Free tool brings much-needed simplicity to design process

All you have to do is choose one of 11 available templates or start from a custom-sized blank canvas. You then use the Layouts and Background tabs to get a rough idea of what you want to design. These tabs are chock-full of options to choose from, whether you want a complete template or just a nice background to build on.QR codes were tracked down pasted to lampposts in cities from Russia to Spain; a telephone number played out eerie audio clues to callers, and a flair for steganography the art of concealing information in images proved to be a must-have. Canva revolves entirely around intuitive controls such as drag-and-drop, so adding, removing, and editing elements on your canvas is almost a no-brainer. This also means that if you're used to design software giving you a hand with page grids and object distribution features, you're out of luck. Canva does show live orientation guides as you drag objects around, but they are not as sophisticated as those used by online typesetting services such as LucidPress.

Canva's simple layout makes it easy to add and remove elements for the perfect design.Use the search function to browse an enormous repository of images, and the Text tab to add free text or stylized text with built-in backgrounds. While many Canva elements are completely free to use, most images you'll see on search results are Premium, and will cost you $1 per image once you download your design. You can, however, easily upload you own photos or graphics, or use ones you have on Facebook, so while Canva's Premium options are certainly tempting, they're not a must.

Rather than overwhelm with options, Canva gives you just a handful of picks. This is evident in the built-in color picker as well: You can change the color used for text and some of the built-in glyphs, but you're first only presented with a limited palette of 5-8 colors that fit your general color scheme. If you know the specific hue you're after, you can click through for a more standard color picker that also lets you feed in a hex color code.By default, Canva shows you only the basic features. Dig a bit deeper to find more advanced ones.