Resources Mentioned
- 45 Day Free Trial of Canva Pro (Affiliate Link)
- The Canva Organization Roadmap
Tutorial Transcript
Note: This transcript may include affiliate links.
I know that getting organized in Canva is a big source of stress for a lot of Canva users, and that it doesn’t feel intuitive for many of you.
In fact, a lot of folks don’t even realize that you can get organized in Canva!
You’re in luck, because it is my favourite thing on the planet to talk about. In addition to being a Canva Verified Expert, I’m also a former professional organizer who specialized in organizing paper and filing systems, so this is my sweet spot.
I don’t want you to just be relying on using the Recent Designs list on your Canva homepage.
While it might feel manageable with just a handful of designs, if you suddenly had hundreds of designs to sort through, perhaps certain designs with multiple versions, then it will get very difficult, very quickly to find what you’re looking for.
Folders & Subfolders
If you’ve never created folders before in your Canva account, you can do so by using the “Add New” button in the top right corner.
Now if you’re new to Canva, it’s the perfect time to set up your system before you get to the point of feeling overwhelmed by all of your designs and images.
And if you’re already a veteran user of Canva, you may be feeling like it’s already out of control but I promise that you can still create a system and get things back on track. It’s never too late.
Canva has a few default folders that they create.
But you can also create your own custom folders.
At the end of the day, you’re going to want to create folders that make sense for you, and ultimately the most important thing is that you have a home for everything and then stick to using that system consistently once it’s working for you.
For example, maybe you’ll have a folder for your Social Media graphics you’ve created, and that folder might be broken down into various subfolders for each social platform like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
I also definitely want to encourage you to create a custom folder system to organize your images as well, so one of your custom folders may be called Photos, and then broken down into categories that make sense for you.
For example, you could have a styled stock photo folder that is broken down by source website, and then further broken down into subfolders by subject matter or colour palette.
Whatever works best for you to intuitively browse and find it in the future when you need a particular image.
The Uploads Folder
A lot of people don’t realize that you do not have to store all of your images in the Uploads folder, and to be honest, I would strongly advise against doing that because it just becomes a bottomless pit of images that makes it practically impossible to find what you’re looking for over time.
I do Organization VIP Days and I have seen Canva uploads folders with so many images in them that the account holder had re-uploaded the same image half a dozen times because they couldn’t find it any of the other times they’d uploaded it.
I’m going to encourage you to think about your Uploads folder like the in-tray on a physical office desk. Use it as a temporary holding place, and once you’ve used an image, file it away into an images folder system.
And then when you’re working on a design in the Canva design editor, you can access your folders through the Projects tab in your left hand editor navigation, and you’ll be able to much more easily find the specific image you’re looking for, without wasting a ton of time.
File Naming
Also, I would encourage you to be mindful of how you are naming your designs.
You want to name your designs consistently, ensuring that the design name is descriptive and that it includes any keywords you might search to find the design, and that’s because while having an organized folder system is really important, one of the fastest ways to find a specific design is to use the search field at the top of your page.
That said, Canva has made searching even easier for you now with the introduction of the ability to search for keywords that appear not just in the name of your file name, but also any keywords that appear in the design itself.
Roadmap
If organization is something you are particularly interested in, I have a free resource that you’ll want to grab.
You can get a copy of the Canva Organization Roadmap by going to BrendaCadman.com/roadmap and that will walk you through a 5-step framework to tackle your own Canva clutter.
Try Canva Pro for 45 Days
If you haven’t yet upgraded to Canva Pro, I encourage you to give it a try. Learn more about how to get a free 45 day trial of Canva Pro at BrendaCadman.com/45days.
