How many times have you wished for just the right image or message to convey your thoughts and feelings? What about combining them? Do you wonder where people come up with all that stuff you see on the internet? It’s mind blowing when you think about it. Some of the content is just plain silly and some is breathtaking. A lot of what you see is amateurish at best while some is breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t think there’s much you can do with a good photo except post it and let the viewers take it in visually and intellectually. Sometimes, however, you want to take your photo to a different level. You want your audience to get what you meant when you took that shot. One way to do that is with a free design tool called Canva (www.canva.com). Most of what is on the site is free, but you may need to pay for photos that are not stock photos. Even at that the paid images are mostly in the $1 range. Or you can upload your own photos and designs, as I did with the image at right.

It is a simple-to-use tool. There is a slight learning curve but it won’t be long before you are creating all kinds of designs. You can use them in Facebook and other social media posts and in blog posts. Aside from being a useful tool, it is down right fun to play with.

I learned about this site by attending a webinar conducted by Joan Stewart, www.publicityhound.com and Joel Friedlander, joel@thebookdesigner.com, well-known names in the indie publishing business.

If you are looking for a handy tool to add to your design toolbox, this is it and it is (mostly) free.

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Note: I am in no way affiliated with Canva . These are my thoughts based on my experience. There may be other similar programs in the marketplace. I have not tried them.