When every Big Tech company takes the stage for its annual launch event, it’s easy to get caught up in the fanfare. 

But witnessing Canva Create 2025 unfold in Los Angeles, my hometown, offered more than just a spectacle. It presented a thoughtful glimpse into how one platform is reshaping the media’s digital toolkit. 

Once known solely for its design capabilities, Canva is now straddling the worlds of creative design, data intelligence, and everyday work tools. With 230 million users and a billion designs produced in a single month, its growth speaks volumes. Yet, beyond the impressive numbers, there’s a profound evolution underway.

The event opened with a performance by Jon Batiste, complementing dynamic visuals and videos of real Canva users. This hinted that the day’s proceedings would be as much about innovation as they were about celebration. 

What struck me was how Canva has managed to retain its playful, accessible spirit even as it advances into enterprise territory. It’s professionalised but has not lost its character.

Historically it has been popular among individual creators; Canva is now making deliberate strides to serve larger organisations that demand both creative freedom and rigorous control over brand assets across multiple platforms.

In an era where rapid content creation and real-time analytics are crucial, the company has built in data to the heart of its product. 

The unveiling of Canva Sheets marked a pivotal moment in my mind. In some ways, they have a product advantage by coming onto a product that has had very few big updates in years while being a staple of everyday businesses. 

First came Microsoft spreadsheets, Excel in 1985. That was improved on by Google when they launched their Sheets almost 20 years ago in 2006. Now, using GenAI, Canva lives up to its tagline of simplifying complex things (this used to be simplifying design; it’s expanded). No longer do you have to remember formulas. Just say what you need it to do and what you need to incorporate. 

Canva’s integrated platform now marries design, data, and even coding in one ecosystem. This all-in-one approach challenges traditional siloed solutions like Google Workspace and offers a compelling alternative. 

While it’s still early days, the evolution seen at Canva Create 2025 signals a future where the boundaries between design and data fade away — ushering in a new age of digital journalism that is as agile as it is visually compelling. 

For news media companies, the promise is clear: a more integrated, intuitive approach to content creation that not only meets the demands of today’s fast-paced environment but also sets the stage for tomorrow’s storytelling challenges.

Canva hit on all the things necessary to be successful in a GenAI world: seamless integrating data, using GenAI to simplify complex things that previously only specialists could do, and bringing it together in a beautifully designed platform. Just think about a journalist's ability to swiftly convert raw data into insightful narratives without having to rely on other teams for this part of the production. 

And while Canva talked a lot about individuals and creators, they also showcased enterprises such as Disney and scalable solutions — particularly strong for brand assets across multiple platforms and languages, strong brand controls, and security.  

As we move into a GenAI world, this is one of the first examples I have seen that is a clear step forward on a business tool that has highly practical use right now. That can give business efficiencies while enhancing output and operations.

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