Choosing Your Canva Templates
Overview
Choosing the right Canva template is the key to creating professional, on-brand designs quickly and efficiently. In this training, you’ll learn how to search for templates strategically, use filters to refine your results, and discover template creators whose designs align with your brand.
By selecting templates that already fit your brand’s aesthetic, you’ll save time and make the customization process much easier.
Resources
Canva Training Transcript
Why Templates Matter
Templates are one of the most powerful features in Canva because they give you a head start in creating professional, well-designed content without having to start from scratch. Whether you’re designing social media graphics, presentations, lead magnets, or any other marketing materials, using a template can save you a significant amount of time.
But while templates are incredibly useful, finding the right one is key. If you start with a template that has an aesthetic completely different from your brand, you’ll either spend too much time customizing it or end up with a design that doesn’t feel quite right. The goal is to choose a template that already aligns with your brand’s overall style so that the adjustments you need to make are minimal.
In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to search for templates, use filters to narrow down your options, and discover template creators whose work aligns with your brand. And once you’ve found the right template, be sure to check out my separate tutorial on how to customize templates effectively so you can make it truly your own. But for now, let’s focus on the first step—finding the best Canva templates for your needs.
Understanding Template Structure
Before selecting a template, take a moment to analyze its overall structure and how well it aligns with your brand’s existing aesthetic. It’s tempting to choose a template simply because it looks beautiful, but if it’s built around a completely different style than what you typically use, it may not be the best fit.
For example, if you come across a template that relies heavily on abstract shapes, overlapping elements, and bold, geometric patterns—but your brand is more clean, minimal, and text-focused—you’ll likely have to remove so many elements that it defeats the purpose of using a template in the first place. Similarly, if a template is designed with a dark, bold colour scheme but your brand is known for soft, pastel tones, you *can* still customize it, but it will take a lot more effort to make it feel cohesive.
A great template should feel like a natural extension of your brand from the start. It doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but it should at least have a structure, layout, and general aesthetic that make sense for your brand. Choosing wisely at this stage will save you time and ensure that your final design maintains the look and feel that attracted you to it in the first place.
Template Search Techniques
Once you have a general idea of what you need, it’s time to search for templates inside Canva. The best way to find the right template is by using clear, specific keywords rather than broad searches.
Let’s say you’re looking for a template for an Instagram post. If you type “Instagram post” into the search bar, you’ll get thousands of results, which can quickly become overwhelming. Instead, think about the specific type of Instagram post you need. Are you creating a carousel post? A quote graphic? A promotional post for a sale? By refining your search, you’ll get far more relevant results.
For example, instead of searching “Instagram post,” try searching “Instagram carousel minimal” or “Instagram sale post elegant.” If you’re in a specific industry, adding that to your search can also help. Searching for “Instagram post for coaches” or “Instagram post real estate” will bring up templates that are already optimized for those industries, which means less work for you when customizing.
Being intentional with your search terms is the first step in narrowing down the options, but Canva also offers filtering tools to help refine results even further. Let’s go through how to use those next.
Using Filters to Find the Best Templates
Imagine you’re searching for an Instagram carousel template. First, type “Instagram carousel” into the search bar. At this point, you’ll probably get thousands of results.
To make things more manageable, open the filters panel. You might want to start by using the style filters to get closer to the look and feel you want. If your brand is sleek and modern, selecting “Minimalist” will filter out designs that are overly decorative. If you prefer something a little more bold and expressive, you might select “Modern.”
One of the filtering options Canva provides is the ability to filter by colour, and while I typically don’t recommend relying too much on this, since colours can be changed easily, it *can* be useful for narrowing down templates that will be easier to adapt to your brand.
For example, if your branding is light and airy, selecting lighter colour palettes can help you find templates that already align with your aesthetic. While you *can* modify a dark, moody template to fit a light brand, it’s often more work than it’s worth.
Once you’ve applied your filters, you’ll see a refined selection of templates that are much more tailored to your needs. If necessary, go back and tweak your search terms or filters further until you find the perfect option.
As you browse Canva’s template library, you’ll notice that some templates are marked with a small crown icon. This indicates that the template is part of Canva’s premium collection. While Canva offers thousands of free templates that you can use without a paid subscription, Canva Pro unlocks access to millions of premium templates, giving you a much wider range of professional-quality designs to choose from.
If you’re using Canva’s free plan, you won’t be able to access Pro templates unless you upgrade to Canva Pro or sign up for a free trial. If you come across a Pro template that’s a perfect fit for your design while on the free plan, you have two options:
1. Look for a similar free template. Many designs in Canva’s free collection can be customized to achieve a similar style.
2. Sign up for a Canva Pro free trial, which gives you full access to all Pro templates, plus other premium features.
And you can do a free trial of Canva pro by going to BrendaCadman.com/pro.
The benefit of Pro templates isn’t just about having more to choose from. They often include more refined layouts, access to premium fonts and elements, and a more polished overall design. However, even if you decide not to continue with Canva Pro after your free trial, any designs you create using Pro templates will remain in your account, so you won’t lose access to the work you’ve already done.
That said, if your design contains premium elements, such as Pro photos, graphics, or fonts, you won’t be able to use those without a Pro subscription. You’ll either need to purchase those elements individually or replace them with free alternatives.
Discovering & Following Template Creators
If you find yourself drawn to a particular design style while browsing Canva’s template library, chances are the same creator has other templates that align with your brand. Instead of starting your search from scratch every time, you can follow Canva template creators to quickly access their work whenever you need new designs.
To follow a creator, start by clicking on a template you like to open its template details page, and on that page, you’ll see the creator’s name. Clicking on their name will take you to their profile page, where you can explore all of the templates they’ve designed, and if you consistently find their work matches your aesthetic, you can click on the Follow button.
Once you start following creators, you’ll be able to easily access their templates in the future. In the left-hand navigation bar of the template library, you’ll see a section called “Creators You Follow,” and clicking on this will display all the template creators you’ve chosen to follow, making it simple to browse new designs from your favourite designers.
Canva also offers personalized recommendations based on the creators you follow. At the top of the Creators You Follow page, you’ll see a section called “Creators You’ll Love,” which suggests new creators whose design styles are similar to those you already follow, making it easier to discover fresh templates that align with your brand without having to search manually.
Another useful feature is the ability to search within a creator’s profile page. If you find a creator whose work resonates with your style, but you’re looking for a very specific type of template, such as an Instagram carousel or presentation, you can now use the search bar on their profile page to filter their templates by keyword.
Following creators is a great way to build a personalized template library that aligns with your brand, saving you time and effort whenever you need a new design. Instead of sifting through thousands of templates, you’ll have quick access to high-quality, on-brand designs from creators whose work you already love.
Next Steps
Now that you know how to find and filter templates in Canva, the next step is learning how to customize them effectively so they match your brand seamlessly. I’ve got a full tutorial that walks you through how to customize Canva templates if you’re not already familiar with the process, so once you’ve found a template you want to use, be sure to check that out next.