Use Canva's AI to Create Custom Course Visuals

What This Does

Canva's Magic Media generates custom illustrations, workplace scenes, and concept graphics for your eLearning courses — so you can stop hunting stock photo sites for images that never quite fit your learner population or topic.

Before You Start

• You have a Canva account (free works; Pro unlocks more generation credits)
• You're logged into Canva
• You have a rough idea of what image you need (workplace context, style, mood)

Steps

1. Open your course design in Canva or start a new design

Go to canva.com → open an existing design or click Create a design → select a custom size matching your course slides (e.g., 1920x1080 for widescreen).

What you should see: Your design canvas with the sidebar on the left.

2. Open the Magic Media tool

In the left sidebar, click Apps → search for Magic Media → click to open it. Alternatively, look for the Generate Image button when you add a new image element.

What you should see: A text prompt field where you describe the image you want.

3. Write your image prompt

Describe the image in specific, visual terms. Include:

• The scene or subject (who, doing what, where)
• The style (photo / illustration / flat design / watercolor)
• Color palette or mood
• Any brand constraints

Example prompt: A diverse group of three warehouse workers in safety vests reviewing a checklist together near shelving units, flat illustration style, muted blue and grey color palette, professional, no text

4. Generate and select your image

Click Generate → Canva creates 4 variations → click the one that best fits your course design.

What you should see: 4 image options appear in the panel. Troubleshooting: If the results don't match your vision, refine your prompt — add more specific details about setting, number of people, or style. Try "more realistic" or "more minimalist" to adjust the look.

5. Place the image in your course design

Click the chosen image → it appears in your design canvas → drag and resize as needed → export for use in Storyline or Rise.

What you should see: The image placed directly on your slide or canvas, ready to crop and resize.

Real Example

Scenario: You're building a soft-skills course on giving performance feedback for healthcare managers. You need an image showing a manager having a one-on-one conversation that doesn't feel stock-photo generic.

What you type: A hospital manager and employee having a private conversation in a break room, seated across from each other at a small table, warm lighting, flat illustration style, inclusive diverse representation, professional healthcare setting, no text or logos

What you get: A custom illustration showing exactly that scene — ready to drop into your Storyline slide or Rise block as a background or scene-setter.

Time saved: 45–60 minutes of stock photo browsing replaced by 5 minutes of prompt iteration.

Tips

• For abstract concepts (leadership, change management, compliance), use illustration style rather than photo style — it handles concepts better than realistic imagery
• Add "no text, no logos" to every prompt to avoid AI-generated text that's usually garbled
• Save your best prompts in a text file — they're reusable across courses when you need the same visual style

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.