Visual storytelling is essential in family history. Whether sharing research findings, preparing publications, or promoting your genealogy business, design tools help you communicate clearly and beautifully.
This post introduces two great graphic design tools, Canva and Affinity Studio, and demonstrates twenty-one practical ways to use them in your family history work.
What is Canva?
Canva is an online design platform that lets you create graphics quickly and easily. It provides thousands of templates for social media posts, posters, presentations, invitations, reports and more.
You can customise colours, fonts, layouts and images without advanced design skills. Canva works wherever you have an internet connection, making it fast and accessible.
The platform includes basic photo-editing tools, AI image generation, brand kits, collaboration features and flexible export options. If you need something quickly or lack extensive design experience, Canva is an excellent choice.
What is Affinity Studio?
The three main tools, or studios, in Affinity Studio are Layout, Vector, and Pixel.
Layout Studio handles page layouts for books, newsletters and reports. Vector Studio creates logos, charts, maps and diagrams. Pixel Studio provides precise image editing and retouching. Use them separately or combine all in one project.
Unlike Canva, Affinity does not include galleries of ready-made templates or images. You import or generate your own content.
Affinity offers fine control over typography, colours, layers, grids and print settings. It supports professional formats including CMYK colour profiles, making it suitable for print-ready publications. Affinity targets users with advanced design skills.
Twenty-One Ways to Use Canva and Affinity Studio in Family History
Below are twenty-one practical ideas for using these tools in your family history projects. Choose the app based on your skills and the nature of the task.
1. Social media posts about your family or research
Share family stories, discoveries or research updates on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. I love Canva for social media as it has a wide selection of templates, graphics and images. You can apply your own brand kit to maintain consistency.
2. Restore or enhance family photos
Canva offers basic photo enhancements and an AI tools such as background removal. Use Pixel Studio in Affinity for careful retouching, colour cast correction or repairing small defects.
(Subject: Taronga Zoo ferry wharf, Sydney Australia, date and photographer unknown)
3. Gift cards featuring your family
Turn family photos into birthday or holiday cards. These are simple to produce in both tools.
4. Ancestor profiles
Create a snapshot of an ancestor’s life including photos, events, occupations, locations and stories. Share these with relatives or include them in publications.
5. Family newsletters
Use a Canva newsletter template or design your own. Layout Studio in Affinity provides another option for more complex layouts.
6. Family history books
Both tools support book creation from simple to sophisticated. Plan page spreads, design chapter headings, edit images and control typography in Affinity’s Layout Studio or Canva.
7. Locality guides to assist your research
Create a locality guide in either tool for the town, parish or country where your ancestors lived. Include maps, timelines, repositories and links to useful sources.
8. Photobooks or scrapbooks
Canva works well for photobooks and family history scrapbooks. Combine images, captions, stories and themed layouts in a cohesive design.
9. Presentations about your family or research topics
Canva lets you design slides quickly for educational purposes or sharing family stories. Use a template, generate a presentation with AI, or create your own branded slides.
(AI tool in the Canva Pro version)
10. Customised family tree charts
Create family tree charts that include exactly the people and information you need. Use Canva or Affinity to customise colours, shapes, line styles, and add images or graphics.
11. Customised maps to illustrate publications
Create maps containing the places and features you need while avoiding copyright issues. Add place markers, migration paths or historical boundaries. Affinity’s Vector Studio is great for map creation.
12. Unique graphics and infographics for blog posts
Create graphics and infographics to illustrate your content. Canva’s infographic templates provide helpful starting points. Use Affinity Vector when you need more precision or complexity.
13. Banner images for social media and websites
Design banner images for Facebook or your website that reflect your personality or business brand. Get inspiration from Canva templates or create custom designs in Affinity.
14. AI-generated images when photos don’t exist
Canva Pro includes AI features for creating images when suitable photos don’t exist. Generate scenes representing an ancestor’s occupation, historic locations, or people for presentations and publications. Canva’s AI tools are intuitive and easy to use.
15. Logos for your genealogy business
Design a logo in Affinity’s Vector Studio for fine control over every element, or use Canva’s templates and customisation tools for faster results.
16. Business cards for your genealogy business
Canva offers ready-to-print business card templates. Customise them with your branding or design your own from scratch.
17. Brochures and flyers to promote your services
Design marketing materials for speaking events, consultations or workshops. Keep branding consistent across all formats.
18. Brand and style guides for your genealogy business
Define fonts, colours, image styles and layout rules. Maintain your brand as a Canva brand kit or create a formal document in either Canva or Affinity Studio.
19. Customised templates for business workflows
Create professional, branded templates for invoices, reports and receipts to streamline your genealogy business operations.
20. Worksheets, forms and research templates
Design research plans and logs, checklists, interview sheets, transcription forms and analysis templates tailored to your research needs.
21. Family reunion materials
Prepare for your next family reunion with promotional materials, newsletters, charts, storybooks and more.
Choosing the Right Tool for the Task
Both tools are powerful, but they have different strengths and require different skill levels.
Use Canva when you:
- need something quickly
- prefer working with templates
- want accessible AI tools
- are new to design.
Use Affinity Studio when you:
- require precise control over design elements
- work with CMYK or print-ready formats
- create detailed diagrams or layered designs
- have confidence with graphic design tools.
Both tools offer free versions. Canva also has a Canva Pro subscription for additional features. Download Affinity Studio to your computer and log in using your Canva account. If you have a Canva Pro subscription, AI features will be available in Affinity Studio.
Get Started
Canva and Affinity Studio are valuable tools for family history work. They help you create unique designs, share your research and build engaging presentations.
Start small and experiment. Choose the app that suits your skills and the task at hand.
If you want to learn more about using Canva in family history, Jane Hutcheon is giving a presentation on Canva essentials for the Society of Australian Genealogists on 3 December.
For more of my articles on documenting your family history, go to the Document page.
About the Author
Danielle Lautrec is a genealogy educator, researcher, and author of The Good Genealogist. With qualifications in history, family history, and historical archaeology, she teaches for the Society of Australian Genealogists.
