{"id":5651,"date":"2023-08-25T14:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/?p=5651"},"modified":"2023-08-26T11:19:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T15:19:01","slug":"canva-is-spearheading-access-to-design-emphasizing-need-for-visual-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/2023\/08\/25\/canva-is-spearheading-access-to-design-emphasizing-need-for-visual-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Canva is spearheading access to design, emphasizing need for visual literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Canva and its data visualization platform Flourish are lowering the barrier of entry for newsrooms to meet a growing demand for visual content. As newsrooms harness the potential of the platform, the need for visual literacy education grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sponsor of ONA23, Canva streamlines the creation of graphics, videos, presentations, promotional materials and data visualizations. The company\u2019s goal is to reduce the learning curve traditionally associated with digital design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunication at its core is an integral part of humanity,\u201d said Diana Abeleven, senior manager of global strategic partnerships at Canva. \u201cEven dentists use Canva all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite its versatility across industries, newsrooms are some of Canva\u2019s primary customers. Both platforms provide hundreds of thousands of templates and user-friendly tools to \u201cdemocratize storytelling,\u201d said Mar\u00eda Fernanda Callej\u00f3n, data visualization specialist at Flourish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When workflows are built around a platform that targets those who are not visually-oriented or who lack design training, ethical concerns arise for some within newsrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEthical visual literacy is something that several editors at this conference see as a need to grow in the space,\u201d said Andrew Stanfill, a photo editor and former president of The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). \u201cWe often talk about how to create new products here, but we don\u2019t then pick up that part of the education of, \u2018What does a visual editor do beyond picking the best image or the best illustration?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NPPA’s Code of Ethics<\/a> states that images should not be manipulated to misrepresent subjects and that, \u201cEditing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context.\u201d The organization is working to incorporate visual literacy education in future ONA conferences to ensure that journalists can optimize use of powerful digital tools without compromising ethical codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ethics need to always be part of the conversation,\u201d Stanfill said. \u201cIt can’t be siloed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As newsrooms restructure and adapt to changing media landscapes, reporters are expected to \u201cwear more hats,\u201d Abeleven said. Although the new wave of journalists funneling out of universities often receive instruction in multimedia skills, many journalists in the newsroom lack formal art and color training to make visuals that supplement or promote their stories, Abeleven said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canva goes beyond the newsroom to ease staffing issues. When the creative director of Global Press, a nonprofit that trains women reporters in the world\u2019s least-covered places, stepped down for a medical leave, she designed Canva templates for the team. The organization could then maintain its brand integrity in her absence, said Global Press CEO Cristi Hegranes. Global Press\u2019s Canva team now includes 28 employees, and onboarding new users only takes 45 minutes, Hegranes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Canva\u2019s streamlined suite of visual tools, even untrained journalists can adapt to new tasks in the newsroom. With the platform, \u201cyou\u2019re a chameleon,\u201d said Abeleven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canva acquired Flourish in 2022 to expand its visualization capabilities. Like its parent company, Flourish aims to eliminate challenges associated with creating appealing charts, graphs and maps by removing the need for coding. They demonstrate design possibilities with templates like the graph below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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