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Canva for Academic Presentations and Posters: Basic Editing

This guide provides an overview of using Canva, a web-based graphic design program, to create scientific and academic presentations and posters.

Text, Fonts, and Colors

Any component of a template can be edited to suit your needs, your brand, and your audience. You can change fonts, font sizes, font colors, background colors, and many element colors. Don't be afraid to play around with things because Canva has the handy "undo" button if you don't like the changes you make.

Uploading Images and Adding Charts and Graphs

Upload your own photos, charts, or graphs to customize your slides. Simply go to the Uploads tab on the far left, then click the purple Upload button. Find your files and upload them. Then click them to pop them into your slides.

To create graphs or charts within Canva, search for "charts" and the choices will appear. Watch the video below for details:

Adding Graphics and Elements

Canva's huge library of graphics makes it easy to customize your presentation slides. Just click on "Elements" and use the search bar to find what you need. Sort by photos, graphics, and even apply the "Free" filter. Click on an element to pop it into your slide, then drag to position and resize as needed.

Sorting, Adding, and Deleting Slides

Moving slides around is easy to do in the Grid View (a button on the bottom right of your editing screen). There, you can drag slides around, or click the three dots in the corner of a slide to duplicate a slide or delete it. Click the plus sign in between slides to add a new blank slide.