Social design tips and tricks

SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN TIPS & TRICKS (WITH CANVA)
Hannah Williams hello@hannahwilliams.co.za
2022
AMPLIFY: MOBILISE: CHANGE
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR NGOS

WHY ARE IMAGES IMPORTANT IN SOCIAL MEDIA?
LinkedIn posts with images have a
98% higher comment rate
on average
Tweets that include visual content are
three times more likely
to get engagement
Facebook posts with photos get
more likes and comments
Humans are
65% more likely to
remember information
if it includes an image.

Know your audience
This may vary slightly per platform, eg. LinkedIn is more serious.
Look at your own platform insights.
Get a sense of attitudes from past engagements.
See what devices they are using.
Know peak engagement times
This varies by platform and industry so check your own stats.
Generally it’s when people have some free time to kill - very early before work & lunchtime.
Weekdays are generally good. Weekends are bad for LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
BEFORE YOU START THINKING ABOUT DESIGN:

Design consistency is important
Makes your messaging & brand instantly recognisable
Keeps things professional
Saves you A LOT of time
Keep things interesting by using 2 or 3 set templates
What types of content do you post regularly? eg. inspirational quote vs announcement
Variety without being “messy”
Also saves you a lot of time
DESIGN CONSISTENCY

Forbes on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/forbes/
Template 1: article promo
Template 2: inspirational quote
DESIGN CONSISTENCY: EXAMPLE

GETTING STARTED: CREATING A BASIC BRAND KIT IN CANVA
left hand side
1.
top right
2.
upload logos
3.
choose colours
4. choose fonts
5.

top centre search box
1. Search the web for terms like “graphic design inspiration”
or a term related to your campaign / post.
Copy and paste the images into Canva.
2.
GETTING STARTED: CREATING A MOODBOARD IN CANVA

Add a shape (eg. square) to your moodboard and then click on colour option
HOLD IN “Alt” key and drag to duplicate
1.
Now you can choose colours from your images
2.
3.
GETTING STARTED: QUICK AND EASY COLOUR PALETTES

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Copy this (Ctrl + c)
1.
GETTING STARTED: ADDING YOUR NEW COLOURS TO YOUR BRAND KIT

7.
8.
8.
Name your palette
REPEAT FOR EACH COLOUR YOU WANT TO ADD
Paste
GETTING STARTED: ADDING YOUR NEW COLOURS TO YOUR BRAND KIT

Generally, stick to your brand typography & fonts
One less thing for you to make decisions about
They already work together and look neat and professional
Links your new design / campaign to your brand
Saves you time!
If you REALLY need to use other fonts try searching for
“Google font combinations” or try one of these links:
https://www.canva.com/learn/best-google-font-combinations
https://inkbotdesign.com/font-combinations
GETTING STARTED: CHOOSING FONTS AND TYPOGRAPHY

Don’t use more than 2 fonts for social media posts.
It’s also fine to use just one font and differentiate headings
using size, weight (eg. bold), style (eg. italics), colour, letter spacing, capitals etc.
GETTING STARTED: CHOOSING FONTS AND TYPOGRAPHY
THIS IS ALL THE SAME FONT, MONTSERRAT. THIS IS A HEADING, BOLD CAPS
Sub-headings could be a smaller size, regular weight, italic
Body copy could be smaller and regular weight. Soluta deleniti et totam cumque aliquam quia amet explicabo. Sunt mollitia et
porro sapiente. Voluptas numquam voluptatem expedita voluptatem beatae et necessitatibus. Amet et labore non et deserunt
libero nulla iure. Dolor consectetur cum laboriosam ipsum repellendus expedita quae laudantium.

If you have a social media emergency and need to put something out there asap
Canva has a function that allows you to quickly create an image to share
on multiple platforms
DESIGN ON AN IMPOSSIBLE DEADLINE: QUICK AND DIRTY TEMPLATES
1.
On the Canva home page
select “Social Media”
2.
3.
Select “Quick Create Selection”
FOLLOW THE STEPS

1.
On the Canva home page
select “Social Media”
2.Choose Instagram post
DESIGN: CREATING A POST DESIGN

Follow along as we create these 2 post designs
Youcan make any designa template by makinga copy - it’s easiest to keep them in a folder
OR create a brand templa e and copy and paste your design
DESIGN: CREATING A POST DESIGN

Use good quality images
https://www.pexels.com
https://unsplash.com
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-take-good-instagram-photos
Try “The Rule of Thirds”
Usually helps layouts look good
Works for images and layouts
Does not always apply
Use natural light
Copyright - credit when needed
DESIGN: IMPORTANT TIPS - IMAGES

Limit colours to 2 or 3 per post image
Make sure there is enough contrast (accessibility)
A 2018 survey of Facebook users in 50 countries found that more than 30% of
people report difficulty with at least one of the following: seeing, hearing, speaking,
organizing thoughts, walking, or grasping with their hands.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/inclusive-design-social-media
https://www.accessibilitychecker.org/color-contrast-checker
DESIGN: COLOURS & CONTRAST
some text
some text

It’s easiest to start with Instagram square for multiple platforms.
On some platforms mages are cropped on mobile.
Keep important info away from the edges
Facebook cover image
Facebook post image
DESIGN: LAYOUT & AUTOMATIC CROPPING

DESIGN: MORE FUN TIPS & TOOLS
You can ‘cut out’ an image from it’s background.
Make sure the image is clearly defined against the background
1. Select an image and click on “Edit image”
2.
Click on “Background remover”

DESIGN: MORE FUN TIPS & TOOLS
If you don’t have enough space for your message
spread it over several images:
“rasterbate” it.
Carousel, multiple images in one post
eg. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf-sfoPnUq9/
Multiple images as separate posts
(only for instagram)
https://mysocialboutique.co/instagram-grid-maker

1. Upload your image
https://www.canva.com/create/mockup-generator
DESIGN: MOCKUPS IN CANVA

1. Click on “Smartmockups”
Left main menu on home page
2. Choose a mockup template
https://www.canva.com/help/mockup-design

3. Select an image
https://www.canva.com/help/mockup-design
4. Adjust and save mockup

1. Click on “Create a design” and search for “animated”
Top right
2. Click on “Animate” and choose an animation
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-make-gif
DESIGN: ANIMATED GIFS IN CANVA

1. Click on “Create a design” and search for “animated”
Top right
3. Select your shape or image and click on “Animate”
Choose an animation
4. You can add new pages for more that one “slide”
2. Create your layout fist
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-make-gif
DESIGN: ANIMATED GIFS IN CANVA

QUESTIONS?

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