Canva Design - AI-Driven Design Creation and Management

Skill Description: Domain knowledge for creating, managing, and exporting designs through the Canva MCP integration, including brand matching, design type selection, prompt engineering, and export workflows.

CRITICAL RESOURCES

Authentication: Handled by Canva MCP. No API keys needed in code.

BRAND KIT MAPPING

Always ask which brand before generating. Use this table to suggest the right one:

Auto-selection hints:

• •Workshop or presentation for CC clients = Content Cucumber
• •Podcast thumbnail = Talk Commerce
• •Product feature graphic = RequestDesk
• •Conference talk = Brent W. Peterson's Team
• •If unclear, ask the user

DESIGN TYPE SELECTION

Choose the right design_type based on what the user needs:

Print / Documents

Presentations

Social Media

Marketing

Visual

Common confusion:

• •"Booklet" or "worksheet" = document (NOT doc)
• •"Article" or "memo" = doc (NOT document)
• •"Slides" or "deck" = presentation
• •"One-pager" = flyer or document depending on print needs

MCP TOOL WORKFLOW

The correct sequence for creating designs:

Step 1: Load Tools

ToolSearch: "+Canva create design" or "select:mcp__Canva__generate-design"

Tools are deferred. Must load before calling.

Step 2: Check Brand Kit (optional)

mcp__Canva__list-brand-kits

Show user options, let them pick, or auto-suggest from mapping table.

Step 3: Generate Design

mcp__Canva__generate-design
  - design_type: selected type
  - brand_kit_id: selected brand
  - query: detailed prompt (see prompt-patterns.md)

Returns multiple candidates with preview URLs and thumbnails.

Step 4: User Picks Candidate

Show candidates with thumbnail URLs. Let user preview and select. The candidate with the most thumbnails usually has the most complete pages.

Step 5: Save to Account

mcp__Canva__create-design-from-candidate
  - job_id: from generate response
  - candidate_id: user's pick

Returns design_id, edit_url, view_url.

Step 6: Edit (optional)

mcp__Canva__get-design-content  # Read current content
mcp__Canva__start-editing-transaction  # Begin edits

Step 7: Export

mcp__Canva__get-export-formats  # Check what's available
mcp__Canva__export-design       # Export with format options

Always provide the download URL to the user.

Key rule: Generated designs are candidates until saved with create-design-from-candidate. The URLs in generate results are previews, not editable designs. The design_id only comes after saving.

EXPORT FORMAT GUIDE

When Claude Should Apply This Skill

Apply this skill automatically when the user:

• •Asks to create any visual design (booklet, flyer, social post, presentation)
• •Mentions "Canva" in any context
• •Wants to export a design to PDF, PNG, or other format
• •Asks for a "graphic", "visual", "poster", "handout", or "worksheet"
• •Wants to create branded content for any of the listed brands
• •References "brand kit" or "on-brand"
• •Asks to search for or find existing Canva designs
• •Wants to create print materials

Keywords that should trigger this skill:

• •canva, design, graphic, visual, booklet, flyer, poster
• •social post, instagram, thumbnail, banner
• •brand kit, on-brand, branded
• •export, PDF, print, handout, worksheet

Core Principles

1. •Always ask about brand - Never generate without confirming which brand kit to use
2. •Pick the right type - document for print, doc for web, presentation for slides
3. •Detailed prompts win - More detail in the query = better results from Canva AI
4. •Show candidates - Let the user pick from generated options
5. •Provide download URLs - Always surface the export link so users can grab their files

Supporting Files

• •workflows.md - Step-by-step workflows for common design tasks
• •prompt-patterns.md - Reusable prompt templates for each design type

Integration with Commands

• •/canva - Main command for explicit design creation, search, and export
• •/create-social - Social post creation may trigger Canva for graphics
• •/twc-start - Article creation may need header images