How to Bring Your Designs to Life by Animating Text in Canva

As a graphic designer, one of my favorite tools for creating stunning visuals is Canva. This user-friendly online design platform makes it easy to produce professional-looking graphics for social media, marketing, presentations and more. One of Canva‘s standout features is the ability to animate elements of your design, including text. Adding moving text is a great way to make your message more engaging and eye-catching.

Studies have shown that animated graphics can increase viewer interaction significantly:

• Animated ads have a 7.5x higher click-through rate on average than static ads (Source)
• Tweets with GIFs get 55% more engagement than those without (Source)
• Email campaigns see a 26% higher click-through rate when using an animated GIF vs a static image (Source)

Clearly, a little movement goes a long way in capturing attention online. And with Canva‘s intuitive text animation tools, you don‘t need any special design or coding skills to create these moving masterpieces. In this post, I‘ll break down exactly how to animate text in Canva to take your designs to the next level.

Types of Text Animations in Canva

First, let‘s take a look at the different text animation options Canva offers. To find them, simply click the "Animate" button in the toolbar above your canvas when you have a text box selected. This will open a panel on the left where you can browse the available animations.

There are 14 animation styles to choose from (plus a few bonus ones in the Canva Pro subscription). Here‘s a quick overview of each:

A few of these have additional options, like the direction the animation moves in. Experiment with different animations to find the perfect fit for your design‘s tone and message. In general, more subtle movements like Fade or Rise work well for professional contexts, while bouncy effects like Stomp or Tumble are better for casual, fun designs.

Step-by-Step: Animating Text

Once you‘ve picked an animation style, follow these steps to apply it to your text:

1. Select the text box you want to animate. You can adjust the font, color and other properties first if needed.
2. Click the Animate button in the toolbar to open the animation menu.
3. Click the Text tab at the top to view the text animations. Browse through the options and click one to preview it on your selected text.

4. Choose whether you want the animation to happen when the text Enters, Exits, or both by checking those boxes. Enter animations happen when that page/slide first appears. Exit animations happen when moving to the next page/slide (this option is best for multi-page designs or presentations).
5. Use the Speed slider to adjust how fast or slow the animation plays.
6. If you want the text to animate in the opposite direction, check the Reverse box (only available for some animations).

7. Click anywhere outside the animation panel to close it. Your text will now have a small animation symbol by it to show the effect has been applied.

That‘s all it takes! Repeat this process for any other text you want to animate in your design. You can choose different animations for separate text boxes to mix it up.

Combining with Other Animated Elements

Canva allows you to animate more than just text. You can apply animations to photos, shapes, lines, stickers, and other graphics as well. The process is the same – just click Animate and choose from the relevant options when that element is selected.

Combining animated text with other moving graphics can make for a very dynamic, professional-looking design. A few ideas:

• Have your text fly in from one side while an arrow or line draws itself from the opposite side
• Fade a photo in and out behind a block of text animating on top
• Create a pulsing background shape effect timed with pulsing text

Get creative with mixing and matching elements! Just be careful not to let the animations distract from the main message. Keeping the number of moving parts to 2-3 per page/slide is a good guideline.

Accessibility & Usability Tips

As fun as animated text is, it‘s important to keep accessibility in mind. Moving text can be harder to read, especially for those with visual impairments or reading disabilities. A few tips to maximize usability:

• Avoid flashing or blinking animations, as these can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy
• Provide a static alternative if the animated text conveys important information
• Don‘t auto-play animations if your graphic will be embedded on a website (let users start it themselves)
• Use animations to enhance your content, not distract from it (if it‘s not adding value, leave it out)

Accessible design is good design! Keep these principles in mind as you experiment with animating your text.

Exporting Animated Designs

When your animated graphic is ready to share, you‘ll need to export it in either GIF or MP4 video format to preserve the animations. Canva makes this easy:

1. Click the Download button at the top of the editor
2. Select either GIF or MP4 Video as your file type
3. Click the Download button to save the file to your device

Your exported GIF or video will play the animations automatically when opened. You can now share it anywhere that supports those file types, like social media or your website.

Note that animated Canva designs can‘t be embedded directly on a web page like static images can. You‘ll need to upload the exported file to a video or GIF hosting service first. I recommend Giphy for GIFs and YouTube, Vimeo or Wistia for videos.

Design Inspiration: Animated Text in Action

Need some ideas for using animated text effectively? Check out these examples of Canva designs that incorporate moving words:

This social media graphic advertising a sale uses a bold Stomp animation to make the 30% off text pop (literally). The short and punchy movement catches the eye without being overwhelming.

For this informational design, the text animates in smoothly with a Fade to avoid distracting from the content. The sequential appearance of each point helps guide the viewer through the flow of information.

This presentation slide uses a Gravity effect to drop the text into place, adding a little excitement to an otherwise simple design. Notice how the animation enhances rather than competes with the message.

Use these as a starting point to brainstorm your own animated text creations!

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of graphics are best for animating text?
Animated text works especially well for social media posts, ads, presentations, email graphics, and short videos. Essentially, any design that will primarily be viewed on a screen rather than printed.

How many text animations should I use per design?
In most cases, stick to 1-2 animations max per page or slide. You want the movement to be an accent, not a distraction. If everything is moving, then nothing stands out!

Can I download my animated Canva designs as JPG or PNG?
No, you can only download them as GIF or MP4 video files. Animated graphics need to be in a format that supports multiple frames/motion. Static image formats like JPG and PNG don‘t have this capability.

What if my animated text isn‘t working when I export it?
First, make sure you downloaded the file as a GIF or MP4. If you used a static format like JPG, the animations won‘t be preserved. If it‘s still not working, try exporting again and double check that your animation settings are correct in Canva.

Are animated graphics bad for accessibility?
They can be if used excessively or not implemented thoughtfully. Avoid animations that flash or blink rapidly, as these can cause issues for people with seizure disorders. Provide a static alternative to any critical information. As long as the text is still legible with the animations, they shouldn‘t prevent users from engaging with the material.

Start Animating and Get Creative!

With Canva‘s user-friendly text animation tools, it‘s never been easier to incorporate moving elements into your designs. Eye-catching kinetic text can be the perfect way to elevate your graphics and capture your audience‘s attention in a sea of static content.

The key is to start simple and gradually layer in more animated accents as you get comfortable with the controls. Stick to 1-2 animations max per page to avoid overwhelming the viewer. Always consider how the movement enhances (or distracts from) your core message.

Animated text is just one of the many ways Canva allows you to get creative with design, no matter your experience level. So dive in and start experimenting! With a little practice, you‘ll be producing scroll-stopping animated graphics in no time.

How will you use animated text in your designs? Share your ideas and examples in the comments!