Melanie Perkins: Salesforce Used Canva to Increase Design Production by 63%

Canva’s rise from a user-friendly design tool to an essential platform for marketers has been driven by its commitment to accessibility, innovation, and what CEO Melanie Perkins calls "crazy big ideas."

As businesses like Salesforce and Reddit leverage Canva to enhance creativity and efficiency, the platform’s AI-powered tools are revolutionising how content is created and shared across industries, she told the crowd in the first keynote of the week at SXSW Sydney.

"Salesforce increased their design production by 63%," by using Canva, Melanie shared. She also highlighted Reddit’s achievement of saving over 21,000 design hours in just six months.

On stage, Melanie focused on Canva’s early recognition of trends in cloud-based computing and social expression, which informed the business’ customer feedback approach.

"Right from those very early days, we spoke to our customers, and we learned what they wanted, and we then iterated on it," she said.

This iterative process, which she termed "closing the loop," enables Canva to incorporate user feedback effectively. 

"People are always completely shocked and blown away that we actually listen to our customers. It feels like we're building with our community.”

Canva’s bottom-up approach has led to the development of a generous free product, allowing users to become familiar with the platform before considering subscriptions. Melanie revealed that this strategy has opened doors for enterprise solutions, which the company has tailored based on customer feedback.

Nearly 90% of Canva’s growth is organic, which Melanie attributes to its heavy investment in the free product. 

“When people feel confident to share it with their friends and colleagues, that organic growth happens," she said.

According to Melanie, visual communication transcends demographics, evident in diverse settings, from refugee camps to enterprises.

"It's been pretty extraordinary to see just how truly global visual communication has become," she stated.

Canva's versatility lies in its ability to merge productivity with creativity, a balance Melanie believes previous tools could have achieved.

"Our deep insight was that really people wanted both," she said, highlighting features like ‘Magic shortcuts’ that inject fun into the design process. Melanie mentioned these playful elements enhance workplace experiences across various sectors, from HR to sales.

Reflecting on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Melanie said Canva responded to shifting user needs. The company pivoted to create templates for online workshops and collaborative tools, which Melanie believes facilitated a smoother transition for users adapting to remote work.

"We immediately felt like it was a very important thing for both classrooms and businesses around the world," she said. 

Canva’s ethos of "setting crazy goals and making them happen" has been fundamental to its growth, she said.

"It's constantly just dreaming the next big dream and then figuring out how the hell you're going to get there." 

One such example of this approach was Canva’s insistence on expanding language support to empower users globally. Internal communication is another critical element.

"I think when you're aligned on the big things, it makes all the small things a lot easier," Melanie said, advocating for a culture that encourages continuous improvement and mental well-being.

Canva’s recent acquisition of creative software Affinity will further enhance its asset creation capabilities, she hopes.

"We scaled the world trying to find the best, fastest, most incredible product on the market.”