Canva is a user-friendly, design and publishing tool that offers both free and paid accounts. As the tool increases in popularity, we should consider how to use Canva in a way that promotes digital accessibility. Use the chart below to determine the best solutions for your Canva designs and review the tips for best practices.
Canva Designs and Solutions
Canva Design | Digital Accessibility Solution |
Flyers | Consider flyers to be decorative images and list the information as text in the body of the message/document/newsletter |
Images with words | Include the words in the alt text or in the body of the document. Describe the image if it is meaningful |
Images without words | Decide if it’s a decorative or meaningful image. Decorative: Type alt="" as the alt text. Meaningful: Describe the image in the alt text or in the body of the document |
Invitations | Consider invitations to be decorative images and list the information as text in the body of the message/document/newsletter |
PDFs | Option 1: Use Adobe Acrobat Pro to tag each piece (text, images, shapes, headings) of the document and format the reading order. Option 2: Create the document in an accessible format (Word, Docs, Slides, PowerPoint, Sheets), provide it alongside the Canva PDF, and allow students to choose their preferred format |
Presentation with music | Download as MP4 video. Upload to YuJa and provide an audio description or text description of the video |
Presentation with voiceover | Download as MP4 video. Upload to YuJa and edit captions |
Presentation without animation/audio/video | Save as PowerPoint presentation. Run the Accessibility Checker in PowerPoint and correct errors |
Printed hardcopy | Printed materials are not regulated by digital accessibility standards |
Tips for Canva Designs
Font should be at least 12 point
Choose fonts that are easy to read
Avoid using all caps
Avoid using color alone to indicate meaning
Check the color contrast
