Jan 31
It's Elemental My Dear Watson
Part 3 of learning to make your social media accessible through Canva!
Welcome to the final installment of how to capture your audience with the new world of social media! So long paper and hello virtual interpersonal bubble of awesome! Let’s get into the design piece of adding elements and images to your social media post.
Step 1: Picking the right elements
Elements in Canva are lines, objects, shapes, and more. You can add as many as you want to your design, but you shouldn’t. Yes, simple is best when creating a social media post.
You want the graphic to be attractive, not overbearing. Using lines needs to be strategic. For example, you can place a line to divide the header and subtitle. You can put a frame on your post to draw attention to the text. You want to set up your elements to have a focal point that draws the reader to that spot.
A busy and overwhelming layout with a million shapes and items will make that reader scroll past.
Another piece of the puzzle is avoiding moving images. This is a matter of personal preference, but remember that people can have seizures, migraines, and vertigo from gifs, flashing lights, and moving images. If you choose to use moving objects in your design always put a flash warning on your post.
You want your elements to match your branding. Make sure that the colors compliment each other and don’t clash. A great feature in Canva is the color match function. It will automatically give your suggested colors based on your branding and the images you are adding to your post.
Step 2: Adding pictures
When you have Canva Pro, the images are available for you to use. Always verify that you are using royalty-free photos from websites like Unsplash.com if you do not have Canva Pro.
Always credit the creator of the image in the body of your social media post to avoid any legal infringements of copyright issues. Take your own photos and upload them to Canva, but make sure you credit yourself! It still counts as copyright infringement if you post your own work with no disclosure.
Label everything and give credit that is due.
It is important to evolve with the world of social media. Even though traditional writing has a place in the classroom, at work, and in academics, social media is the new norm. Take the time to learn it, make it accessible, and create amazing content for your audience!
Check out parts one & two of this series!
Monday Shoutouts!
Take some time to read all of the wonderful work from Promptly Written. Charlie Cole puts together a curated list of contributors, so go give some claps!
KBronJohn wrote this wonderful piece that highlights the need for mental health awareness, acceptance, and allyship in the workplace. This article will open your eyes to the gaps you may have missed or if you have experienced this…you are not alone.
Do you know how to Haiku? Well, now you can learn how by reading this marvelous article by Sharing Words! Poetry deserves respect, so take some time to learn the best way to write your first Haiku.
Tas is an autistic neurodivergent writer. They are advocates for social justice, equality, and are scholars of life.
Originally written for our Writ 305 course 2022.
