Canva Refreshes Brand

Canva, the widely-used visual communication platform, has launched a refreshed brand system designed with workplaces in mind. The updated brand identity aims to meet the growing demand for visual communication and collaboration across global workplaces.

Empowering a New Era

Over the past decade, Canva has empowered millions of individuals to achieve their goals through accessible design tools. As work environments evolve and become more distributed, the need for strong visual communication has never been more evident. Canva’s refreshed brand system is positioned to address these needs, offering tools that enhance both creativity and productivity in diverse workplace settings.

Cat van der Werff, Executive Creative Director at Canva, commented on the brand’s evolution: “Empowerment has always been central to Canva’s mission. We’ve seen how design can enable people to achieve their goals, and this brand refresh is about reinforcing that message as we expand our focus to include organisations of all sizes.”

Global Reach with Local Connection

Canva’s brand is already recognised globally, with its gradient logo and custom typeface being key elements of its identity. However, the refresh aims to simplify and amplify these features, making space for visual content that resonates with Canva’s diverse user base.

Van der Werff highlighted the importance of cultural relevance in the new brand system: “Creativity varies across the world—what works for a human resources leader in Paris may not be as effective for a marketer in São Paulo. Our updated brand system is designed to be adaptable and culturally relevant, enabling deeper connections with communities around the globe.”

Key Elements of the Refreshed Brand

The updated brand system includes several new features, all designed to enhance Canva’s identity and functionality:

• Content Platform: The refreshed brand system is inspired by Canva’s own platform, where core brand assets remain consistent while flexible elements can be adapted for global or local needs.
  
  
• Unified Brand and Product: Design layouts now mirror Canva’s product interface, offering a seamless experience from content creation to presentation.
  
  
• Work in Progress Celebration: Canva’s new approach emphasises the process of design, highlighting the joy found in creativity rather than just the finished product.
  
  
• Human-Centric Design: Canva’s user interface now features more human elements, including interactive cursors, comments, and custom emojis that bring the platform to life.
  
  
• Voice and Accessibility: A refreshed tone of voice adds a playful touch, moving away from corporate jargon, while a simplified color palette ensures the platform meets accessibility standards.

Built by Canva, for Canva

As more organisations turn to Canva Enterprise to manage their visual work, Canva’s in-house creative team has showcased the platform’s capabilities by using it to execute the brand refresh. The team, spread across more than 40 countries, relied on Canva’s design tools to ensure the brand refresh was scalable from the outset.

“From initial ideas to final implementation, we used our tools at every stage of the process,” van der Werff said. “This project allowed us to put our product to the test, proving how organisations can scale a global brand using Canva.”

To add more depth to the brand’s visual identity, Canva collaborated with creative agencies Vucko and Buck. Vucko worked on developing an updated motion system, bringing more personality and humanity to Canva’s brand. Buck contributed by creating a custom emoji style that reflects Canva’s updated color palette and playful character.

See here for more.

Since its launch in 2013, Canva has been dedicated to making design accessible to everyone. With over 190 million monthly active users and annualised revenue exceeding $2.3 billion, Canva’s growth highlights its significant impact on visual communication. This brand refresh marks another step in Canva’s ongoing mission to democratise design for individuals and organisations alike.

About Canva

Founded in 2013, Canva is an online visual communication and collaboration platform designed to empower everyone to create. The platform features a simple drag-and-drop interface and a wide range of templates, including presentations, documents, websites, and more. With an extensive library of fonts, stock images, videos, and audio clips, Canva enables users to turn their ideas into visually compelling content.

Last Updated on August 9, 2024 by Nick Ross