Summary of Key Points:
- Postcards are excellent marketing tools, but you’ll need to make sure yours stand out if you want them to have maximum impact.
- Using a free postcard design template in Canva is an easy way to create your print-ready design. Once you’ve chosen the size for your postcard, you’ll be able to choose from a wide selection of templates and customize them with your own text, images, and more.
- When you’re finished making your custom postcard design, be sure to save it as a PDF and send it to Little Rock Printing at the time you place your order.
Postcards are phenomenal for mail-outs and easy to distribute by hand as well, making them versatile marketing materials for a wide variety of organizations. But making and printing engaging postcards for your audience requires a design that will stand out from the rest of what will be in their mailboxes.
Our team at Little Rock Printing has created a detailed step-by-step guide you can use to create an ideal design for your new postcards. Learn how to find a template, choose images, customize the fonts, and more. Let’s go!
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Getting Started with Canva
Canva is a free online design tool that makes graphic design easy for anyone. With a far more gentle learning curve than other design programs and an impressively versatile set of features, Canva allows you to create visuals for all kinds of print and digital materials.
Using Canva is easy—just drag elements from the toolbar on the left side of the screen and drop them into your canvas, where you can adjust their properties as needed. We’ve created print-ready Canva templates for a wide range of products including calendars, banner stands, business cards, and more, so don’t feel like you have to stop with postcards!
Make your Canva account here if you don’t have one already. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to choose a template for your design.
Step 1: Choose Your Postcard Size
When you visit Canva’s postcard design page, the first thing you’ll have to do is choose the size of the cards you’re making. You’ll have two options here:
- 7.1” x 5.5” postcards are great for bolder designs that need more room for varied colours or intricate linework.
- 5.5” x 4.25” postcards are the best choice for more minimalist designs and are excellent for mailout campaigns since they’re compact and lightweight.
Both of these sizes are between the minimum and maximum sizes required by Canada Post. Clicking either option will take you to a list of templates where you can find a reliable starting point for your design.
For Best Results
- Consider your theme and have some images ready before you start—this will make choosing a size easier.
- Consider signing up for a Canva Pro account if you don’t have one—you can still make awesome custom postcards without one, but a Pro account will give you access to additional stock images and premium options that can give you even more power over the final product.
Step 2: Change Out the Photos
Any postcard template you use is going to come with photos—but obviously, you’ll want to provide your own! To do that, right-click the existing image and select “delete” from the drop-down menu that appears.
Next, go to “Uploads” on the left side of the screen. You can either drag media into this field directly from your desktop or connect a social media account to import photos from it. Canva lets you connect Google Drive, Dropbox, Facebook, and Instagram.
Now you can drag your images into the canvas itself, where you’ll be able to move, rotate, and resize them. To make one of your images the background for your postcard, right-click it and choose the “set as background” option.
For Best Results
- Use a print-quality resolution for all images—at least 300 dpi.
- Drag the corners of each image to resize it so that it fits your design.
Step 3: Adjust Your Postcard’s Information
Postcard templates will have placeholder text as well as images, so make sure you replace any text fields with your own words. You can also delete the fields you don’t need or add new ones if you need more of them.
For Best Results
- Make sure your postcards include the key information that serves your organization’s goals on the front side. Most people will instinctively flip the card to the side with the largest and most engaging image first, so that’s also where you should put your key messaging.
- Make sure you include the rest of your important details on the rear of the postcard—this could include things like your contact information, hours, mission statement, and more.
Step 4: Change the Fonts (& Other Stylistic Details)
Canva gives you access to a large selection of different fonts (and you can even upload one of your own if you have Canva Pro). Just click any piece of text on your screen, then click the font menu that appears at the top of the screen.
In addition to changing the font style for each piece of text, you can alter the size, colour, style elements (like bold, italic, and underline), add bullet points, and other features.
Canva gives you similar flexibility with graphics, background, and other parts of your postcard design as well, so don’t be afraid to experiment! Remember, you can always hit “undo” if you do something you don’t like.
For Best Results
- Choose easy-to-read fonts, especially in areas with smaller text boxes.
- Choose font colors that stand out from your background, and arrange text over areas with flat colors instead of busy backgrounds.
- Don’t put too much writing on your postcard—you want it to get the essential details across, but you’re not writing an encyclopedia! Less is more here.
Step 5: Download & Send Your Print-Ready Postcard Design
Once you’ve finished designing your postcard, just save it in the right format and send it to us at the same time as you place your order. Follow the steps below to make sure you send us a design that will look incredible on your new postcards!
For Best Results
- Click “Share” in the top right of the screen
- Click “Download” from the drop-down menu
- Select “PDF Print” under “File Type”
- Select “Crop marks and bleeds”
- Select “CMYK” under “Color Profile”
- Hit the “Download” button at the bottom
Get Perfect Postcards Printed by Professionals
Designing custom postcards doesn’t have to be difficult—and when you follow the steps above, you’ll find it easy as pie! Using Canva’s easy-to-understand tools and our high-quality print services will help you get postcards you’ll be proud to send anyone. Learn more about our work or have questions about your custom order answered when you contact our team.
