Canva opens shop in Manila
An
idea in the works since 2007, founders Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and
Cameron Adams created a way to simplify graphic design with a drag-and-drop
tool paired with a library of more than 1 million photographs, graphics and
fonts.
By boiling down the design
process to its simplest components, users from any experience level can now
create professional looking projects like those done in Photoshop of InDesign –
a particular interest to marketers especially in the digital and social media
space who need to quickly create content like a picture or a header.
“Canva can be used to create
almost anything for Web and print, including presentations, blog graphics,
Facebook covers and invitations. Our biggest users are marketers, bloggers and
small business using Canva to create their own marketing materials,” Perkins,
Canvas CEO, shared with Marketing via e-mail
Since its launch, the
company has amassed over 650,000 users and has piqued investor appetite. Just
this July, Canva raised an aditional $3.6 million in funding from Shasta
Ventures, Founders Fund, Matrix Partners, Blackbird Ventures and Square Peg
Capital.
Canva Manila, formally
launched last 8 August, will be the startup’s first shop outside its home
country, which will be manned by eight people to work initially on marketing,
customer service and graphic design. The office will be headed by Kei San Pablo
as Manila Office Manager.
"We've just opened our
Manila office this week and we're very excited about the potential in the
Philippines," said Zach Kitschke, head of communications.
In photo (L-R): Cliff
Obrecht, COO, Kei San Pablo of Canva Manila, Melanie Perkins,
CEO, Zach Kitschke, head of communications, and Tin Atanacio of Canva
Manila
Perkins confirmed that they
are currently recruiting marketers, graphic designers and customer service
professionals sourced from the local talent pool.
Without citing hard numbers,
she confirmed that the Philippines is one of the company’s top 10 markets, owed
to the Filipinos’ strong design aesthetic and being fast adopters of new
technology. So far, over four million designs have now been created using the
Canva platform.
Supporting the company’s
overall strategy is Guy Kawasaki, which joined Canva last April as Chief Evangelist,
a former role he had with Apple in the 1980’s. He is also an advisor to Google,
co-founder of venture capital firm Garage Technology Venture and behind the
online magazine rack, Alltop.
To add to Canva’s creative
muscle, Peg Fitzpatrick has also joined Canva as Head of Social Strategy. Prior
to this, she worked with Kawasaki as his social media architect, and she was
the co-founder of the 12 Most website.
Canva has also announced a
series of partnerships with companies including GoDaddy, Tailwind, Agora Pulse,
Post Planner, and TabSite. Users of these websites will be able to create Canva
graphics without leaving their page via the newly released Canva Button.
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