Likelihood to Recommend I would say that Canva is best suited for beginner and Novice level applications. If you're an experienced designer, there's definitely no point in using Canva as it's developed for designers entering the field. OR, if you want to experience that flexibility while you designing and let the creativity flow, You shouldn't consider Canva as your Choice. If you feel like delivering quick and not spend your time on deciding on 'How to Design', then you should go for Canva.
Read full review It is very simple to master and has a variety of built-in tools that allows one to begin prototyping quickly, and can be powered using a variety of plugins for presentations. However, Sketch struggles with more complex designs, particularly those where animations or transitions are desired. It also isn't a good fit for agencies that use a variety of prototyping tools, as results from importing are not predictable.
Read full review Pros Provides readily accessible approved fonts and colors for our university publications. A great selection of templates to select from. Lots of resources for design, like photos, clip art, backgrounds, and other design elements. The ability to share your design with others at the university. The ability to download your design as a png, pdf, jpg, svg, even MP4 video or gif. Easy to edit and alter the design and not lose what you had by creating clones of previous designs and then make the changes. Read full review Auto Saving your work Great library of plugins to use to make the software your own Easy to understand interface that is very similar to other prototyping applications They have been around for 12 years so you know the support and legacy stands Monika Jaeger Freelance Handlettering Chalkboard Artist & Graphic Desinger
Read full review Cons Some pretty basic fonts are missing from the database, which proves to be annoying when trying to stay on brand Pre-grouping sections of templates can be a hassle to figure out Creating your own template from scratch can have it's hiccups, but that could be my lack of design experience. Read full review Color management can be finicky. For instance, the eyedropper tool sometimes isn’t very precise. It would be helpful if there was a built-in commenting system that included tagging where designers and developers could have real-time collaborative conversations about designs. Sketch is only available to Mac users. This is fine internally, but an issue when working with external folks. Read full review Likelihood to Renew The ease of use makes Canva a powerful tool for manipulating images, creating original content, and testing ideas without requiring the involvement of graphic design or more time-intensive image editing software such as Photoshop. While it doesn't have the full functionality of a mature software, such as Photoshop, The speed and simplicity of Canva makes it a necessity in a business of any size
Read full review Sketch is a core tool for us and the cost to keep it going with our teams is low. It provides a good alternative to other screen design tools for our team members who prefer to use it.
Read full review Usability It is super easy to use, but it could be limiting if you're on a small device. It is easier on a bigger device because you can resize graphics and text easier than with your fingers on a small device. I do think it's perfect and easy for non-designers who don't have any training. As long as you have a good eye for visuals, Canva is a wonderful substitute for graphics programs on-the-go.
Read full review At the end of the day, it's just simple. This goes a long way in design and goes even further when your talking productivity, intuitive design and turnover rate. It's not difficult to figure something out even if it's not something your directly familiar with, i.e. if you want to export in certain file formats or change the size of the canvas, you don't have to delay your end product trying to figure it out. Similar situations took me less than 30 seconds to solve without a Google search. That's Usability.
Read full review Reliability and Availability I have yet to encounter Canva being offline in at least 6 years of using it regularly. They also announce well in advance if there may be upgrades to the code and the hours during which there may be issues accessing the service.
Read full review Performance I haven't ever had issues with a slow-loading site and there haven't been any lag issues within the software. There have been maybe a handful of times over the past six years where I have tried to upload a large image and it will slow down as it loads the last megabyte, but I have yet to have the system time out or require any interference by me
Read full review Support Rating Overall, Canva is easy to use, easy to train others to use, allows for creativity with a professional look without enormous associated costs. The mobile apps works almost as easily, but at a minimum allows for easy review and downloading in a pinch. Really, anyone can learn to use Canva quickly and will immediately benefit from the results.
Read full review The support is relatively decent, and they are quick to respond. However, their releases are not great. Sketch could use more robust testing of their software before releases. Over the last four years, I have had many days lost while waiting for Sketch to patch issues with their releases. It's actually a running joke in our office. So, support , good. Releases in the first place? Not great.
Read full review Implementation Rating Remember to download the mobile app onto your phone for easy image manipulation on the go. Adding company colors, logos, and typefaces to your company account is an easy process. When images are uploaded, these can also be shared between accounts within a company, as can canvases you've created for easy editing among teams.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Canva is faster and easy to use. There aren't complex menus like Adobe products and everything is generally intuitive. Menus are mostly open and visible or relatively small. Small changes to the program add to it's usability rather than detract. I also appreciate that Canva helps the user become more creative through use. By giving you editable examples through templates you can choose to re-design something ir create something from scratch w/ a similar concept or feel. Canva often gives me ideas that I can implement into my design or into the entire project even. I also like how Canva is intuitive in it's approach. The program gives you suggestions when it comes to graphics, etc. without getting in your way if you know what you already want
Read full review Sketch is great for creating digital assets quickly and easily. It is simple to figure out and easy to use. It has a very clean user interface and isn't a resource hog like Adobe products tend to be. Its export feature is fantastic, generating multiple asset sizes/resolutions in one shot. For anything other than print design, Sketch is my go-to.
Read full review Scalability Very easy to add accounts and share content between them. Collaboration is also easy to manage and can be done on a project-by-project basis. The cloud-based software means it is incredibly fast to add a coworker and have them editing images within minutes. A live internet connection is required to access Canva so this is something to consider if expecting to use the software while on journeys without access to wifi etc
Read full review Return on Investment As far as ROI is concerned, Canva has proven itself time and time again as having a positive impact for business. Just yesterday, I had to prepare an hour-long presentation on the fly; the great reviews of the presentation and the materials (all made in Canva) only served to advertise for Canva and it proves that Canva is a smart investment. I don't think in the time that I have been a Canva pro user that I can say that my ROI has been negatively impacted. Highest recommendation. The software more the casually pays for itself time and time again. Read full review Sketch has had a positive impact on the amount of time my team needs to spend in meetings gathering feedback. By creating screen views in Sketch and posting to our InVision projects, we're able to collect feedback without requiring multi-person meetings. Sketch is an extremely affordable price point with many free and inexpensive add-on options that allow me to work the way I want without spending a lot of money on additional products. Read full review ScreenShots