5 steps to create with taste

Start with gut feelings

If you've been following our “You’ve got taste” series – you'll have a mood board of inspiration sorted into categories and annotated with stickies. Welcome to the creative process – it's one big, beautiful mess here, but we're about to get some clarity.

And that comes with being able to explain an idea clearly, not just in images, but in words too – without the pressure of finding the 'right' ones. Instead, we’ll skip the second-guessing by leaning into gut feelings. Try this quick activity:

Think about your project – what do you want it to feel like? Think about who you're making it for, what you want to achieve with it, and the kind of format you're going for.

Now try some quick-fire, open-ended questions or quick gut reactions between two choices:

Use the list below as your starting point – or ask AI.

Quick-fire:

• When someone looks at [your project], what's the first word that should come to mind?
• If [your project] were a playlist, what would it be called?
• If [your project] were a time of day what would it be?
• What are three words you'd use to describe [your project]?
• What's the opposite of [your project]?

This or that:

• Super chatty or calm and collected?
• Straight lines or curved edges?
• Need-to-know or word-of-mouth?
• Clear and to-the-point or feelings first?
• Old school or new school?

Note down your answers on your whiteboard.

Then, choose the ones from the list that feel most true to your idea – and write them down in the ‘Words’ category of your mood board.

Match words and images

Now that you've explored your ideas visually and attached the words that feel right, we can bring the two together to start narrowing your mood board into a clearer visual direction.

If you’re using our mood board template – start to build this out in the section marked 'Final Mood Board'. If not, just create a new section to work in.

Matching words to images helps you make sense of an idea and build out your visual vocabulary: you're lifting out the exact thing that produces the feeling, and naming it as you go.

Not sure where to start? Take one of your words and think about which images fit the vibe – it might because of their color, shape, scale, or mood. Say your word is confident – that might show up as bold color, large type, strong angles, or negative space that gives an image room to breathe. Once you've got a few visual qualities in mind, go looking for images on your board that match them.

Here’s how:

• Start creating themed clusters around the words you've collected.
• Drag over the images that match.
• Whatever you choose, explain why it fits on a sticky note – a couple of words is enough. Naming the specific thing that's working is what trains your taste: you're not just reacting to an image instinctively anymore, you're spotting why it works for your vision.
• Aim for a handful of images per cluster – enough to see a direction, not so many you're rebuilding the whole board.
• That also means leaving behind anything that doesn't quite make the cut. The question isn't whether you like it anymore – it's whether it matches the feeling you're going for.

Check what's not working

You’re working towards a final mood board that gives you a strong idea of the visual direction you’re heading in. Keep asking yourself questions as you create it: How is it looking as a whole? Here’s where we narrow down.

Culling is never easy, but it's much easier when you can compare options side by side. Look at what you've gathered as a whole: are certain colors clashing now that you're seeing them together? Does an image suddenly feel out of place next to the rest?

From there, consider why for further clues. Is something a little too cold, too busy, too serious? Often the opposite of that is exactly what should stay. Think of it this way: Too cold and severe might mean you're actually after warm and inviting. An image that feels too posed or corporate might be pointing you toward something candid and relaxed instead.

Try these steps:

• If the opposite of what you’ve named is already sitting somewhere on your board – pull it in the same way you did in step 2: color, image, or word, plus the why.
• If it's not there yet – that's useful too, it means you've found a gap. Fill it by checking Canva's Elements library for a reference, asking AI for an example, or adding it directly if you already know what you're after.

Refine your vision

It's time to bring everything so far together into a final direction, because the better you understand what you're making, the more confidently you can build it.

• All those words you've collected aren't just labels, and all those images aren't just inspiration – they're a shortcut to getting clear on your idea, or sharing it with others (always a great way to stress-test how clear it is).
• Try writing your idea out in a few sentences. Think: What is it? Who's it for? What should it do, and look like? What's the vibe you're going for – and what's it definitely not?

You're basically creating a creative recipe here: something you can use as you go, and keep coming back to and refining, rather than starting from scratch each time. It's easy to lose your sense of direction when you're creating, so it helps to have this handy guide to return to.

Start creating

Let's start experimenting. Kick off with something clear, but achievable – that means skipping anything with lots of moving parts for now.

If you're stuck for ideas: pick the first thing someone would actually see or hold if your idea existed – a flyer, a social post, a newsletter header – then think about the elements you need for that particular design.

There's more than one way to start creating. Maybe you:

• Explore typefaces based on the inspiration you've collected, then compare what's working and what isn't. Which are taking you in the direction you're going for?
• Search the template library to quickly find designs that fit the vibe you’ve curated, then tweak them until they fit your vision exactly.
• Explore the Elements using the keywords on your board to find the right ones fast.
• Or turn your direction from step 4 into a prompt and put it to AI, uploading the images you've collected as a clear reference.

Whichever way you choose to create – solo, with collaborators, or with AI – compare what you make against your direction rather than taking it as final. Keep asking yourself questions:

Does it actually match the colors, images, and words you pulled? Use the vocabulary you've built up to figure out what's working and what isn't.

This back and forth is the creative process – you’re refining a design over and over until it does what you set out to achieve. And because you’ve spent the time exploring and putting your taste to work, you’ve got your North Star to keep guiding you.

Knowing when you're done

We love creating, but at some point – you’ve got to stop tweaking and share your idea with the world! Here are some ways to know that you’re ready to go:

• Is the design doing its job? Does it answer the brief or the aim? You might be done.
• Are you pushing pixels around but not really getting anywhere? You’ve probably done all you can. It’s time to share – and move onto your next project.
• Do you feel like there is anything left to add? Or is this a good enough example of the style you were going for. If you can’t think of anything, that’s your sign!

Watch the video above for all the advice from our creative experts – and to see the process in action.

How to keep building your taste

As we’ve learned throughout this series, taste is something we all have: It changes with time, like our interests do. But when you’re in the practice of tapping into your taste, you stay alert to it and make choices that help you bring what only you can to your creative projects.

So keep going, keep creating – and we’ll see you out there.