Am I the last person on earth to dip my toe in the magical layout world that is Canva? I wouldn't be surprised as I didn't own a cell phone until 2002!
As a book designer, I wasn't all that interested in Canva as I like to have a lot of control over what goes on on my pages...I mean, a LOT. So I've happily lived in my InDesign bubble over the years, styling and formatting my way to printed-book-bliss.
Over the past few years I’ve worked with individual pattern designers who own a Creative Cloud subscription and use Illustrator and Photoshop and thought, “Hey, what’s this InDesign…I should give it a shot since I am paying for it!”. So I worked up some InDesign templates for you all to use, to style and design your very own patterns! To me, that sounds like fun! But Nissa sat me down for a come to Jesus moment: People want fast and simple. Not everyone thinks setting type and putzing with fonts is fun like you do. Learn Canva, Kristy.
Got it.
Whoa, you guys! I spent some time digging around Canva and it’s fantastic! What a great way to create a cohesive, fluid branding presence. It’s all drag and drop, there are stock images you can use for free and tons of free fonts at your disposal! There are a ton of templates you can choose from, too. Best part? You can use it for free!
Only thing was, I didn’t see much by way of a template that would support a pattern layout. You need numbered lists, multi-level heads, a chart option, front/back cover options with spaces for a barcode and a large image and a materials list. Seems like using some of the templates they offer on the site would be fairly clunky for a pattern designer…so I created one with you all in mind!
This is just the first of many templates that I have planned. I call it Minimal, because that’s what it is! There are a few simple design choices included but the images of your pattern will make this design shine. I’ve used a simple, readable, clean sans serif font and leave white space in the layout for a modern look.
There are 5.5” x 8.5” and an 8.5” x 11” options as those are the two most common pattern sizes and are easiest to print.
With 23 different page designs including tables, bulleted lists, numbered lists and various ways to layout images, there is a ton of flexibility and lots of room for customization. All you need is a Canva* and Acrobat Reader account (to open the Page + Pixel template) and you’ll never start a layout with a blank slate again!
Keep checking back in as I will be adding more design styles. Is there something I’m missing? Please let me know! I’m eager to make something that you can all use to make your pattern-selling lives easier.
Happy designing!
+ Kristy
*Note: The download from our site is not affiliated with Canva. If you have any questions or concerns about the template, please contact us at info@pageandpixel.net