A guide to making your Canva designs more professional
If you’re a small business owner using Canva to create your own marketing materials, first of all—go you! Canva is an incredible tool that puts the power of design in your hands. But even the most well-intentioned DIYers can fall into common design traps that make their brand look a little less polished than it could be.
One of the biggest mistakes I see? No typographic hierarchy.
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What does that mean?
In simple terms: when all your text is the same (or very similar) size and style, your design feels flat, hard to read, and—let’s be honest—a little unprofessional.
Professional designers always create clear hierarchy in their layouts. That means making sure there’s a big difference between your headline, subheadings, and body text. Why? Because your audience should know exactly where to look first, and how to follow the flow of your content without confusion.
Think about your favorite magazine—there’s always a bold headline, a short subhead, and then easy-to-read body text. That kind of visual structure helps people absorb your message quickly and remember what’s important.
Type hierarchy example from our Canva Guide
Here's how to create hierarchy in Canva:
Start with a clear size ratio. Try using a 1:1.5:2 ratio as a starting point:
Body text: your base size
Subhead (H2): 1.5× your body text
Header (H1): 2× your body text
Use styles intentionally. Your header can be bolded, italicized, or even in a different font or color (within your brand kit) to make it stand out.
Limit your fonts. Stick to three fonts max:
One for headers
One for body copy
One optional, more stylistic font for callouts or captions
Good typography isn’t about using fancy fonts—it’s about guiding your reader through your content with ease and clarity.
Want more tips like this?
This is just one of the 10 design mistakes we cover in our free guide: “10 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make in Canva”
If you’re ready to uplevel your DIY graphics and make your brand look more professional, grab your free copy below.
Start designing with confidence.
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