- How do you design templates that are attractive
while also being user-friendly?
- Today, we'll show you how to craft the copy,
colors, and visuals in your templates
to make beautiful, user-friendly designs.
(upbeat music)
- The most important aspect of template design is usability.
After all, templates are designed to be used
and customized to someone's needs.
- When I start a new template, I need to decide
whether it's being printed or viewed digitally.
This is the first key step in making it usable.
For example, print documents will need
to have colors suitable for printing.
Elements close to the edge of the document
should extend to the bleed line.
Also, avoid motion in printed documents,
all elements should be static.
Whereas things like sound, motion,
and neon colors can be used in digital templates.
- Now, let's look at the template's content.
Someone may want to change the copy, colors, and visuals.
Let's start with the copy.
Some will use your template copy as is
or maybe they'll make minor tweaks
or change the copy completely,
whatever suits their needs.
- I'll show you how to enhance your template's usability
and make the copy editable.
Extend your text boxes and define their width.
This allows for text to be added
or deleted without affecting the layout.
Make sure the text boxes sit on top
of the other content and are easy to select.
Use different font styles in different text boxes.
Keeping fonts separate will make it easier
for you to format them.
If using curved text,
make sure it won't overlap if more text is added.
Ensure you use Canva's fonts
rather than graphics or images of text
to allow for customization.
Make sure the text size is appropriate for the end use case.
- Visuals are a huge factor
in what will attract your audience to your design.
Canva's element library is bursting with graphics,
videos, and images to bring your design to life.
People using your template will want to pick
and choose their own elements, so keep it simple.
Over-complicating your design can make it harder to use.
- Let's look at this example.
Start by placing images or videos in a frame.
This makes it easier to replace them
without affecting the layout.
Or if you want the image in the background,
right-click and select Replace Background.
It's easier to replace images
and videos attached to the background
plus edit the content layered on top.
It should always be easy to select
and move the content in a template
so ensure nothing is locked or hidden in your design.
Make sure you're using elements from the Canva library
and also any effects are from the Canva editor.
When you search for a particular element,
you can filter to show free or pro elements.
If you intend on making your template free
and available to all users, just use the free elements.
- Finally, let's talk about color.
Color is a huge aspect of a design
because of its effect on the overall mood of a template.
Easy to change colors are super appealing to many users.
Also think about the end use case when choosing colors,
especially if it's a print template.
- Let's say someone chose this template
but wanted to add their company's brand colors.
I'll select the elements
to make sure I can easily change these.
Elements that allow for colors to change
are often preferred by users.
I can also apply a solid color to the whole background,
which makes it easier to change.
Make sure that your color choices contrast well,
especially as this impacts readability.
In this case, I'll change the text to be a bit darker
and increase the contrast to make it a bit easier to read.
As you can see, the colors are quite bright in this example
but this is fine because it will be viewed digitally.
- Everyone works differently.
You may find it's easier to design your template first
and then go through and adapt it to be user-friendly
or you might keep usability in mind
for every step of your design.
We definitely recommend doing a final check through
of your template.
If you were sending something off to a client or printer,
you would make sure everything looks and works okay.
That shouldn't change with template design.
These details make a difference
and can lead to the success of your template.
(uplifting music)
Thanks for watching.
Make sure to check out other videos in this series
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