Four rules that fix most slides
Contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity.
- One typeface family, two weights
- Generous whitespace — resist filling it
- Consistent grid and margins
- Colour with meaning, not decoration
Journey dashboard
Day 43 / 60Week 5 · DevelopmentLesson
Canva & visual design
Learning goal
Apply basic visual design rules so your work looks professional.
Estimated time
25 minutes · self-paced
Warm-up
What makes a slide look amateur in one second?
Main lesson
Accessible colour
exampleBody text needs 4.5:1 contrast. Never encode meaning in colour alone — add icons or labels.
Images that teach
Prefer diagrams, annotated screenshots and real artefacts over stock handshakes.
Examples from practice
- — An annotated screenshot replacing three bullet-point slides.
Interactive quiz
Reflection
Do your visuals teach or decorate?
Daily challenge
Design one clean title screen and one diagram in Canva.
Portfolio task
Add the visuals to Project 5.
AI design tools
Ten assistants for this lesson
AI Mentor
Instructional design questions only
Hi! I'm your ID Mentor. Ask me anything about canva & visual design — or instructional design in general.