How To Create Pinterest Graphics With Canva

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As a blogger and entrepreneur, you need to stay up to date on the best ways to market yourself or your brand. This includes having an active social media or online presence and creating eye-catching Pinterest graphic designs.

People are naturally very visual, which means that you need to have a great arsenal of photos and graphics that must capture your audience’s interest.

You may be wondering how to create graphics? Isn’t that supposed to be expensive and hard?

You don’t need to shell out a lot of cash to get the latest camera or editing software to create beautiful graphics. There are many tools online that will help you achieve the look of your brand. One of these tools is Canva.

Canva is a free online editing program that helps you create beautiful graphics that you can apply to your brand. I love to create Pinterest graphics with Canva. You can even save templates to speed up your creations!

I’m not affiliated with Canva in any way, it is is just an incredibly useful tool, so I am going to walk you step-by-step on how to use Canva to create Pinterest graphics.

First of all, you need to sign up for a Canva account. Ready? Let’s get started!

I highly recommend doing a rough sketch of what you imagine your graphic to look like or find inspiration on the internet. Always be loyal to your brand and make sure to incorporate your existing fonts and colors. This makes your graphics stand out and helps people to recognize your content.

So let’s start by creating a graphic from scratch.

When you open Canva, you will see this section on the top.

Select the format that is optimized for your desired platform (in this case it will be for Pinterest). For example, if you want to make a graphic specifically for Facebook, go ahead and use the Facebook Post option. If you want to make one for Instagram, then it would be best if you pick the Social Media option since Instagram works best with square sized photos.

If you want to use your own dimensions, you can click on the Use Custom Dimensions on the upper right corner.

Since we are learning how to make graphics for Pinterest, click on the + MORE option on the right. Under the Social Media Posts section, you will see a Pinterest Graphic option. This should be the best size for a Pinterest post, which is vertical and tall.

After clicking, you will see your blank canvas which should look like this.

Oh, the exciting possibilities you have with a blank canvas! Let’s start by picking our background. You can use your own photos by clicking on the Uploads tab on the left side of the screen. Here you can locate and upload your desired photo.

If you aren’t confident yet in your Pinterest graphic design skills and are wondering how to create a graphic that is stunning, check out Canva’s ready-made templates. Just choose from the Layout tab on the left.

If you want to be able to customize your Canva graphics, then you can select from Canva’s wide variety of images.

Click on the Elements tab on the left side of your screen and then select Free Photos. Also, note that there are features on Canva that can be purchased, but if you’re starting out, you can absolutely stick with the free options!

Select an image that would not only match your brand or theme, but choose one that relates to your blog post – this is key in Pinterest graphic design.

For example, if you’re going to write about a recipe, then think of picking an image of kitchen tools or a kitchen counter.

You can search for a specific photo by typing in keywords in the search tab on the left.

Let’s proceed on making a blog post about inspirational women entrepreneurs. Let’s name it “10 Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs.” Search for the perfect image and make sure the scale more or less will fill up your blank canvas.

Click on the image thumbnail you want to use and it will instantly come up on your blank canvas.

Click on the little circles on either corner of the image to adjust the size. You can even rotate it if you like by clicking the circular arrow below the image. As you resize your image, you will sometimes see vertical or horizontal lines, sometimes even both. This means that your image is centered. Use this as a guide.

Now it’s time for your font. Sometimes the background image you pick is clean enough that you can just directly type your title in when creating your Pinterest graphic.

Or you can also add in an overlay over your image. Start by clicking the Elements tab and then selecting Shapes. Here you will find many shapes. Let’s pick out the square. Click on it and it will automatically load to your canvas.

Just like the background image you can adjust the transparency using the button on the upper right corner and adjust the size by clicking on the little circles on the corners or the square shape. You can also change the color of your screen by clicking on the square colored icon on the upper left side. Let’s use a light gray for this graphic.

Now that you have your background all set, it’s time to select your fonts.

One of the questions I get most frequently about how to create graphics is how to choose a font. My best piece of advice is pick a font that is easy to read. Since most of the Pinterest users browse using their mobile devices, it is best to keep your font clean and simple (and don’t forget to make the text large).

Click on the Text icon on the left side of the page. Here you will find a selection of different fonts. Once again, pick one that will match your brand and theme. Click on the font you want and it will automatically appear on the canvas.

To edit your text click on each line, highlight the text and type in the words. You also can edit the size and the color of your font by using the bar on the top of your screen.

Once you are satisfied with your design…CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve made your first Pinterest graphic design!

Don’t forget to save your work to your computer by clicking on the Download button on the right upper corner. You have the choice of saving it as a PNG or a JPG file.

If you’re planning on using this style for your Pinterest graphics, your layout is instantly saved as a template for you to edit later on. How cool is that?! Canva has so much to offer and is one of my favorite online tools.

Hopefully, now you feel a bit more confident in how to use Canva to create your Pinterest graphic designs!

Want to know some of my other favorite online tools? Head over to my resources page and check them out!