Localisation is key to Indian community’s creativity: Canva’s Cameron Adams

Canva, the global provider of visual communication and collaboration solutions, has unveiled its strategic vision for India in 2025, marking a significant milestone in the company’s expansion journey. Co-founder and chief product officer Cameron Adams’ first-ever visit to the country underscored Canva’s commitment to strengthening its presence in one of its fastest-growing markets.

As the company’s fourth-largest market, India offers substantial growth opportunities, fuelled by a thriving community of creators, designers, educators, and businesses of all sizes.

Adams’ visit was a momentous occasion, featuring Canva India’s first large-scale community event, the preview of its new Hindi website, and initiatives to bolster state-wide education partnerships. Through these efforts, Canva reaffirmed its mission to empower creativity and design across workplaces, classrooms, and digital platforms.

A key highlight of Adams’ visit was Canva India’s inaugural community event, bringing together more than 100 creators, educators, partners, and brand advocates. The event served as a platform for in-depth discussions on the evolution of design, emerging trends, and the future of visual communication. It fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and innovation, enabling attendees to share insights and explore the transformative power of design.

During a candid discussion with visual designer Anant Ahuja, founder and managing director at Irregulars Studio, Adams expressed gratitude for India’s vibrant creative community and outlined Canva’s long-term vision for the market.

Chandrika Deb, Canva India’s country manager.

Canva has 220 million monthly active users globally. The company claimed that over 30 billion designs have been created on its platform globally to date and its AI tools have been used over 13 billion times globally.

“As our fourth-largest market, India continues to embrace Canva with incredible enthusiasm. We are committed to empowering our vibrant Indian community’s creativity and ability to express themselves with localised features, innovative AI tools, and bespoke content on a platform that feels like home,” Adams said.

"We'll continue to cater to the unique needs of this market by investing in culturally relevant tools, like WhatsApp templates to enhance everyday conversations. We also look forward to working with local partners to expand our offering in India, be it via content or through Canva for Education—free for all K-12 teachers and students,” he added.

Recognising India’s linguistic diversity, Canva also previewed the beta version of its new Hindi website. Presented by Canva India’s country manager, Chandrika Deb, the localised platform is designed to make visual communication more inclusive and accessible for millions of Hindi-speaking users, businesses, and educators.

The Hindi website is being developed with insights from local experts who understand the preferences and aesthetic sensibilities of Indian users. Its user interface and experience (UI/UX) have been carefully crafted to be intuitive, authentic, and culturally relevant. Canva aims to roll out the full Hindi website experience in the coming months, further expanding its accessibility to a wider audience.

A preview of Canva's Hindi website.

India’s adoption of Canva has been impressive, with 666 million designs created on the platform in 2024 alone, with over 139 million presentations created on it in India in the year. The most popular templates include resumes, business proposals, pitch decks, and Instagram posts, reflecting the country’s growing reliance on visual tools in professional and personal settings.

India has also emerged as one of the top five global users of Canva’s Work Kits, with the Marketing Work Kits leading in popularity. Additionally, AI-powered tools have seen a surge in adoption, with the background remover tool ranking as the most widely used AI feature across the country.

Canva’s video and website creation tools have also gained significant traction, positioning India among the top three global users of these offerings. This growing demand highlights the platform’s evolving role beyond graphic design, extending into video editing, website development, and brand-building solutions.

Canva launched it’s first-ever brand campaign, ‘Dil Se, Design Tak’ in India last year. It hinged on the simple message, that there’s a designer in each and every one of us, and that creativity can flourish at work and in everyday life, with Canva. The brand campaign reached over 100 million active internet users in India.

A key focus area for Canva’s India strategy is education. Through partnerships with state governments and educational institutions, it aims to equip students and teachers with free access to its tools under the Canva for Education initiative. By integrating design and visual storytelling into learning, the company is fostering a generation of digitally skilled professionals ready for the evolving job market.

Launched in 2013, Canva has built a global reputation as a go-to platform for design and collaboration. Today, it serves enterprises, small businesses, students, and creative professionals across more than 190 countries. Backed by a vast library of designer-made content and proprietary AI tools, Canva is constantly innovating to enhance how individuals and teams create, collaborate, and communicate with ease.

Adams’ visit to India not only marked an important milestone for the company but also reinforced Canva’s deep-rooted commitment to the region. With a rapidly expanding user base, a strong focus on localisation, and strategic education partnerships, Canva is poised to further integrate itself into India’s digital landscape.

As the demand for intuitive design tools continues to grow across industries, Canva’s strategic vision for 2025 underscores its ambition to be more than just a design platform—it aims to be a key driver of creative empowerment in India. The company’s expansion efforts signal a new chapter in its journey, one that is closely aligned with the needs of the country’s digital-first generation.