How to Create Program & Category Images

TL;DR

Use our Canva templates to create program and category images from your phone (or desktop) in minutes
Select a template, customize your text and imagery, and save and upload your design directly to the creator app
Check out Playbook Creator Services to learn more about our cover image design services

You need cover images for programs and categories in the app. Canva is by far the easiest solution to create these on your phone. Here is our simple five step process — including premade Canva templates — for creating cover images in minutes.

Here's what program and category images look like in the consumer app:

How to Edit Templates in Canva on Your Phone

Note: The following instructions are for the Canva mobile browser, not the Canva app.

The most important thing to keep in mind when designing images is to stay on brand. Stick with the same fonts and colors you’ve been using throughout your app to create brand consistency.

Create a free Canva account or log in to your existing account.
Open the Program and Category Cover template and click “Use template.”
Select your category or program template.

Note: There are eight total templates to choose from (four category templates and four program templates). Swipe left to view them all. When you’ve chosen the one you want to edit, move on to the next step.
To customize text, click the placeholder text and add your own copy.

You can change the font, font size, and color by toggling through the options at the bottom of your screen.

Note: Keep all copy and imagery within the dotted red circle — this area is your safe design space! Anything outside of the dotted circle will be cropped when the image is uploaded to your app.
To customize the image:

Select the entire image and scroll to the far right in the bottom navigation bar on your phone screen. Click on "More," then click "Send Backward." Now you can edit the image layer. Click "Replace" to swap out the stock image.

To upload media from your phone’s library, select “Upload media.” You can upload directly from your device, or Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, and Dropbox.

Select your photo and click “Add."

Once your photo has been uploaded, click on it and it will be dropped onto your canvas.

Note: Remember to keep all copy and imagery within the dotted red circle — this area is your safe design space! Anything outside of the dotted circle will be cropped when the image is uploaded to your app.

To use Canva’s free stock imagery, select “Photos” at the bottom nav bar on your screen and use the search function. Click a photo to add it to your canvas.

Once you've added your image to the canvas, click your image, then scroll to the far right on the navigation bar again and click "More." Then, click "Send Backward" again and the dotted red circle will re-appear. Double check to make sure all of your text and image are within that circle or they will not show when the image is uploaded to your app.

Note: If you want a background color instead of a photo, use the appropriate template found in step three.

Save & Upload Your Design

You did it! Now all that’s left to do is save the image and upload it to your app.

To save and upload your design

Click on your image to select the top layer with the dotted red circle and click "Delete" in the bottom navigation bar to remove the outline. Then, click the upward pointing arrow in the upper right corner.
Click "Download."

"All pages” is selected as a default. Click to select and download only the templates (pages) you made edits to.

Make sure to select “JPG” as the file type, then click “Download” once more at the bottom.
Upload the file to your program or category in the creator app.
For additional programs and categories, lather, rinse, and repeat the above steps to create more cover images!

How to Edit Templates in Canva on Desktop

The most important thing to keep in mind when designing images is to stay on brand. Stick with the same fonts and colors you’ve been using throughout your app to create brand consistency.

Create a free Canva account or log in to your existing account.
Open the Program and Category Cover template and click “Use template.”
Select your category or program template.

Note: There are eight total templates to choose from (four category templates and four program templates). Scroll down to view them all. When you’ve chosen the one you want to edit, move on to the next step.
To edit text, double click the placeholder text and add your own copy. You can change the font, color, and size.

Note: Keep all copy and imagery within the dotted red circle — this area is your safe design space! Anything outside of the dotted circle will be cropped when the image is uploaded to your app.
To customize the image:

Select a stock photo (in left navigation panel) OR

Upload your own photo (via left navigation panel).

Note: Remember to keep all copy and imagery within the dotted red circle — this area is your safe design space! Anything outside of the dotted circle will be cropped when the image is uploaded to your app.

Click on the image (either in Photos or Uploads) to add it to your canvas, which will look something like this:

Drag the image to fit the canvas — in doing so, you'll be replacing the dotted red circle with your image as the top layer.

With the image selected, click "Position" and click "Backward." The dotted red circle will now re-appear as the top layer on your canvas and you can double check to make sure your images and copy are within the safe space of the circle.

If all elements are where you'd like them to be, select the top layer of your canvas and click "Delete" to remove the circle before saving your image.

Note: If you want a background color instead of a photo, use the appropriate template found in step three.

Save & Upload Your Design

You did it! Now all that’s left to do is save the image and upload it to your app.

To save and upload your design

Click “Download” in the upper right corner.

"All pages” is selected as a default. Click to select and download only the templates (pages) you made edits to.

Make sure to select “JPG” as the file type, then click “Download” once more at the bottom.
Upload the file to your program or category in the creator desktop app.
For additional programs and categories, lather, rinse, and repeat the above steps to create more cover images!

Pro Canva Tips

Keep these in mind when designing:

Zoom out periodically (about 10% scale) to get a better sense of what your image will look like when it’s scaled down in the app. Is your text readable? Are your visuals clear?
Make sure there’s no text (or important visuals) in the corners of your image, since it will be cropped into a circle on the app. That's why we included the dotted red outline for you!
Text for program cover images should include the length of time, for example:
- Beginner Program: 4 Weeks
- 30-Day Fit Challenge
Text for category cover images should include the type of workout, for example:
- Ab Workouts (vs. "Abs")
- Equipment-Free Workouts
- Dumbbell Workouts
Your cover photos for programs and categories should have their own style and tone to make it easy for users to differentiate between them.

Example: Categories can have a background color, while programs can have a background image.

Note: You can also use these templates to create images for challenges and the feed.

Creator Example

Here's a great example of images created using our Canva templates, courtesy of creator Nikki Font:

And here's what they look like in the consumer app:

Playbook’s Creator Services

If you find yourself stuck creating Program and Category cover images, we’re here to help!

We understand that design can be time consuming and you might not have enough hours in the day. That’s why we offer a number of Playbook Creator Services, including Cover Image Design.

With this service, we will design Program and Category cover images for your app to match your personal brand guidelines.