Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to graphic design. Minimalism as a creative movement has skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade, applauded for its focus on negative space, beautiful typography, and simple shapes.
Ranging from tips on how to automatically align your images, to adding grids, and generating the perfect color palette, this article covers what you need to know when it comes to crafting a stunning, minimalist designs in Canva.
What Is Minimalism in Design?
In visual mediums, minimalism is a design style most often characterized by its simplicity, clean lines, monochromatic color palettes, and basic shapes. This popular style utilizes only the most essential elements in order to define a simple, yet powerful design.
Graphic designers can utilize minimalist design elements using tools like Canva in order to create simple, powerful, and memorable projects. Learninghow to use Canva’s editor pageis a great starting point if you are a beginner!
The Best Fonts for a Minimalist Design in Canva
When it comes to minimalist designs, fonts play an incredibly powerful role. Differences in typography can completely change the style and impact of a design, which is why the below Canva fonts are a great list to reference if you’re struggling to choose one for a minimalist-style project.
When choosing fonts for a minimalist aesthetic, look for qualities such as good legibility, clean lines, and negative space between letters for an open and airy feel. Also try to limit the amount of typography and different typefaces you use within a project.
For extra help picking your fonts, you can select your text in Canva and use theFontsearch bar to refine your typography options. Search for terms like “minimal” or “simple”.
Graphic Elements in Canva for a Minimalist Aesthetic
Popular graphic design projects that cater to a minimalist aesthetic often feature simple, geometric shapes such as lines, dots, or squares.
In Canva, you can search for terms like “minimalism” or “elegant” in theElementssearch bar to refine the available options displayed.Specialized codes in Canvahelp narrow down your element options for specific design styles and projects.
A great way of achieving a minimalist aesthetic is through using simple elements to accentuate or draw attention to other features in your project, such as text or imagery. You can use Canva graphics to balance out your design and direct the viewer’s attention to the most important elements. If you already have a large image or headline taking up a lot of space, then you might not need many graphics to accentuate it.
Below are more tips for editing and designing your projects in Canva, with a focus on quick and easy tools for creating a minimalist design.
Tip 1: Use Canva’s Tidy Up Tool to Align Your Design
To even out the space between objects in Canva, begin by selecting the elements you want to edit. you may do this by clicking and dragging the mouse over the whole project, or selecting them individually by holdingShiftand clicking on those features you want to align. Next, right-click, selectSpace evenly, and then clickTidy up.
This tool automatically aligns your selected objects both horizontally and vertically. While complete symmetry is unnecessary for a successful minimalist design, creating lots of purposeful negative space between elements is a key feature that will make your designs look clean, simple, and easy to understand.
Tip 2: Stick to a Limited Color Scheme Using Canva’s Palettes
Stick to a limited color palette for a clean and uncluttered look. Once you have your overall design ready, you can use Canva’sColor Generatortool to create a photo-inspired color palette from any images you have inserted.
To do this, select the background of your design, click on the color square at the top left, and scroll down toPhoto Colorsto discover the color palette automatically generated from your inserted images.
This Canva tool will offer separate color selections that depend on the range of images within your project. For a minimalist look, you can derive your project’s color scheme from one primary image in order to easily limit your overall color palette. Canva also offers tools tochange your entire project’s color scheme, instead of having to select individual elements.
Tip 3: Utilize Grid Guides for Balanced Canva Layouts
Grids organize design content and give designers a framework for their projects. Minimalist designs feature carefully organized content, often balanced asymmetrically, set against lots of negative space. Using a grid is ideal for keeping your minimalist designs consistent and evenly spaced.
To add a grid guide to your Canva project, selectFile, thenView settingsand click onAdd guides. You can then opt for one of the following presets; 12 columns, 6 columns, or a 3x3 grid. For a custom guide, follow the previous steps and selectCustomto insert your desired number of rows and columns.
This grid guide is an ideal way to ensure that your project looks balanced and contains a fair amount of negative space.
Tip 4: Use Canva’s Letter Frame Elements for Negative Space Effects
One bold title is often all you need for a striking minimalist design. An image displayed within your text is a perfect way of utilizing typography and photography to convey your design’s message.
Begin by selectingLetter Framesfrom theElementsmenu to spell your title. To easily align your letters, you can use theTidy Uptool explained earlier.
Next, drag and drop your desired imagery from your CanvaUploadsgallery into the empty letter frames. Alternatively, you can select each letter frame and then click on your image to insert it. To edit the sizing of your images, you can pull theresize handleson the corners of each element.
This simple and effective Canva trick is ideal for creating an eye-catching title that utilizes your project’s imagery. Easily hit two birds with one stone when it comes to simplifying graphics for a minimalist design.
Simple Designs Speak for Themselves
Effectively communicate your creative project’s message without any extra frills by utilizing these tips in Canva for a minimalist design. By using grids, negative space, and carefully chosen elements, your simple design can be elevated to a sleek and professional look.
