Canva, Gatekeeping, and the Reality of Being a Professional Designer

There’s a lot of noise online about Canva, especially from traditional graphic designers. “Everyone thinks they’re a designer now,” they say. “People don’t know how to export files properly.” And yes, some of that frustration is real, but let’s get one thing straight:

I am a designer. Using Canva doesn’t make me less skilled. It’s just one of the tools in my toolbox, one that lets me deliver professional, polished work efficiently.

Design gatekeeping often comes from a place of fear: fear that tools like Canva are “diluting” the profession. But here’s the truth: Canva can help designers work smarter, not replace them. Professional design is more than dragging elements, it’s strategy, hierarchy, typography, color theory, and understanding how visuals influence human behavior. Your clients don’t just need pretty graphics; they need work that communicates, converts, and holds up across platforms. That’s what separates a professional from a casual Canva user.

Using Canva doesn’t erase the experience and judgment that inform your decisions. Knowing which colors work in print vs. digital, creating logos that scale, print cleanly, and retain identity, designing layouts with balance, hierarchy, and readability, and understanding how branding strategy translates to visuals, all of this is what makes a designer, not the tool you use. Tools don’t make the designer, skill, judgment, and intention do.

So how do you handle the gatekeeping noise? First, ignore the insults, not the advice. Some critiques about exporting files or color modes are valid; learn the mechanics, then move on. Second, document your processes, professional handoff files, clear naming conventions, and polished Read Me guides show clients you know what you’re doing. Third, trust your eye. You know when a design works, and why. That’s what clients pay for. Finally, own your toolset. Canva, Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Affinity, the tool is secondary; the work is primary.

Professional design is skill, thought, and intention, not just software. Gatekeepers may scoff at Canva users, but a designer who can turn a concept into a functional, beautiful, and client-ready brand? That’s invaluable.

So yes, I use Canva. And yes, I’m a designer. Full stop.