Canva’s Cat van der Werff on the company’s first major rebrand in 10 years
The graphic design platform leveraged its own tools for the redesign, showcasing its capabilities and reinforcing the strength of its offerings.
Today, Canva, the popular free graphic design platform, unveils the most significant refresh in its 10-year history, crafted entirely with its own tools.
The updated brand identity advances Canva’s mission to democratize design for individuals and organizations alike. It also emphasizes new creativity and productivity tools, which are increasingly essential in a visually-driven world.
“The world is more visual than ever and all modern workplaces, and all professionals, need to be able to express themselves visually,” Cat van der Werff, executive creative director at Canva, told The Drum. “We’re making a strategic decision to ensure we’re able to support the needs of all professionals. We offer simple and easy-to-use workplace tools and our newly refreshed brand makes them even more accessible.”
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According to van der Werff, Canva’s first decade focused on empowering users from all backgrounds. This “brand glow-up,” as she terms it, also aims to help organizations thrive on the platform.
The rebrand was developed in-house using Canva’s own tools, including ideation with Canva Whiteboards, stakeholder presentations via Canva Presentations and a brand book created with Canva Websites. “We’re big believers in leveraging Canva’s tools to show what’s truly possible and this brand refresh is no exception,” she notes.
Van der Werff considers the upgrade as “more evolution than revolution,” as it enhances visual elements Canva users are already familiar with, like its signature gradient logo and bespoke typeface.
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New features include a visual system that mirrors the Canva user experience, with layouts transitioning seamlessly from content scrolls to full-screen moments. Interactive cursors, comments and custom emojis add a human touch, while a playful tone of voice replaces corporate jargon. Its simplified color palette meets AA accessibility standards for web content.
Canva collaborated with Vucko for mobile brand assets and global creative company Buck to create the custom set of emojis.
With over 190 million monthly active users and annual revenue exceeding $2.3bn, Canva will debut its next campaign in the US this September, featuring real community members to highlight how the platform supports their creative goals.
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