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Why I’m Not in Love with Canva for Infographics & Dataviz

Ann K. Emery
Updated on: Apr 15th, 2025
Data Visualization
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Ann K. Emery explains why Canva isn't a great tool for data visualization or infographics.

Convince me otherwise…?

What’s Inside

  • 0:00 Intro
  • 0:44 What Canva looks like inside
  • 1:11 Making a new infographic in Canva
  • 1:20 Paid vs. free Canva
  • 1:55 Bad infographics are probably still better than 100-page Dusty Shelf Reports
  • 2:15 Brand presets
  • 2:39 Mixed case is fastest to read
  • 2:46 Left-aligned text is fastest to read
  • 3:01 Adjusting the step-by-step diagram
  • 3:57 Adjusting the icon array of the gingerbread people
  • 4:11 Avoid red-green combos
  • 4:22 Adjusting the 3D column chart
  • 5:52 Adjusting the donut charts
  • 6:40 Adjusting the org chart
  • 7:16 Adjusting the honeycomb diagram
  • 8:05 Change my mind? Do you have an example of a GOOD Canva infographic??
More about Ann K. Emery
Ann K. Emery is a sought-after speaker who is determined to get your data out of spreadsheets and into stakeholders’ hands. Each year, she leads more than 100 workshops, webinars, and keynotes for thousands of people around the globe. Her design consultancy also overhauls graphs, publications, and slideshows with the goal of making technical information easier to understand for non-technical audiences.

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