Canva’s Indian Design Revolution: Creating for Many Indias, Not Just One

India has become one of the most creatively diverse markets for Canva, now ranking as the platform’s fourth largest globally. In 2024 alone, users from India created 666 million designs, which averages to nearly 1.8 million designs every single day. But behind these numbers is a story of adaptation, innovation, and deep cultural listening.

Canva's journey in India is more than a growth story. It is a blueprint for how global platforms can truly localise to connect meaningfully with a country as multifaceted as India. From wedding cards in Jaipur to birthday invites in Shillong, design preferences vary across every corner of the nation. Leading this creative expansion is Mehek Malhotra, Canva India’s creative lead, who believes that designing for India is not about uniformity but celebrating unique visual identities from every region.

In 2023, Canva launched its first brand campaign in India titled 'Dil Se, Design Tak'. The campaign focused on empowering everyday Indians to tap into their creative instincts. Instead of targeting only professionals, Canva invited students, homemakers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs to embrace design as a daily ritual. The message resonated widely, reaching over 100 million internet users and reinforcing the belief that design is for everyone.

India’s user behaviour on Canva reflects this active participation. Unlike global users who often rely heavily on ready templates, Indian users tend to remix, customise, and reimagine designs to reflect their personal styles. This has led to high engagement with tools like the Photo Background Remover, Translation features, and Magic Media, all of which are among the most used AI features in India.

Canva has not only embraced the visual richness of India but also the linguistic diversity. As of 2025, its Magic Studio tools support eleven Indian languages including Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, and Assamese. The platform also rolled out a Hindi version of its website to better cater to regional interaction patterns. Over 120 Indian creators are involved in building templates that align with culturally significant moments like Griha Pravesh ceremonies or local festivals, ensuring the design language remains authentic and rooted in tradition.

A big part of Canva’s India first approach is its mobile first design thinking. With over a billion smartphone users in the country, Canva has ensured its tools work smoothly on smaller screens. Whether it is a teacher creating a presentation on the go or a student designing a social post during their commute, the platform is designed for accessibility and ease of use.

Another interesting insight lies in the type of content Indians are creating. From professional resumes and pitch decks to good morning messages and Instagram quote posts, the platform captures both ends of India’s communication spectrum. Work kits, marketing kits, and social media templates are widely used, indicating a rising number of small businesses, content creators, and entrepreneurs across the country. India is also among the top three countries globally using Canva Video and Canva Websites, showing how the platform has evolved from simple graphics to full scale digital content creation.

Canva’s biggest challenge moving forward is to scale its operations without losing cultural nuance. As the brand continues to grow its template library and creator base, it has built internal checkpoints to ensure every design reflects the diversity of India. This includes considerations around languages, communities, age groups, and professions, making sure every design feels like a celebration and not a generic broadcast.

With 230 million monthly active users globally and revenues exceeding 2.5 billion dollars, Canva’s Indian playbook could influence its strategies in other culturally rich markets. But more than that, it has helped digitise India’s long standing tradition of visual storytelling.

For Canva India, this is not just about platform metrics. It is about becoming part of real life celebrations. When Mehek Malhotra spotted a birthday invitation created on Canva at a neighbour’s party, it wasn’t just brand validation. It was proof that Canva had become woven into the everyday moments of Indian life.

From rangolis to resume templates, India’s creative spirit remains strong. Canva has simply provided the digital canvas to let it shine.

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