Every association wants to get the most out of its messaging. Crafting an attention-grabbing design for your email, social media, or physical marketing content is the first step to a successful membership campaign or annual conference. Luckily, there are great online tools available to help you create your next design project, but if you are not experienced using the latest platforms, it could be difficult to know where to start. Let’s compare two of the more popular design tools, Adobe Creative Cloud and Canva, to determine which is the right fit for your association’s next project.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud has been the industry standard tool for digital designers for decades. The platform includes a variety of apps such as Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator that can tackle any design or video project you want to take on. The tools are professional grade and can handle large, complex designs with the precision you need to customize every detail. The apps are designed to speak with each other, so you will be able to move your designs seamlessly into various formats across the Adobe suite. The platform’s ability to handle intricate designs also makes it favorable for printing materials.
But with complex design, comes a steeper learning curve. If you are unfamiliar with the platform, it can take some time and practice to get your bearings. Luckily, an AI tool like ChatGPT can be a great teacher. As you practice, you can submit prompts to ask about where to find tools or troubleshoot when things are not appearing the way you expect.
Adobe offers several pricing options, with their standard Creative Cloud Pro package, which includes over 20 apps, coming down to $69.99 per month. If you’re looking for a robust system which offers expert-approved tools and the freedom to design any number of intricate marketing materials, then you will see why Adobe has remained at the top of the market.
Canva
Canva is an online tool which has become increasingly popular over the years for its accessibility and ease of use. The platform offers a drag-and-drop interface which allows you to freely choose elements and move them around in your designs. If you are familiar with using a platform like PowerPoint, then you should have no issues learning how to use Canva. Canva is also great for teams, where multiple users can edit designs seamlessly online.
Canva offers several pricing plans, including a free option, making it quite cost effective. The free plan offers you all the tools you need to create your own designs from scratch, while the paid plans grant access to templates and a whole library of stock photos, icons, and fonts that you can customize. These templates can be very helpful to draw inspiration or get over some “designer’s block.”
While perfect for simple graphics or design, Canva does not offer the wealth of tools that a platform like Adobe includes, but depending on your needs, that may not be a dealbreaker. The platform continues to add features as well, including growing options for video editing.
Conclusion: Which tool is the best?
Luckily for the association professional, Adobe and Canva can both provide the tools you need to create attention-grabbing design pieces. If you’re an experienced designer who wants full customization over your projects and is willing to invest in some of the best tools around, then Adobe remains an excellent option. Or, if you’re looking to get the most out of a limited timeframe or budget, or you want an easy-to-use option that can still create professional-looking designs, Canva may be the best choice for you. Really, it all comes down to the needs of your organization or project. Additionally, you will likely also find that you can use Adobe and Canva together to get the best out of both platforms! For more tips on marketing and communication, check out some more RGI blog posts, including Creating in Canva: Best Tips and Tricks and The Advantages of Working with an AMC for Marketing and Communications.
Jack Hamilton
Jack joined the RGI team in 2023, and is currently Senior Communications Coordinator. He has a Bachelor’s in Strategic Communication with a concentration in Sports Media from Butler University. His areas of expertise include content writing and social media management.