It’s the popularity that makes the software successful! You know Photoshop by its notoriety, but for a while now you’ve been hearing many of your colleagues tell you about another online graphic design tool called Canva.
Canva is first and foremost an Australian start-up founded by Melanie Perkins and her husband Cliff Obrecht. At 19, both students in Perth, they offer courses to train students in the navigation of graphic design programs considered rather technically difficult. A few years later, they are at the head of a company valued at more than $40 million.
Photoshop, the great giant, is the ultimate retouching, processing and assisted drawing software. Created by Thomas Knoll in 1987, the software was erected in 1992 for the MacOS and Windows operating systems.
Which camp do you want to position yourself in? Before choosing, I suggest you read my article to make your own opinion on these two tools.
Canva and Photoshop: 2 graphic design tools with various features
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There are many graphic design tools, paid or free, but in recent years some have revealed themselves more than others. And this is the case of Canva, which is constantly developing and increasing its number of users. Sometimes, some debates talk about the Australian tool as a direct competitor to Adobe’s tool. Is this really the case?
Although these two tools seem similar in terms of the theme of creation, they nevertheless meet different needs and artistic design approaches that are not comparable. So, we will explore the respective advantages of each, as well as the alternatives available.
Canva is easy to create
To begin with, we must differentiate Melanie Perkins’ tool from Photoshop by their format. In fact, with a few clicks, you can create your account using your Gmail space, or via Facebook or in another way. However, this platform is only available online. A connection is required to make your designs or to edit them. It is connected to social networks, and it is in this sense that this tool allows you to make content for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook… The formats adapt to the standing of the applications.
The idea is to create an account easily and without constraints. It is an easy-to-access tool that is ideal for all types of users. We can imagine a school using the Australian application to create a class project, a student creating a CV, a baker designing a discount coupon for his customers, etc. Another ease is that as soon as the creation is finished, you can easily retrieve your design in the format of your choice, while keeping it available in your library. Easy to edit and download at will!
Melanie Perkins’ tool is creative inspiration to help you create. The application has been designed as an intuitive interface that offers you templates and inspiration templates. It has a very extensive library of templates and media content where users can quickly create visually appealing designs without the need for advanced graphic design skills.
The integration of AI in Canva: Since March, Canva has been introducing artificial intelligence to its components. An important advance with the Text to Image tool, which allows you to generate images from a simple text description. Another option, Magic Write, generates a text that you order: enter your instructions, the theme of the text, and brainstorming develops the best ideas for you. It is an effective way to harmonize your writing with all the writing tools offered by AI: Brainstorming, the generation of short and long texts, the continuation of sentences, the structuring of content, the generation of summaries, headings, paragraphs, and even a rewriting tool. Canva takes care to develop and add many features requested by its community.
Photoshop, the pioneer of graphic design by designers
Finally, anyone could use PS, because it is also a creative tool, but the aspects of its use are more complex.
Regarding the very appearance of Photoshop, its access is more secure whether it is in an online version or configured on the office suite. The software is installed directly on the user’s office space, which further protects their access and the overall security of the Photoshop environment.
To get started on PS, it takes a certain amount of time to train. Some basics and training will be required to find your way around the leader’s lexicon and the technicality of Adobe’s environment. The good news is that the media now offers us more access to free training, and many tutorial videos to learn on the job and get started.
Adobe’s tool is powerful with its multitude of features in different themes:
- Brightness and contrast adjustment
- Correcting the clipping path
- Eyedropper tool with color gradient capability
- The feather effect, for a blurred or harsh image outline
The arrival of Firefly, Photoshop’s AI, shakes up the traditional use of, and is now integrated into Adobe applications. A few weeks ago, we told you about this new feature on our blog. A revolution for the Adobe suite, which now uses artificial intelligence for graphic design. In other words, Firefly, is all about helping people develop their creative abilities. Create images, vector drawings, videos, and 3D compositions from text with Adobe’s AI art generator. It is a support in the creation process and helps you effectively in 3D modeling and rendering.
A range of options is available with PS. The Adobe tool offers several unique advantages that set it apart from other image editing software, giving it an exemplary positioning.
Canva, my choice for my everyday creations
So, the question is, which one should you really choose? It all depends on what you are looking for and your field of activity. The power of the Canva app lies in its flexibility of use. But its competitor PS offers more creation and security for the data created.
The financial aspect must be taken into account. The Australian software is free with more limited creation modules, all you have to do is sign up for an account using your email address. The pro version allows you to work with more content and have more leeway: access to premium templates, magic resizing, a base of 100 million photos, videos, images, background removal tool, etc. A single price of €11.99 per month or €107.99 per year. On the side of its rival, there is an annual subscription of €287.77. A major difference that leaves us sobering.
I chose Canva, which is the perfect multi-hat tool to meet the brand image of my clients. This online application improves my productivity, which allows me to manage your brands and significantly develop SEO-optimized social content. Creative content enhances your brand image on social networks and helps you develop your Awareness to create a solid community around your products and services. Canva is my essential tool to be efficient and fast, a godsend to optimize my creative creation time and deepen the digital strategy with my Younicom clients.
