Design elements are the building blocks of your Canva projects, from shapes and graphics to photos, videos, audio, and charts. In this Canva tutorial, I’ll show you how to search, customize, and use elements to make your designs stand out.
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Transcript
Design elements are really the building blocks of Canva, and they’re what allow you to bring structure, personality, and style to your designs.
In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to search for elements, how to customize them, and the many different types of elements Canva provides, from shapes and graphics to photos, videos, charts, and more.
Whether you’re brand new to Canva or just want to explore some features you might not be using yet, this overview will help you get comfortable using elements to bring your ideas to life.
How to Search & Find Elements
Before we get into all the different types of elements you can use in Canva, let’s start with how to actually find them.
Inside the Elements panel, you can either scroll through popular categories or use the search bar at the top to type in exactly what you’re looking for, like “hand-drawn arrows,” “leaf icon,” or “floral illustration.”
Right next to the search bar, you’ll also see a filter button, which makes it a lot easier to narrow down your results. You can filter by:
- Colour, which is helpful if you want graphics that already match your brand palette.
- Orientation, which is useful if you specifically need landscape or portrait shapes for your layout.
- Animation, which helps if you only want to see animated elements for videos or social posts, or only static graphics for your design.
- Price, specifically to show free elements vs Pro elements, but please note that this filter parameter only shows up if you’re on a Pro account, and
- Cut-out, which shows only images with transparent backgrounds, perfect if you’re layering visuals and don’t want any awkward white boxes behind them.
So, for example, if you’re searching for a photo that is already yellow and you need it to be horizontal in orientation for something like a website header, you can set both of those filters at once.
And if you really want to get specific, you can even input your exact desired hex code, so Canva only shows you images that include that precise shade. It’s a huge time saver and makes it so much easier to keep everything aligned with your brand palette.
As you’re browsing through elements, you might come across one you really like and want to use again later.
You can hover over it in the elements panel, click on the 3 dots, and choose to star it. This saves it to your Starred folder so you can quickly access it again across any design.
Or if you already have an element contained in one of your designs that you’d like to favourite for future easy access, you can select it on your page, click on the 3 dots, go to the Info panel and then choose to star it that way as well.
Speaking of this info panel, if you want to learn more about a specific element, Canva will show you useful details in this area, like the creator, whether it’s a free or Pro/Teams element, related keywords, and whether it’s part of a larger set or collection. It’s a great way to find coordinating graphics or better understand where the element came from.
How to Work with Elements
Once you’ve added an element to your design — whether that’s a shape, photo, graphic, or anything else — most of the editing tools work the same way.
When you click on an element, you’ll see the floating toolbar appear above or nearby. This gives you quick access to:
- Crop, which is helpful for trimming down photos or graphics, so you’re only showing the part you want.
- Flip, which lets you mirror the element horizontally or vertically.
- Transparency, which fades the element so it doesn’t overpower the rest of your design.
- Animate, which adds simple entrance or motion effects — especially useful for social posts, reels, or presentations, and
- Position, which helps you move elements forward or backward in layers, and align them precisely to the page. If you select multiple items on your design page, you’ll also see that additional “Space evenly” options appear in your Position menu. I particularly like to use Tidy Up for designs like checklists.
And then beyond the toolbar, you can resize by dragging the corners of the element directly on the canvas, or rotate it by using the little curved handle that appears. That’s what gives you hands-on control to adjust everything exactly the way you want.
If you want to group multiple elements together so you can move or resize them as one, you can click and drag to select them and then choose to group them. Or you can ungroup linked elements back into their individual components.
You can use the lock option here to lock an element in place and then unlock it. And if you want to duplicate or delete an element, you can use these options.
So that’s a quick look at the core tools you’ll use to work with pretty much any element in Canva. Now let’s go through the different types of elements you can actually add to your designs — what they do, why you might want to use them, and how you can customize each one to fit your brand and style.
Shapes & Lines
Shapes are some of the most basic yet versatile elements in Canva. They include everything from rectangles and circles to triangles, stars, and speech bubbles. Lines are now built right into the Shapes section, so whether you’re adding a divider line, an arrow, or a decorative shape behind text, you’ll find it all in the same place.
To add one, head to the Elements panel, click on Shapes, and pick what you need.
Once you’ve added a shape or line to your design, you can easily customize it to suit your brand. You can change the fill colour to match your palette, adjust or add borders, tweak the thickness, or even turn it into a dashed line for a different look. And just like with any other element, you can resize, rotate, or adjust the transparency, giving you complete control over how it fits into your overall layout.
Shapes and lines are perfect for creating structure, guiding the eye, or making your text pop.
Graphics
Graphics cover a huge range in Canva, from simple icons to more detailed illustrations.
Some graphics are fully editable vector-style elements, which means you can change each of their colours right from the toolbar. But Canva’s also made it possible to adjust the colours in many more complex illustrations now too. For example, even watercolour-style artwork might let you tweak a few core colours using swatches that appear at the top.
I use Canva’s graphics constantly across my business, and pretty much every icon you see on my slides, social posts, or other marketing materials came straight from Canva’s graphics library. It’s one of the simplest ways to keep a consistent look and make your designs feel polished.
And while there are plenty of graphics on the free plan, you’ll find a *lot* more on Canva Pro. Honestly, most of the icons I use myself are Pro, so if you want to see just how much more you can access, you can do a free Canva Pro trial at BrendaCadman.com/pro.
Polls & Quizzes
Polls and quizzes are interactive elements you can add to presentations or share online. They’re great for workshops, webinars, or any spot where you want your audience to participate.
When you add one, you can click to customize the question and answer choices, and style it with your brand fonts and colours. It’s a simple way to boost engagement right inside Canva.
I have a much more detailed look at using Polls & Quizzes in another tutorial, and I’ll link to that in the description of this video.
AI Image Generator
When you use the AI Image Generator in Elements, you’re accessing Canva’s Magic Media. Here, you can type a prompt — like “neutral watercolour leaves” — and Canva will create new images for you to choose from.
But if you start from the Canva AI tools on the homepage, you’ll use something called “Create an image,” which is powered by Canva’s DreamLab, and that generally produces much more polished, consistent results. For higher-quality images, I would recommend creating your images using the Canva AI option instead of using the image generator within the design editor.
Sheets & Tables
Sheets and tables in Canva both let you organize information right inside your design, but they each have different strengths.
Sheets are actually much more than simple spreadsheets. They’re part of Canva’s new Visual Suite, and they combine the power of traditional spreadsheets with Canva’s design tools and built-in AI. That means you can handle data, use formulas, create charts, tag team members, add dropdowns and dates, pull in links — even import your existing Google Sheets or Excel files — all without ever leaving Canva.
On top of that, Sheets come with some pretty amazing AI features. You can use Magic Formulas to write formulas by simply describing what you want in plain language, run Magic Insights to automatically spot trends in your data, or generate visual graphs instantly with Magic Charts.
It’s a lot more powerful than people often realize, so I’ll actually be doing a separate video that goes deeper into exactly how to use Canva Sheets. Once that’s live, I’ll pop a link to it in the description below if you want to explore it in more detail.
Tables, on the other hand, are simpler but still incredibly handy. They’re perfect when you want to quickly lay out a pricing comparison, a product list, or a straightforward project timeline. You can easily add or remove rows and columns, style your cells with brand colours, and adjust borders for a clean, polished look.
So just to recap:
- Use Tables when you want a quick, tidy way to present structured information inside your design.
- Use Sheets when you want full spreadsheet functionality — calculations, smart charts, AI insights — all seamlessly integrated with your Canva visuals
Photos
Photos are incredibly flexible in Canva. Once you add a photo — whether it’s from Canva’s stock library or one of your own uploads — you can really fine-tune how it looks.
Click on the photo, click Edit, and then you’ll see a wide variety of editing tools to:
- Adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation to make colours pop or soften them up.
- Apply filters for a quick overall mood or tone, and
- Use more advanced photo effects like shadows, duotone, or blur.
And if you’re looking for more advanced editing features, like Background Remover, Magic Expand, Magic Grab, and more, Canva’s Magic Studio has a whole suite of tools for working with images. I cover all of those features in a separate tutorial, which you’ll find linked in the video description.
Canva has also made it even easier to work with your images by letting you open the Photo Editor directly. You can just click on an image in your Uploads area or inside any of your custom folders, and start editing right there without needing to drop it into a design first.
Videos
Adding video clips to your Canva designs is a lot like adding photos. You can pull from Canva’s stock library or upload your own footage and then just click or drag to place the video on your canvas, or drop it into a frame or grid if you want it cropped automatically.
Once it’s on the page, click on the video and you’ll see options to:
- Trim the clip down to just the segment you want.
- Adjust the volume, which is especially helpful if you want background clips to be silent or very subtle
- And you can also access additional video editing features by clicking on Edit, which will give you access to options such as filters, video speed, playback, and relevant Magic Studio features like video background remover and highlights.
If your design has multiple pages or scenes — like a multi-slide video, a presentation, or an animated social post — you’ll also have the option to add transitions between pages. Transitions control how Canva moves from one page to the next, with effects like fades, slides, or more dynamic motions.
If you don’t already have your design in thumbnail view, you’ll want to switch to that view first.
To add a transition, just click on the space between two pages in the page panel and select the style you want. It’s a simple way to keep your design flowing smoothly, especially if you’re putting together something like a multi-page reel or a short brand promo.
And if you want to see how your video is coming together with transitions in place, make sure to turn on the duration option here.
One important thing to know is that transitions won’t show up if you download your design as a PDF or static image file. They’ll only appear if you share a link to view the design in Canva, present it directly within Canva, or export your project as an MP4 video or GIF.
Audio
Audio is another element you can bring into your Canva designs, and it’s especially useful when you’re working on videos, presentations, or anything you plan to export as an MP4.
You’ll find audio options in the Elements panel, or you can search directly for something, for example, “lo-fi” or “ocean waves.”
Or, if you already have a video element on your design page, you will also find a shortcut to the audio section of Elements by clicking on this little “add audio” option in the video editing area.
Canva offers a variety of tracks — from upbeat instrumentals to subtle ambient sounds — along with shorter effects like clicks, whooshes, underwater bubbles, or whatever you need to bring your project to life.
Once you add an audio file to your design, you’ll see it appear in a timeline below your canvas and from there, you can:
- Trim the audio to just the section you want.
- Adjust the volume, which is helpful if you want the track to sit quietly behind a voiceover or be more prominent.
- And if you have multiple audio tracks, you can layer and adjust them so they complement each other, like combining ocean waves with tropical music for a vacation vibe, or pairing ambient music with the sound of rain falling. It’s a simple way to mix audio tracks and sound effects right inside Canva to build exactly the atmosphere you want.
Just like with the transitions I talked about earlier, it’s important to note that audio also won’t play in a PDF or image file. It will only be included if you export your design as a video or if you share a link for someone to view or present the design directly in Canva.
And just a quick heads up: the music and sound effects in Canva are licensed to be used inside your Canva designs, so they’re perfectly fine for things like social posts, reels, and presentations that you create right here. But you can’t download a track by itself to use in another video editor, and some tracks — especially popular commercial music — have extra restrictions, like not being allowed in paid ads.
I would strongly recommend you check Canva’s content license page for more details about audio usage.
Charts
Charts are one of the easiest ways to turn plain data into something visual and easy to understand. You’ll find them in the Elements panel by searching for “chart” or browsing through the charts category, and Canva gives you quite a variety to work with — from bar and line charts, to pie and area charts, and even more advanced options like bar race charts and histograms.
When you add a chart to your design, you’ll see two main tabs pop up in the left panel: Data and Customize.
Under the Data tab, you can type in your own numbers and labels, or if you already have your data saved elsewhere, you can upload a CSV file or connect a Google Sheet so you don’t have to enter it all manually. This is also where you’ll find the Chart setup section, which gives you options specific to the type of chart you’re working with.
Then, over in the Customize tab, you’ll see options to control how your chart displays. Here you can toggle the legend on or off, decide if data labels should show up on your chart, and so on. You can also add a title, subtitle, or source line, which is perfect if you’re citing where your data came from.
If you want to adjust colours or fonts to match your brand, you’ll do that using the floating toolbar when your chart is selected on the canvas.
Charts are incredibly useful for things like proposals, where you might want to show how your services have delivered results, or presentations where you’re explaining sales trends, audience growth, or customer demographics. They’re also great for social media posts that break down stats in a way that’s eye-catching and easy to digest, all without ever needing separate graph software.
Stickers
Stickers are animated graphics in Canva that add a playful, dynamic touch to your designs. They’re basically little moving elements that loop automatically to bring some energy and personality into your project. Think things like sparkles, animated arrows, or even mini illustrated characters.
You can find them by searching for “stickers” in the Elements panel, or better yet, by typing something more specific like “arrow sticker” or “heart sticker.” Once you click to add one, it’ll drop onto your design canvas just like any other element.
Stickers are great for emphasizing key points on social posts, adding some movement to reels or stories, or just making otherwise static designs feel a little more fun and engaging.
Just keep in mind that stickers are animated, so their movement will only show up if you export your design as an MP4 or GIF, or if you share a direct link for someone to view it in Canva. If you download your design as a static image file, like a PNG or JPG, it’ll lose the animation and just appear as a still graphic.
Frames
Frames are essentially placeholders that crop whatever you drop into them into a specific shape. That could be a photo, a video, or even a solid colour.
To use a frame, add it from the Elements panel, and then drag an image or video onto it, and you’ll see that it will automatically snap to fit the shape. You can double-click to reposition or resize the content inside the frame.
Frames are perfect when you want to crop your photos or videos into a specific shape, while still being able to adjust how they fit. For example, you might drop team headshots into circular frames for your “About” page, or showcase product photos in a set of angled frames to give your portfolio a more creative, polished look.
Just a quick tip: because frames are designed to automatically pull in images when you drop them on top, it’s easy to accidentally place a photo inside when you meant to just lay it over. If that ever happens, or if you want to avoid it altogether, you can lock the frame so nothing gets pulled in, or simply hold down the Cmd key on a Mac or the Ctrl key on Windows while placing your image to keep it from snapping into the frame.
Grids
Grids work a bit differently from frames, even though at first they might look similar since they both show that little placeholder image of rolling hills and clouds. The key difference is that while frames are designed to crop a single photo or video into a specific shape, grids divide your entire canvas — or just a section of it — into multiple slots so you can drop in several images and keep everything perfectly aligned.
When you add a grid from the Elements panel, it automatically splits your design area into evenly spaced sections. Then you can simply drag your photos or videos into each slot, and Canva will snap them into place, making sure everything is neatly lined up with consistent spacing.
Grids are perfect for creating photo collages, showcasing a collection of products, or laying out step-by-step tutorial images. They take care of all the alignment and proportions for you, so your design looks polished without having to fuss over lining things up by hand.
So just as a quick reminder: use frames when you want to crop a single photo or video into a specific shape anywhere on your page, and use grids when you want to display multiple images in a clean, evenly spaced layout. It’s a simple way to choose the right tool for the look you’re after.
Mockups
Mockups in Canva let you take your flat designs and place them onto realistic objects — like coffee mugs, phone screens, notebooks, or even tote bags — so you can see exactly how your work would look in real life.
You can find mockups in a few different ways. You might search for “mockup” in the Elements panel, or browse through the dedicated Mockups categories right there under Elements.
Once you add a mockup to your design, it acts like a special type of frame. You’ll see a placeholder area inside the object that’s ready to hold your design. Just drag your existing graphic, logo, or image onto it, and Canva will automatically fit it to match the shape and perspective of the item.
Mockups are perfect for showing off branded merchandise, giving clients a realistic preview of how their logo might look on different products, or creating polished images for your website and social media, all without needing to set up a custom photoshoot.
Collections
The final element category we’re going to look at is Collections, and Collections in Canva are basically just groups of related graphics that are designed to work together visually. Think of them as curated sets that all share the same style.
You’ll find Collections in the Elements panel, and once you click on a collection you like, you can browse through all the coordinated pieces and add the ones that fit your design.
Collections make it really easy to keep your designs cohesive without spending time hunting down individual elements that match. Because everything in a collection is built to go together, you can mix and match different graphics from the same set and still maintain a consistent look.
Animations
So that’s a look at all the different types of elements you can use to build out your designs in Canva, but before we wrap up this section on design elements, there’s one more feature that’s worth highlighting, and that’s animations.
Animations can be applied to almost any element in Canva, and they’re perfect if you’re creating a social media video, a presentation, or just want to add a little bit of movement to make your design more eye-catching.
To animate something, click on the element and then look for the Animate button in the floating toolbar. From there, Canva will show you a variety of built-in animation styles, like Breathe, Rise, Tumble, or Wipe, along with categories like Basic, Scale, and Exaggerate. Each animation style may come with its own extra options; for example, the Wipe effect lets you adjust the speed, direction, and whether it plays on entrance, exit, or both.
If you ever want to remove an animation effect, it’s just a matter of clicking Remove Animation.
Canva also offers a more advanced option called “Create an Animation,” which you’ll see at the top of the element animation panel. This is where you can create a completely custom motion path. Just click it, then drag your element around the canvas, and you’ll see a purple dotted line appear showing the animation route you’re building. From there, you can adjust the style of the movement, the speed, and even add motion effects like Wiggle, tweaking the intensity to get it just right.
If you change your mind, you can delete the path or click Done to save it.
Just keep in mind that animations won’t appear if you download your design as a PDF or static image. They only show up when you share a link to view the design in Canva, present it directly from Canva, or export your design as an MP4 video or GIF file. So if movement is important to your final result, make sure you’re choosing a format that supports it.
One additional animation-related option you might come across is Element Timing, which controls when a specific element appears or disappears within your video timeline. This is particularly useful if you want certain text or images to show up later in your design, or exit before the video ends.
You can access Element Timing by switching to the timeline view, and you can do that by showing your page thumbnails and then clicking on duration.
Then select the element you want to time, and you’ll see draggable handles that let you set the exact start and end point for that item. You can adjust multiple elements individually to build a more dynamic sequence, but as with animations in general, timing adjustments only apply to formats that support motion, like MP4 videos or GIFs. If you download your design as an image or PDF, those timing settings (just like the animations) won’t carry over.
Wrap-Up
And that’s your tour of Canva’s design elements! These are the pieces that turn a blank canvas into something that feels polished, professional, and unique to your brand. Once you know how to search for the right elements and customize them, you’ll find it much easier to create designs that reflect your style and stand out.
