Why Branding Matters for Your Business

Your brand is what makes you recognizable, builds trust with your audience, and sets the tone for how your business is perceived. A well-developed brand makes it easier for customers to connect with you, remember you, and recognize your content instantly, whether it’s a social media post, a website, or printed materials.

And while branding may seem like a big undertaking, Canva makes it incredibly accessible, allowing you to create and implement your brand without needing expensive design software.

Many new business owners start using Canva because they need a way to create branding for their business. Some may not have any visual branding in place yet, while others might have pieced together elements but don’t have a fully developed brand kit.

Canva provides an excellent starting point for these business owners, giving them the tools to design a logo, create a colour palette, and choose fonts and imagery that reflect their business identity.

That said, there’s immense value in professional branding. Once you’re ready to take the next step, investing in a graphic designer or branding specialist can help refine your visual identity, ensuring consistency and strategy in your brand presence.

A well-developed brand isn’t just about looking polished—it’s about creating an identity that connects with your audience on a deeper level, communicates your values, and helps your business stand out in a crowded market.

Of course, not every small business is in a position to invest in professional branding right away. If budget constraints mean you need a solid starter brand to get moving, Canva offers an accessible way to create branding that looks professional while you build and grow your business.

The key is to use the tools wisely, ensuring that your DIY branding is cohesive and thoughtfully developed so that when the time comes to invest in professional branding, you already have a strong foundation in place.

Considerations When Using Canva for Logo Creation

Trademarking

While Canva can be a great way to create a starter logo, it does have some limitations, particularly when it comes to its ability to be trademarked. Canva’s logo templates and elements are not exclusive, meaning other businesses could be using the same or similar designs.

This can limit the uniqueness of your branding, and it also means that you cannot trademark a logo created in Canva if it contains anything other than text, lines, and shapes. In other words, if your logo includes elements from Canva’s stock library, it cannot be trademarked because other businesses also have access to those same design elements.

If you plan to trademark your logo, it’s important to take the time to read through Canva’s guidelines on logo trademarking, and I’ll include a link to that in the resources below this video.

This will help you fully understand what you can and cannot trademark so you can make informed logo decisions from the start. If trademarking your logo is important for your business, it may be worth considering another route for logo creation from the beginning.

For example, some businesses have created their logo in Canva, built strong brand recognition, and later tried to franchise — only to find out they couldn’t trademark their logo because it included elements from Canva’s stock library. As a result, they had to start over, losing the brand recognition they had built.

File Format Limitations

Another important limitation to keep in mind is that while Canva Pro users can download logos as SVG files, which allow for resizing without losing quality, these are not always equivalent to vector logo formats like EPS or AI files, which are the industry standard for professional logo design.

Canva’s SVGs tend to be less ideal for high-end printing, which can become an issue if you need to scale your logo for large-format printing, since many print shops require EPS or AI files to ensure high-quality output.

Or if you design a logo in Canva and later hire a designer to refine or expand your branding, they may struggle to edit your SVG file because it lacks the flexibility of a fully editable vector file. In many cases, designers or printers may need to recreate the logo from scratch, which could result in additional time and costs.

While Canva is a great tool for a starter logo, it’s important to consider how you might need to use your logo in the future, so you don’t back yourself into a corner down the road.

Steps to Create a Logo in Canva

With those trademark considerations in mind, if you feel that using Canva is a solid solution for a starter logo to kickstart your business, let’s talk about the actual steps to create your logo in Canva.

Creating a logo in Canva begins by navigating to Canva’s template library and searching for “logo” in the search bar. This will bring up a variety of pre-designed logo templates that you can browse through to find one that aligns with your brand’s aesthetic. Once you find a template that fits your style, click on it to open the editor and begin customizing it.

Canva provides a vast selection of logo templates, and while they are a great starting point, it’s crucial to customize your selection to ensure your logo is unique.

Adjust the fonts, colours, and layout to better reflect your brand identity, and if your business name is particularly long, consider choosing a template that allows for easy readability at different sizes.

Once your logo design is finalized, you’ll need to download it correctly, which means downloading it with a transparent background. In order to do this, you’re going to need to download it as a PNG file with transparency enabled.

This is a Canva Pro feature, so if you’re using the free version of Canva, you’ll need to upgrade to access this option, and you can get a free trial of Canva Pro by going to BrendaCadman.com/pro.

Or, if you want a scalable version of your logo that retains quality at any size, you should download it as an SVG file, which again is a Pro feature.

Now that we’ve covered logos, let’s talk about the next essential piece of your brand identity—your brand colour palette. Your colour choices are just as important as your logo because they set the tone for your entire brand presence and help create a cohesive visual identity.

Colour plays a crucial role in branding because it influences how people perceive your business. It’s one of the fastest ways to communicate your brand’s personality, values, and positioning. The right colours can evoke emotions, create associations, and make your brand instantly recognizable.

When used consistently across all of your marketing materials—your website, social media graphics, email templates, and printed materials—your brand colours build familiarity and trust with your audience.

Having a well-defined brand colour palette ensures that your brand doesn’t feel disjointed or inconsistent. Without one, you might find yourself using a different shade of a colour on your website than on your social media graphics, leading to a lack of cohesion.

A strong colour palette not only makes your brand look polished and professional but also helps streamline your design process, making it easier to create marketing materials that feel aligned with your business’s identity.

How Many Brand Colours Do You Need?

So how many brand colours do you need?

A strong brand colour palette consists of three key types of colours: primary colours, which are used most frequently in your branding, accent colours, which add variety and visual interest, and neutral colours, which provide balance, often for backgrounds, text, or secondary elements.

Your primary colours will likely be the ones most associated with your brand, appearing on your website, logo, and key marketing materials. For example, a primary colour might be used for headings on your website, the background of social media graphics, or the dominant colour in your logo.

Accent colours, used sparingly, can add energy and emphasis to your designs. These might be used for call-to-action buttons on your website, hyperlinks, or to highlight certain elements in social media graphics to draw attention.

Neutral colours help create contrast and ensure readability, preventing your designs from feeling too overwhelming or cluttered. Examples of neutral colours include shades of white, gray, beige, taupe, and black. These colours are often used for backgrounds, body text, or to provide subtle balance against more vibrant primary and accent colours. Choosing the right neutral tones can help create a professional and polished look while keeping your designs visually appealing and easy to read.

While there is no rigid rule on how many colours to include, a general best practice is to have one to three primary colours, one to three accent colours, and one to two neutral colours. However, flexibility is key.

Some brands successfully use a more extensive palette, but this typically requires strong design expertise to maintain a cohesive look. Too few colours can make your branding feel flat or limiting, while too many colours—especially when not used intentionally—can create inconsistency and dilute brand recognition.

Now that you’ve established a brand colour palette, the next important step in creating a cohesive brand identity is selecting your brand fonts. Just like colours, typography plays a crucial role in how people perceive your business.

The fonts you choose should be used consistently across all of your branding materials — whether you’re creating graphics in Canva, designing your website, or producing print materials. A well-chosen font combination reinforces your brand personality, makes your content easier to read, and helps create a seamless, professional look.

Types of Fonts

Different types of fonts evoke different emotions and associations, and understanding how they contribute to brand perception will help you choose the right fonts for your business.

Serif fonts have small decorative strokes at the ends of their letters. They often feel traditional, trustworthy, and classic. These are commonly used by brands that want to convey authority, heritage, or sophistication, such as law firms, luxury brands, or editorial publications. Examples include Times New Roman, Playfair Display, and Baskerville.

Sans-serif fonts lack the decorative strokes, creating a clean and modern look. They are often seen as approachable, minimal, and contemporary, making them a popular choice for tech companies, startups, and casual lifestyle brands. Examples include Helvetica, Montserrat, and Open Sans.

Script fonts mimic cursive handwriting and can range from elegant and sophisticated to fun and whimsical. They work well for brands that want to convey creativity or elegance, but they should be used sparingly, as they often do not translate well at smaller sizes, potentially affecting readability and accessibility.

They are best reserved for short, decorative elements such as logos, headlines, or callout text where their stylistic appeal enhances the overall design without compromising clarity. Examples include Dancing Script, Pacifico, and Allura.

Display fonts are highly stylized and designed to stand out. They can be bold, decorative, or playful and are best used for logos, headlines, or branding elements rather than body text. Examples include Lobster, Impact, and Oswald.

How Many Fonts Do You Need?

A good brand typically uses two to three fonts within a structured font hierarchy. It’s important to note that these fonts are separate from your logo font. It’s not uncommon for a brand’s logo to use a different typeface than its brand fonts, especially if the logo includes a custom or highly stylized typeface. Your brand fonts should be chosen for readability and consistency across your website, social media, and marketing materials, while your logo may stand alone as a distinct design element.

You’ll have a heading font that is often the most prominent in your designs and is used for titles, headers, and any text that needs to grab attention. It should reflect your brand personality while remaining readable at large sizes.

A subtitle font is sometimes used to bridge the gap between headers and body text, offering a secondary level of emphasis. It is typically a slightly smaller and lighter-weight variation of the primary font or a complementary sans-serif or serif font that adds hierarchy without overwhelming the design.

Your body copy font is used for longer text, such as paragraphs on your website or descriptions in social media graphics. It should be highly legible and easy to read at smaller sizes to ensure accessibility and readability across different devices and platforms.

Some brands choose an accent font for specific uses, such as callouts or special design elements. However, for most starter brands—especially those creating their branding in Canva—this isn’t necessary. Adding an extra font without a clear strategy can easily lead to visual clutter and inconsistency. If you’re not experienced with typography, it’s often best to stick to a strong primary and secondary font combination to maintain a clean and professional look.

You Need a Font Hierarchy

You need a font hierarchy, which refers to the intentional organization of typography to create a visual distinction between different types of text, guiding the reader’s attention and ensuring clarity. This hierarchy isn’t just determined by font choice — it can also involve colour contrast and size differentiation.

For example, using a bold, dark-coloured heading with a lighter, smaller subheading below it can create clear visual separation, making content easier to read.

Just as selecting the right fonts is important, using them consistently across all brand materials is essential. Once you’ve chosen a primary, secondary, and any accent fonts, ensure they are applied in a structured way across your website, social media, and marketing materials. Maintaining consistency in font choices, sizes, and colours reinforces brand recognition and professionalism.

With a solid understanding of font hierarchy in place, let’s now look at some common mistakes to avoid when choosing and using fonts in your branding.

What to Avoid When Choosing Fonts

Using more than three fonts within your branding can create a cluttered and unprofessional look, making your materials feel visually overwhelming rather than cohesive. Keeping your font selections minimal and intentional ensures that your brand remains polished and recognizable.

Another common mistake is using overly decorative fonts for body text. While decorative or script fonts can add personality when used sparingly for accents or headlines, they are difficult to read when applied to longer blocks of text. If your audience struggles to read your content, they are less likely to engage with it, which can undermine your branding efforts.

Additionally, some fonts are so commonly used that they may fail to establish a distinct brand identity. Fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri — while functional — are often associated with default system fonts rather than a unique brand presence. If your goal is to stand out, consider alternatives that retain professionalism while offering a more customized feel.

Similarly, highly stylized display fonts, such as Papyrus and Comic Sans, tend to carry strong associations that may not align with your brand’s intended image.

Finally, your font choices should align with your brand personality and values rather than just personal preference. A font that looks stylish or trendy might not necessarily be the best fit for your brand’s identity. Your typography should reflect the tone and message you want to convey to your audience.

For example, a playful, child-focused brand will require a very different font selection than a professional law firm. By choosing fonts strategically rather than based on aesthetics alone, you ensure that your branding is both visually appealing and effective in communicating your message.

So now you’ve established your logo, colour palette and brand fonts and it’s time to move onto your brand images.

Brand imagery plays a crucial role in shaping how your business is perceived because visuals are often the first thing people notice about your brand. Before they read a single word of your content, your audience has already formed an impression based on the colours, images, and design elements you use.

Strong, cohesive imagery helps create trust, professionalism, and recognition, while inconsistent or low-quality visuals can make your brand feel unpolished or unclear. The photos, graphics, and visual elements you choose should align with your brand’s personality, reinforcing your message and making your business instantly recognizable across all of your marketing materials.

Whether you use photography, illustrations, or a combination of both, your brand imagery should feel intentional and consistent.

Photos vs. Graphics

There are two key types of imagery to consider: photos and graphics. Both serve different purposes and can work together to create a polished and professional brand aesthetic.

Photos bring a sense of realism and connection to your brand. They help your audience see the people behind your business, your workspace, or your products in a tangible way.

Graphics, on the other hand, add a stylized or artistic dimension to your brand. Illustrations, patterns, and textures can make your brand feel unique and memorable.

The key is to strike a balance that aligns with your brand’s tone. Some brands may lean heavily into photography for a more personal, down-to-earth feel, while others may use bold, graphic-driven visuals to create a strong, modern aesthetic. The combination you choose should feel intentional and help communicate your brand’s message effectively.

Types of Photos for Your Canva Brand Kit

There are several types of photos to consider incorporating into your brand identity.

Brand photos are professionally captured images that showcase your business in a polished and authentic way. These might include images of your workspace, your products, or your team in action. If you’re a solopreneur or service-based business, high-quality brand photography can help establish a strong personal connection with your audience.

Headshots are essential if you want to build trust and recognition, particularly if your business has a personal or client-facing component. A well-lit, high-resolution headshot can be used on your website, social media profiles, email signatures, and even in marketing materials.

Stock images can be a great alternative if custom brand photography isn’t an option. The key to using stock images effectively is choosing ones that align with your brand’s colour palette, mood, and style. Be mindful of selecting images that look authentic rather than overly staged.

Behind-the-scenes shots provide an opportunity to showcase the more candid, human side of your business. These could include photos of your creative process, packaging products, working with clients, or even snippets of your daily routine. These types of images help build transparency and relatability.

Product photography is crucial for businesses selling physical or digital products. High-quality images of your products help build trust and make your offerings look more appealing. Even if you don’t sell physical products, consider showcasing the results of your work—such as digital templates, course previews, or branded materials—to reinforce credibility.

Types of Graphics for Your Canva Brand Kit

And then we have graphics, which can add a layer of personality and depth to your brand visuals, whether used as standalone design elements or to complement photography.

Illustrations can be a great way to add a unique and artistic flair to your branding. Custom or stock illustrations can be used in social media graphics, website headers, or as part of a cohesive brand aesthetic that differentiates you from competitors.

Patterns and textures provide subtle background elements that enhance your designs without overwhelming them. These could be soft watercolour textures, bold geometric patterns, classic line-based textures, or other options.

Accent images include icons, decorative elements, or symbols that reinforce your brand’s visual identity. Icons are particularly useful for highlighting key information on your website, presentations, or marketing materials.

Creating a Cohesive Look and Feel

Consistency in your brand imagery is extremely important and if you have a disjointed mix of different styles, colours, or lighting, it can result in your branding feel scattered and unpolished.

To ensure your brand visuals look polished and professional, make sure you use a consistent colour palette across all imagery. When your visuals have a unified colour scheme, they create a seamless and professional appearance across your website, social media, and marketing materials.

Using similar lighting and editing styles in your photos helps unify your brand’s aesthetic as well. If your photos vary too much in brightness, contrast, or tone, they can make your brand feel inconsistent or visually disconnected.

This is especially important when selecting stock images, as they often come from different photographers and may have vastly different styles. A mix of overly bright, desaturated, or heavily filtered images can make your brand look scattered rather than cohesive.

If you’re going to use stock imagery, try to choose sets that maintain a uniform look and feel across all of your images, so they feel like they belong to the same visual family.

Where to Source Brand Imagery

One of the most accessible places to find brand imagery if you’re already using Canva is in their own Stock Library. Canva offers a vast selection of stock images, illustrations, patterns, textures and all kinds of graphics, making it an incredibly convenient option for sourcing cohesive brand imagery directly within the platform.

If you’re using Canva’s free plan, you’ll have access to a selection of free stock images, but if you upgrade to Canva Pro, you’ll unlock a significantly larger collection of premium images and design assets. This expanded selection allows for more variety and customization, ensuring that you can find the right visuals that align with your brand aesthetic.

If you haven’t upgraded yet, you can try Canva Pro for free at BrendaCadman.com/pro.

Beyond Canva, there are numerous other stock photo sites available, both free and paid.

Free stock image websites like Unsplash and Pexels offer a broad selection of high-quality images that can work well for many branding needs. However, because these platforms are widely used, you may find that the same images appear across multiple brands.

This is why some business owners prefer to invest in premium stock imagery through other paid platforms. I have a curated list of stock photo resources at BrendaCadman.com/design-resources, where you can explore additional options tailored to different needs.

By carefully selecting high-quality, consistent imagery that aligns with your brand’s identity, you’ll create a strong and recognizable visual presence that resonates with your audience and supports your messaging.

Bringing Your Brand to Life in Canva

In this video, we’ve walked through the key steps to developing a starter brand in Canva, from designing a logo and selecting a colour palette to choosing fonts and sourcing brand imagery.

While investing in a brand strategist or designer is always worthwhile when you’re in a position to do so, I know that’s not always an option when you’re just starting out. That’s why I hope this training has given you a clear and practical framework for creating a brand that looks intentional, cohesive, and visually strong, even if you’re not able to hire a professional designer.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that consistency matters. The more you reinforce your colours, fonts, and imagery across all of your marketing materials, the more recognizable and professional your brand will appear. Canva makes this easier by allowing you to save and apply your brand assets quickly across all of your designs by utilizing their Brand Kit Feature.

If you’d like to learn more about how to take your new starter brand and set it up inside Canva’s Brand Kit, I have another video that walks you through the process. You’ll find the link to that video in the description below.

The Brand Kit is a Canva Pro feature, so if you’re currently using Canva’s free plan and want to give it a try, you can start a free trial at BrendaCadman.com/pro.