How to Switch from Landscape to Portrait in Canva: A step-by-step guide to transforming your Canva designs

Switching from landscape to portrait orientation in Canva is a quick and straightforward process, whether you're designing presentations, flyers, posters, or social media graphics. As someone who approaches every creative challenge with a designer's mindset, I'm always looking for seamless ways to optimize layouts for functionality and aesthetics. Here’s how to adjust your design orientation in Canva:

1. Open your project in Canva.

2. Go to the top menu and select Resize (If you’re a Canva Pro user; free users can use “Custom Size” before starting a new document).

3. Change the dimensions by swapping the width and height values. For example, if your project is 1920 × 1080 px (landscape), set it to 1080 × 1920 px (portrait).

4. Click Resize or Copy & Resize for a version that saves your original.

5. After resizing, you may need to adjust elements and text placements for perfect alignment.

As a designer, I recognize that changing orientations isn’t just a technical step—it’s also about making sure your visual story fits the space. Using tools that let you preview layouts in both orientations, like advanced room planner platforms or similar design software, can help you envision how your content looks in situ, especially for print or web assets.

Tips 1:

When adjusting orientation, group related elements together before resizing so they maintain their relative position and spacing. Additionally, double-check images for cropping, and use alignment tools to center your content vertically in portrait mode for a balanced appearance.

FAQ

Q: Can I switch page orientation after I’ve already designed my Canva project?

A: Yes, use the Resize tool to adjust your design’s dimensions, then reposition design elements as needed.

Q: Is the orientation change feature available to Canva free users?

A: Free users can’t use the “Resize” feature directly, but can start a new project using custom dimensions in portrait format and copy over elements manually.

Q: Will changing orientation affect image and text quality?

A: If you maintain recommended pixel sizes, quality won’t be compromised, but you may need to adjust elements to fit the new orientation properly.

Q: How can I ensure everything stays aligned after resizing?

A: Use Canva’s positioning and alignment tools, and group items before resizing to keep layouts intact.

Q: Can I lock orientation in Canva so it doesn’t change accidentally?

A: While there’s no explicit “lock orientation” feature, you can lock individual design elements to prevent them from moving during editing.