TextFlow

Make your spreads more interesting for viewers with custom text paths. Bend text around images or use your words to create a literal picture in your design.

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Our inspiration for this app came from a recurring challenge faced by one of our developers, a magazine editor--using Canva to create text in various shapes. This feature was previously limited to curves; even then, the curves could only be applied in one direction. Therefore, we were inspired to develop an app that allows users to craft different headlines and titles that are shaped differently, enhancing their designs with unique text contrasts.

Our app, TextFlow, allows users to distort the shapes of "lines" of text in Canva. Whether it is a wave, heart, circle, or other custom design, TextFlow provides a tool for designers to make titles that stand out and add flair to their designs.

We built TextFlow using the Canva documentation for guidance. Despite our limited experience with JavaScript, we embraced the challenge of learning a new language and documentation, iteratively coding, testing, and refining our application to increase Canva's functionality. The steep learning curve of JavaScript was one of our main challenges, and though we encountered many hurdles, each technical obstacle was an experience to learn from and expand our coding skills.

We are proud of creating a functioning application that extends Canva's editing capabilities. It is incredibly rewarding to see TextFlow work as a functioning Canva integration in a way that is genuinely helpful to users. Throughout the journey, we learned to use Canva's API, enhancing our problem-solving skills and ability to navigate technical documentation. This experience has increased our confidence in coding applications for companies as big and well-known as Canva.

Moving forward, we plan to expand TextFlow's capabilities and features--for example, filling in user-specified shapes with text in addition to the current outlining function. We aim to continually enhance the app, ensuring it remains a valuable tool for editors and content creators seeking refreshing design solutions.

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