Didier Sibellas
Senior Digital Designer
On a computer you can always go back. With art if you draw a circle or a rectangle, even if they’re just basic shapes, you can easily mess it up. There’s no easy way to pick colors or undo your mistakes, which is what I’m so used to now. It’s not easy, but that’s the best part.
Melanie Perkins
Co-founder, CEO
It’s not until you get started that you realize you’ve got an inkling of creativity and then you can build upon it. The best way to challenge your belief about anything is just to get started. Just do a little every day.
The biggest risk would be to do nothing. If you do nothing you’re inevitably going to fail.
Chris Doble
Frontend Engineer
Everybody wants to learn. Everybody wants to be successful. We don’t care if that success comes from our decision or someone else’s decision. We just want push forward together.
Jim Tyrrell
Backend Engineer
Get out there. Get experience. There’s no better way to learn about software engineering than to dive in. If you’re at uni, finish as fast as you can so you can actually start learning.
David Hearnden
Development Lead
I suspect most people don’t regularly see their world as taking place on an unremarkable pale blue rock, one of dozens spinning around a rather unremarkable star, one of hundreds of billions spinning in a rather unremarkable clump of stars, itself one of hundreds of billions that we can see. If all elapsed time was condensed down to a single year, all of human existence would have passed by in the last 8 minutes of it, and each of us would live for less than a quarter of a second.
Knowing how truly insignificant and fleeting our existence is makes me appreciate how truly precious it is, how miraculous it is that we can know what we know, and how important it is to spend this short time wisely!
Zach Kitschke
Head of Communications
There’s no faster way to learn than being in a small team trying to conquer the world.
Patrick Lee
Frontend Engineer & Designer
Just seeing the product, it clicked. I didn’t think. I just saw it and I knew it had potential.
Damon Oehlman
Frontend Engineer
When everyone else is throwing up their hands up, like “I haven’t got a clue on how to solve this.” That’s when I most kick in the gear.
Anna Guerrero
Growth Marketing
Stel De Vera
Graphic Designer
I don’t believe in heaven and hell. The life you’re living right now — that’s it. This is not a dress rehearsal for something greater afterwards. You only have one chance, do everything you want to do, say everything you wanna say. “Carpe the hell out of that damn diem!”.
Andrew Bennett
iOS Software Engineer
Pick up a personal project, hack away at it, and open up the source to the world so you get feedback. Other people looking at your code is the best way to improve yourself.
Elli Ong
Marketplace Curator
I’m fiercely loyal. When we become friends you’re stuck with me for life. Unless you do something that breaks my trust. That’ll be hard to get back. But I’m fiercely loyal to my friends.
Kat Sales
Support Specialist
Don’t stop doing what you love doing. In my experience, if you love doing something and you stop doing it, it’s hard to go back and you may end up regretting it.
Kate Ballecer
Senior Graphic Designer
Be considerate because I think it’s something that we tend to forget. Everyday people are so busy with their own problems that they forget other people around them.
Lud Laxamana
Support Specialist
In the past, I was easily affected by what people said. But I grew up eventually. Now, I don’t get swayed as easily by other people’s words. I combat negativities. I’m a stronger person now.
Nik Youdale
Backend Engineer
Having a positive impact on the way people work. It’s so rewarding to see your work in the hands of users, changing the way they do things, sometimes in ways they hadn’t imagined.
Alexey Mitko
Assistant Accountant
Everyone here was born to push the boundaries of what’s possible and question established conventions. If you want to grow personally and professionally, you need to place yourself in environments like this. Comfort is the enemy of success. People here are energetic, creative, and rebellious at times — this makes it challenging, this makes it fun.
Yani Hornilla
Recruitment Associate
I worked right after graduating. Even if I wanted to rest, my mom sort of swayed me. She gave me a gift, “Yani, here’s your graduation gift!”. And when I opened it – it’s an office bag! What does that mean?
Maisie Littaua
Content Specialist
Little wins from the Universe and the overall feeling like everything is falling into place. If that makes any sense.
Rab Bustamante
Support Specialist
What gets me out of bed every morning? The damn alarm clock.
Pat Santos
Support Specialist (Fusion Books)
What gets you out of bed every morning?
Responsibilities and working towards the fulfilment of my dreams.
Justin Hunter
Product Analyst
Lots of small changes all based around willingness to try new things. Moving to Singapore. Moving back. Working as a consultant. Working in finance. Working in tech. Travelling. Meeting new people. Joining sports teams. Learning to surf.
Lee Torrens
Director of Stock Photography
When I left Australia in my early 20’s I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone, or where I’d end up. That was the start of an incredible expansion of my life, but not just in geography. I’ve experienced other cultures, other languages, other philosophies on life, all of which have shaped my life and the impact I want to have on the world.
Paul Ballesty
Front End Engineer
Leave the comfort zone! Your grandsons will ask you about your life so you better have some great stories.
Auguste Levanaite
Chef
I think that food is one thing that can influence people’s mood. Seeing Canva employees being happy while they eat the food that me and Song prepare makes me want to try harder and harder.
Harley Mellifont
Front End Engineer
Take a typical screen size, perhaps 1280×720 pixels at 32bit color. The number of possible pictures that screen can display is 2^(32*1280*720). If you were to go through every possible picture that screen could display, you would see everything. Every photo of yourself, your family members, your pets, your favourite places and foods. Everyone that ever lived. Every movie that ever existed. Every artwork and design that could ever be created. Every star, planet, solar system, galaxy and super cluster. Everything. So don’t be afraid to think inside the box. Even when working within constraints, the possibilities are mindboggling
Kim Tomacruz
Graphic Designer
I realized that the entire creative process should be embraced, not just the polished perfection at the end. All the messy, unruly, self-proclaimed “failures” serve a good purpose too so there’s no reason to be scared of them.
Kris Howard
Engineering Coordinator
Get comfortable speaking in front of a group. It sucks, everyone hates it, but if you can build your reputation as someone who gives technical talks and isn’t afraid to ask a question – that can only benefit you down the track. It’s not a natural skill it’s actually something you have to cultivate. Join a group, get active in it and get as comfortable as you can putting your hand up and asking a question that could change your whole career.
Cliff Obrecht
Co-founder, COO
Kick ass. I like doing things 100%. Work hard, play hard.
Hazel Gascon
Senior Support Specialist
People think that I’m super sensitive but I’m really not. Wait ’til you see how I am at home. Oh wait, maybe it’s better you don’t.
Poppie Pack
Senior Designer
My job requires a lot of creativity. Coming up with new ways to keep our users engaged and happy can be challenging, but it’s so rewarding. Seeing what people can create after just an hour on Canva still blows me away.
Mick Evans
UI Designer
I constantly ask questions and wonder if there’s a better way of doing things that most of us accept as normal. I approach my work with the same attitude.
Andrianes Pinantoan
Growth Marketer
This one I read somewhere: When starting your career, don’t choose the job you want to do. Choose the manager/mentor you want to work with. Failing that, choose the right company to work with.
The right manager will teach you valuable stuff – things you don’t even know you don’t know. Working in the right company shows you how people in the top of their game think and you can learn lots just by being close to them all day.
Brendan Humphreys
Senior Engineer
I build very nerdy, over-engineered toys. I decided I was going to build my six-month old an electronic toy for his first birthday, and he got it when he was four. It took four and a half years to finish, but it is a work of art.
Kei San Pablo
Country Manager
I was supposed to take up medicine. I’m glad I didn’t, because I wouldn’t be here.
AJ Basilio
Lead Marketplace Curator
Go for something that makes you really happy and fulfilled regardless of what other people say. There will be times when some people, or even your family, won’t approve of your decision. If you know for yourself that it will make you happy, then go for it.
Keziah Canguilan
Support Specialist
I was born and raised in Manila so living outside the metro is going to be sad. But it’s going to be fun and adventurous too. Change helps me grow.
Mahesh Muralidhar
People Operations
Do you really want to look back and think, “I took the less risky option”? You’ll read and hear about the heights that people reach and you’ll always think, I didn’t set myself up for that.
Take a leap. Be brave. Work really, really, really hard at finding what you want to do. It will change all the time, be OK with that.
Eris Basilio
Support Specialist
Imagining the challenges. Those are the things that wake me up. I’m excited to meet them.
Nic Wittison
iOS Software Engineer
Actually I fail a lot. My process of doing things is very trial and error so it helps me get better and do things the right way. There’s the old saying “It’s better to have tried and failed then not have tried at all” and I think that’s particularly apt in tech. You don’t know if anything is going to work until you take the plunge and try it. You need to be prepared to fail to succeed.
Desiree Grace Tan
Graphic Designer
Find and identify the people whom you look up to, and learn what they did to reach their success. Always, always learn from the best, most inspiring people who are doing what you have always dreamed of doing.
Gayle Villarojas
Support Specialist
I found it difficult to adjust initially, from being home-based to working in an office. However, I got used to the office crowd eventually.
Sebastian Grail
iOS Software Engineer
We were both travelling and met at a hostel in Bosnia. The way that I remember it is that I approached her and made an amazing joke and blew her away. Her version is that I was mildly funny and talked a lot. Anyway, I must have said something right because now she’s my wife.
Anne Mayores
Support Specialist
I have a tendency to be a perfectionist; I want everything planned. But in reality, not everything goes the way you plan it. I want everything to be perfect – my married life, my career, and that’s why I’m struggling to balance everything.
Jaykee Evangelista
Design Team Lead
Pursue your dreams. Pursue your passion. Live for something, not just money.
Trish Andaya
Support Specialist
The best part is being a part of the online community which is social, and this is talking to everyone in every walks of life all over the world.
JJ Udani
Support Specialist
People have different opinions of who I am but I’m generally peculiar. It’s good and bad for different types of people but I would never want to change that because that makes me sui generis and it’s all a matter of who can go with my flow and who makes the effort to learn the kind of person I am behind the myriad of quirks that I show.
Aileen Dayanghirang
Support Specialist
I am most happy to be alive and healthy! I am also most happy when I am with my loved ones. They bring me strength, joy, love and light. Secondary to being with my family, traveling and exploring other culture excites me. Take me to the beach and you won’t wipe the smile off my face.
Danny Wu
Front End Engineer
Give us one wrong impression about you that you would like to correct?
Wrong impression: ‘I fix stuff.’ I actually break stuff.
What’s the one change you’ve made that has made the most impact in your life?
Joining Canva, seriously!
Robert John Mohan
Finance Lead
Give us one wrong impression about you that you would like to correct?
Finance people take life too seriously – that couldn’t be further from the truth for me. My daughter calls me Mr. Beavis.
Tiny Pang
Data Scientist
Empathise with your fellow humans. Try to meet and talk to as many different people as possible. Listen to them and learn about their experiences. Having a diverse group of friends lets you experience the world from someone else’s perspective. Spending time with one another teaches us about the problems that others may face due to their race, gender, religion, age, class etc. that we may never face or know to exist. Knowing the difficulties that others face and how your own privilege affects your view of the world are powerful tools you can use to be a better person. We are all humans and we should treat each other as such.
Callan McNamara
Back End Engineer
I want to do so much with my life and thinking that each day I’m getting closer to my goals makes me happy and gives me plenty of motivation.
Robbie Hazlewood
Data Scientist & Back End Engineer
I was backpacking by myself through Canada when I was an exchange student. I took buses across the country and in an attempt to save money on hostels I’d try to do overnight bus rides. That approach failed once, with me sleeping half the night on a park bench in Quebec City.
Cameron Adams
Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer
Guy Kawasaki
Chief Evangelist
My life is an open book. I’m a WYSIWYG kind of guy. Long ago, I figured out that if you’re honest and open, it’s a lot easier to live because you don’t have to work hard to keep the lies consistent.
Shamal Singh
Vibe Manager and Designer
What’s the best part about being the Vibe Manager at Canva?
Definitely the people. We’re not interested in politics so much as trying to get work done.
What’s the hardest part about the job?
Oh, definitely the people.
Song Fa-A-Long
In-House Chef
I was only looking for a job for a couple of hours per day so I could look after my son. When I started, I thought it would take six months for people to get bored of my food and then I would leave. But after six months they asked me to stay and I started trying new things. Now, I cook new dishes almost everyday and I’m a part of this big family.
Michael Koukoullis
iOS Software Engineer
Technology can enable people to do things they couldn’t before. Great work as an engineer can make that happen.
Tin Atanacio
HR and Admin Officer
For the longest time, I never put myself first. I was always thinking of other people. So the greatest change, and one that made the biggest impact on my life, was I learned and discovered to love myself more. It’s not about being selfish, it’s about knowing when you can give more by loving yourself.
Mervyn Weir
Managing Accountant
What gets you out of the bed in the morning?
My puppy Maia, when she’s crying. Literally.
Sam Killin
Backend Engineer
I get the same kick out of building software that a civil engineer gets out of building a bridge. Software is a little bit more abstract, but they’re really not so different. When you launch a website or an app, you get the same kick of fulfilment that other engineers get when they go to ribbon cuttings. I’m also an incredibly competitive person, so my motivation comes from pushing myself to chase that feeling of fulfilment.
Andy Libunao
Editorial Assistant
Courage isn’t always being outspoken or doing something extreme. Sometimes it’s more of a quiet tenacity to keep going.
Matt Hardy
Designer
I love that I get to design every day and that I’m surrounded by so many talented people. It forces you to welcome new challenges and say yes to things you thought you weren’t ready to try.
Scott Hughes
Frontend Engineer
I take customer service very seriously. I’m mostly just motivated to do “what I think is right”. When working on a product that’s used by millions of people, it’s easy to underestimate the effect of minor improvements. If you can make someone’s job .001% easier, or make their day .001% more enjoyable, that’s pretty significant when you consider the multiplier.
Paul Gernale
Graphic Designer
Right now mountains are my escape from the busy city. Every time I hike a mountain I feel happy and excited to see the view from the summit. But there’s also fear — fear of heights, fear of snakes, fear of not reaching the summit, fear of getting lost. But what scares me the most is running out of water during a hike. You won’t like it. Conserve water!
Jay Santos
Graphic Designer
If there’s something or someone toxic in your life, you can choose to let them go.
Tom Slack
Digital Editor
Right now? A number of longer-term personal writing projects are starting to reap some reward for all of the hard work, which always puts a smile on my face.
Jem Mondonedo
Support Specialist
Be brave. If you want to reach your goals and succeed in life you need to try new things and see what’s out there.
Thea Cinco
Graphic Designer
I am a very transparent person. What you see is what you get. I don’t think there are any misconceptions about me. Well, not that I know of. If there is something just let me know.
Ivan Averion
Senior Support Specialist
Before I was afraid of new things, of changes. If there was something new that I needed to do, I always automatically thought, “This is new to me, I’m going to fail this”. But now it’s different, I think of it as a challenge. Now I always think of change as something that I can definitely do.
Kath Cuevas
Web Designer and Developer
Whatever it is that I spend my time on, it better be something worth it.
Shanice Garcia
Graphic Designer
It’s nice to have people who believe you can even if you keep on saying you can’t.
CJ Camua
Support Specialist
No matter how sick, tired or unhappy I may be there’s still one thing I can be grateful for –– that I’m alive, and I get to work with amazing people.
Tezz Calvo
Kitchen Manager
I decided to leave England because of love. I was hurting too much because guy didn’t choose me. And a few days ago, he’s starting to contact me again after many, many years. I’ve known him for almost two decades and I don’t think I’ve ever moved on.
Stephan Schwiebert
Back End Engineer
Moving to Australia, leaving friends and family, and getting rid of everything I owned to arrive on the other side of the world with nothing but a suitcase was a very interesting experience. By the way, I have a titanium shoulder. You shouldn’t mess with me.
Max Scheffler
Back End Engineer
What’s something about you most people don’t know?
In another life, I would be either a cook or carpenter.
Ramon Forti
Support Specialist (Spanish)
Greatest struggle: not to struggle.
Georgia Vidler
Localisation and Marketing
I’ve always been motivated to achieve. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve wanted to be top of the class, the high achiever, the star. And I tend to beat myself up when or if I don’t get there. This has changed for me recently, though. It might sound morbid, but I’ve realised no one is going to give a crap on the day of my funeral if I was top of the class, or the highest achiever. They’re going to care about the people’s lives I changed. So in some way, big or small, I’m motivated to change the world for the better.
Elaine Xie
Accounts Assistant
I wanted my life to be as perfect as a fairy tale when I was little. But now I know it’s the imperfections that give me reasons to cry and to laugh. They make me who I am today and allow me to choose who I want to be tomorrow.
Matthew Anderson
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As the pace of life increases it’s very easy to forget why we do certain things. One thing I’ve started doing is making sure I slow down from time to time. In terms of work this may be stepping back from a project and taking time to reflect on the overall goals.
Precy Serneo
Marketplace Specialist
Don’t be afraid to take chances. You’ll never know, it might be the best decision you’ll ever make.
