All things branding & marketing. Whether you're early in your career, a solomarketer, or a small business owner, my goal is to support you on your path to brand & marketing success.
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In a world obsessed with standing out and garnering attention, we’re often told:

But is our pursuit of differentiation grounded in the right principles?

…or have we been chasing shadows in a race against the competition?

The Rise of Canva: A Case Study on Creating Difference

Let’s take a look at Canva.

Not just a contender in the crowded space of graphic design tools.

Canva’s debut wasn’t about outshining rivals with more features.

Instead, it questioned the very battlefield on which this war was waged.

“Why must professional design be reserved for only those with technical skill or the financial means to hire designers?”

Consider the plight of small business owners, often operating with tight budgets and limited resources.

For them, the need for clean, professional design doesn’t diminish, but hiring a professional designer for every small project isn’t financially feasible.

Small businesses often require quick access to brand assets and the ability to create clean designs without having to learn the intricacies of professional design software like Adobe.

Canva emerged as a solution to solve this exact challenge.

Democratizing Design for Everyone

By providing:

• An intuitive drag-and-drop interface experience
• A vast library of design templates
• Affordable access to professional-grade design tools

…Canva democratized the design process, empowering small business owners to produce their marketing materials, social media graphics, and other brand assets without prior design knowledge or the expense of hiring a professional for every need.

For Canva, this wasn’t about being marginally better than their competition.

This was about redefining the game entirely, making clean, professional design accessible and affordable to all.

Reverse-Engineering Canva’s Process to Creating Differentiation

1. Reimagining Problems: Canva succeeded by not just trying to improve but by changing what a design tool can be for the average person.
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2. Fulfilling Unmet Needs: Canva looked beyond the competition, identifying and filling the gaps left open by traditional design tools.
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3. Empowering Users: Canva empowers users - making design accessible to everyone, not just professional designers.

The Path to Creating Purposeful Differentiation

As we move from “being different” to “creating difference” - let’s take inspiration from Canva’s playbook.

It’s less about edging out the competition.

And more about venturing into the tiniest gap, where we reimagine solutions and, in doing so, fulfill human desires, creating deeper connections with our target market and claiming our own corner in the marketplace.

Inspiration for today’s newsletter stems from Bernadette Jiwa’s book, “Difference”.

Jiwa reminds us that the most successful businesses aren’t focused on “being different.”

They create difference.

As small business owners, our path to more isn’t through dominance, but through mattering to our customers.

When creating difference, let’s strive not just for innovation, but for understanding - transforming our offerings and experiences to meet the real, human needs of those we serve.

Creating difference > being different,

Dani

P.S. My thoughts on Canva's approach is not meant to undermine the irreplaceable value of professional designers. Instead, it's meant to highlight Canva as an alternative path for small businesses to access quick, quality design resources when traditional options are out of reach.

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