I use Canva every day, both for myself and for my clients, and I did get access to the early launch, but I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert - so I've asked Helen Greenwood, a Canva Coach, for her thoughts.

How is this update going to affect small businesses?

"The Canva GlowUp has a lot of new features for teams and collaboration, which will make it easier for multiple people to work on designs together. If you're a single user of Canva, then you might not use those features so much, so the new look of the user interface will be more important." - Helen

Canva was already a great tool for collaboration and I have used the collaborative side of it when working with some clients. I'll definitely be exploring what this update means for me and my clients. However, from Helen's comments and from my experience so far, it seems to me that, for most of us, this update will be more a case of our favourite buttons being in a new place than an actual upgrade.

How is the user interface changing?

"In the current/old version, when you click on an element or text in a design, the toolbar at the top would change to give you different options. In the new version, some features will stay in the top toolbar, but by clicking the arrows at the end of the toolbar, you'll be able to access a lot more options in one screen." - Helen

Honestly, I hadn't noticed anything different about the toolbars! But following Helen's comments, I went to check it out and I love the popup panel that comes up after clicking those arrows. I think it makes it even more beginner-friendly!

What if I only use the free version of Canva?

"At present, the changes seem to be available for both free and Pro/paid users. The bulk of the collaboration changes will probably be used most by teams." - Helen

This is great news! The Free version of Canva allows you to do much and it's great to hear that they aren't making the gap between Free and Pro much wider with this new update. When it comes to teams working on a design together, if you need the perks of Pro Canva, remember that everyone added to your team will get those perks even if they only the Free version.

Is it really an upgrade?

"I do like the new, brighter look of the user interface, but the pop out toolbars are taking some getting used to. At the moment, it seems to be taking more clicks to get my everyday tasks done, but the team will no doubt be tweaking it before it's rolled out to all users." - Helen

When I just unlocked the update, the new look was so eye-catching and exciting! The biggest change I've noticed using the new interface is that it's taking me extra steps to be able to name the individual pages in a design - not a big deal, but still frustrating. I'm looking forward to seeing the tweaks they make after feedback from the first million users!

My featured guest - Helen Greenwood

Helen Greenwood teaches small business owners how to create eye-catching social media content through Canva. She believes that Canva makes great design easy for non-designers and she shares lots of tips in her free Facebook group: The Canva Content Club.

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