What Canva is
Canva is a design tool that runs in the browser and as a phone and desktop app. Instead of drawing everything from scratch, you start from a blank page or a template and drag in text, photos, icons and shapes. It is popular with beginners and with busy professionals because it is fast.
Free or Pro?
Canva has a free plan and paid plans. You can complete this whole course on the free plan.
| Canva Free | Canva Pro (paid) | |
|---|---|---|
| Templates and elements | Millions of free ones | Many more premium ones |
| Brand kit | One kit, limited colours | Several kits, full colours, logos, fonts |
| Background remover | No | Yes |
| Resize a design to other sizes in one click | No | Yes |
| Transparent PNG download | No | Yes |
| Storage | Smaller | Larger |
Premium (Pro) items show a crown or "Pro" label. If you use one on the free plan, the download carries a watermark. Canva's prices and limits change, so check the current plan page before telling a client what they will pay.
Licences: what you are allowed to do
Canva's content licence decides how you may use its photos, graphics and templates. Key points, simplified:
- You may use free and Pro content in your own and your clients' designs, including ads, posts and printed material.
- You may not resell Canva elements or templates as they are, or offer them as standalone files.
- You may not use Canva stock elements as part of a trademark or logo. A logo must be made from your own shapes and text (lesson 10 explains this).
- Pro content is licensed per design; it cannot be extracted and reused freely.
- Some content is marked editorial or education-only; it cannot be used commercially.
Read the full licence before selling designs. Respecting licences protects you and your clients.
What clients pay designers for
- Social media posts, stories and carousels.
- Flyers, posters, menus, business cards and banners.
- Presentations and pitch decks.
- YouTube thumbnails and simple video edits.
- Brand kits: colours, fonts and simple style guides.
Tools are easy; good design decisions are the real skill. The next two lessons teach the rules behind designs that look professional.
Practice task (15 min)
- Create a free Canva account if you do not have one.
- Search the templates for "Instagram post" and find three that show a crown or "Pro" label, and three that are free.
- Open Canva's content licence page and write down two things you may do and two things you may not do.
Sign in or create a free account to save your progress and take the tests. Sign in