Canva Collections and Art Elements

If you are a creator on Canva, and you want to upload or publish your graphic, you will have the option to wether upload a single file or Create a collection by uploading multiple files of the same type. So, a collection is a set of designs elements (content) that have similar characteristics, and that are discoverable as a group.

You can find the available Collections on Canva (while working on a Canva design), in 2 different ways:

• Click on the Elements tab from the side menu, then scroll down along the different design categories, until reaching the Collections category, just under Grids. The search box must be cleared out from any text before scrolling down.

• You can use the code of the corresponding collection on the search box of the side menu of the Elements tab. Just type set: followed by the code of the collection, then hit Enter. After that, according to the design type of the collection, you will select the corresponding design category under the search box. For example, click on Photos, if the collection correspond to a group of photos. You will be able to identify the category of the collection, when clicking on the All of the search results.

To identify the code of a collection, you have to choose a design element from the side menu, then click on the three dots that will appear when you hover over that element. If the element is part of a collection, you will see in the contextual displayed menu the item: View Collection. "set:" will appear on the search box of the side menu, followed by the code of the collection.

Art elements that belong to the same collection will have similar characteristics, and similar styling that make them ideal for the creation of a set of designs; or even a single design, that belong to the same brand, or that convey the same message.

The collection also may have a common theme, which is great for the creation of designs around certain subjects.

To find the collection of the art element, you can use the same method we used above to find the code of the collection. But you can do this only if the design element actually belongs to an existing collection.

Wether you are going to use a collection or not, to find an art elements with same characteristics, you can do this:

• Use keywords: there are specific keywords that you can use to find certain types of art elements. Just type the keyword on the search box of the tab elements of the side menu of an open Canva design. You can find these lists of keywords on specific pages on the net. For example you can visit this page, or this one.
• Use artists and brands codes: even if the art element does not belong to a collection, certain brands have a certain styling. And of course, they may also have collections uploaded to Canva, which is a plus. Not, only that, but you can also find designs from a specific artist within a brand.
  • To find art elements from a brand, just enter brand: followed by the code of the brand on the same elements search box. However, for some brands; instead of using the "brand:" keyword, you write:@ followed by the name of the brand, and of course, hit enter, to see the results.
  • To find elements from the same artist, write artist: followed by the name of the artist, followed by AND followed by the brand (brand:code or @brand_name). You actually don't have to search within a brand, but the results will be less accurate. You may find in the results, elements from different artists having common letters in their name.

  As for the keywords, you can find on the net pages that list these sort of codes and names. For example, in this page, not only you are going to find brands codes and artists names, but also collections code, which is really amazing.

• Find similar Elements: But even if you don't have the brand's code or its name; when you hover over an element, you can use a similar method to the one we used to find the collection's name. You click on the three dots, and from the contextual menu, click on View more by "brand's name". You will have access to a list of elements from the same brand, but you will also have access to a search box, in which you can use the keywords we talked about previously. This in fact a great way to find and identify brands names.
  An other way to find the brand, is when Canva recommend to you a list of similar elements to the one you selected from a category of a search result, and added to your design. So, after the element is added, Magic Recommendations box will appear on the side menu, with the See all link. After clicking on it, you can click again on the View more by "band's name", to access to the brand's list of art elements with a search box to enter keywords.

  You can use this method, combined with the previous ones, to search specific keywords from a brand or an artist that you already know.

In the post I suggested pages where you can find brands and collections codes, that you can use for your designs. It is a good starting point, if you are in the beginning of your journey Canva. But as long as you continue designing, you will find some brands that you will prefer over others, and you will end up making your own codes lists. And maybe one day, you will be the one sharing his or her brands codes.
If you think that I am missing something, please let me know in the comments below 🙂