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Author Topic: Canva  (Read 421294 times)

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« on: August 26, 2013, 11:05 »
+1
http://www.microstockdiaries.com/canva.html

Canva: making graphic design easy
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 11:44 by luissantos84 »


« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2013, 02:17 »
0
Sounds interesting! Has anybody tried them out? What's the minimum payout?

« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2013, 02:48 »
0
100$

« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2013, 03:54 »
+11
Interesting concept, but 35% of 1$ per licence? Doesn't really make me jump up and down out of joy...

« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2013, 08:17 »
+4
100$
Way too high for a new site. 25$ would be more realistic.

« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2013, 08:21 »
+2
100$
Way too high for a new site. 25$ would be more realistic.

not to mention the exciting 35 cents ;D

« Reply #6 on: August 27, 2013, 08:35 »
+1
100$
Way too high for a new site. 25$ would be more realistic.

From the site...

Payout Threshold
You can withdraw your earnings manually or set an automatic payout at the end of each month.
The payout threshold is $100, but you can withdraw lower amounts at any time for a $2 fee.

« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2013, 09:28 »
0
Thought this might have got a bit more attention here given the involvement of Lee Torrens (Microstock Diaries/Microstock Expo) who after being a consultant initially has now moved himself and his family to Australia to be part of this start up.
I don't know enough about the design business to know if Canva is offering something there is a big demand for (though they obviously think so). Any designers here who could offer an opinion?
The initial flat rate (one time use) fee of $1 for use of stock images in designs seems on the low side to say the least and the 35% commission on offer probaly isn't going to get many rushing to upload. That said, the announcement says there are going to be regular Royalty Free and Extended licences going forward which will generate higher earnings.
Interestingly, Lee says they already have a million stock images from some "top" contributors. Anyone here already been uploading prior to launch?
Might be one to watch.  Regards, David.

WarrenPrice

« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2013, 09:33 »
0
I too found it interesting, David.  I think Lee's blog post might be a bit premature, however.
It is something that should be worth following.


EmberMike

« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2013, 09:58 »
+2

I honestly don't know much about the Canva system and tools yet, but what I can say about the company based on a conversation with Lee about it is that they took a very serious interest right at the beginning of their development to launch with a contributor system that was fair and easy to use. They approached Lee and asked him to help them figure out a system that was as contributor-friendly as possible, and Lee has been working with them throughout their early stages of development to build exactly that sort of system.

I'm impressed by companies that take contributor issues and concerns seriously, so that's why I got on board with Canva as a contributor. The payouts are fair, not the best but certainly not the worst either. And I think the product they are offering is very interesting.

Will be fun to see where this goes as they get closer to the official launch.

« Reply #10 on: August 28, 2013, 10:35 »
0
Interesting concept. It reminds me of a company I used to work for. Everything was in a database, so you pull in your graphics, style sheets, templates and copy. All you really had to do was fit it all on the page (not much design). It seems like they are bringing that well organized database idea that a big company like the one I worked for had, and they are sharing it with everyone.

« Reply #11 on: August 29, 2013, 06:26 »
+6
Hi all,

Luis, thanks for posting the link and video.  You have the fastest fingers in microstock! 

Interesting concept, but 35% of 1$ per licence? Doesn't really make me jump up and down out of joy...


That's fair enough Dirkr.  Canva won't be for everyone.  We feel that 35% of $1 per *use* is substantially better than 25-38 cents for unlimited use at other places. 

100$

Way too high for a new site. 25$ would be more realistic.


Shiyali, we thought a lot about where to set the payout threshold.  The transaction costs are proportionately heavier with lower payouts, so we thought it logical to offer payouts below the threshold for a small fee, as ClickImages pointed out.  It's better for contributors and helps us avoid losing money on smaller payouts.

Thought this might have got a bit more attention here given the involvement of Lee Torrens (Microstock Diaries/Microstock Expo) who after being a consultant initially has now moved himself and his family to Australia to be part of this start up.
I don't know enough about the design business to know if Canva is offering something there is a big demand for (though they obviously think so). Any designers here who could offer an opinion?
The initial flat rate (one time use) fee of $1 for use of stock images in designs seems on the low side to say the least and the 35% commission on offer probaly isn't going to get many rushing to upload. That said, the announcement says there are going to be regular Royalty Free and Extended licences going forward which will generate higher earnings.
Interestingly, Lee says they already have a million stock images from some "top" contributors. Anyone here already been uploading prior to launch?
Might be one to watch.  Regards, David.


Thanks for your thoughts, Newfocus1! 

$1 seems low because we're all used to thinking in terms of unlimited use as per the Royalty Free standard.  After we launch our Royalty Free licenses we'll get data on how many designs an image purchased with an RF license is used.  If it's a lot, the $1 One Time Use license fee will seem high. 

I found it interesting when I was recruiting contributors for Canva last year that some would respond to the 35% royalty rate with positive excitement, while others were disappointed.  Nobody will tell you it's the best rate in the industry, but it's a long way from the worst too.

Among our "top" contributors are Andres Rodriguez, IOFOTO (Ron Chapple), Monkey Business Images, Pressfoto, CandyBox Images, LifeOnWhite, Sergey Nivens (aka the artist formerly known as NexusPlexus), Kirsty Pargeter, Lev Dolgachov, Remy Muser (netfalls), Elena Elisseeva, Elnur, Serg Zastavkin, Diego Cervo, Lumaxart, and many more inspiring artists!  We've also added almost 100 since we announced our launch three days ago.

I too found it interesting, David.  I think Lee's blog post might be a bit premature, however.
It is something that should be worth following.


Fair point.  I published on the date we announced Canva's launch, so there was a lot of press at that time: http://press.canva.com/in-the-media/

I honestly don't know much about the Canva system and tools yet, but what I can say about the company based on a conversation with Lee about it is that they took a very serious interest right at the beginning of their development to launch with a contributor system that was fair and easy to use. They approached Lee and asked him to help them figure out a system that was as contributor-friendly as possible, and Lee has been working with them throughout their early stages of development to build exactly that sort of system.

I'm impressed by companies that take contributor issues and concerns seriously, so that's why I got on board with Canva as a contributor. The payouts are fair, not the best but certainly not the worst either. And I think the product they are offering is very interesting.

Will be fun to see where this goes as they get closer to the official launch.


Thanks Mike, I really appreciate this support.  That's exactly how it happened.  Here's some of the things Canva is doing differently to make life easier for contributors (most of these will arrive in the coming months):

- We have user accounts and 'brands'.  Contributed content is associated with a brand.  This way you can have multiple brands of content (separate portfolios, separate earnings) accessed with a single user account.  You can also have separate user accounts with different permissions to access a single brand, for all those who don't want their keyworders / submitters to see their earnings reports.
- We're doing everything technically possible to automate release matching, including automatically associating releases from a release matching spreadsheet that you upload into your FTP account with your images, AND automatically assigning releases to the images in the same folder in your FTP account
- We have the simplest, quickest and most graceful submission interface you've ever seen.  Everything is on one page, bulk action enabled, and built for speed.

There's obviously LOTS more, but those are some that address the most commonly cited pain points for uploading to a new, as-yet-unproven distributor. 

Interesting concept. It reminds me of a company I used to work for. Everything was in a database, so you pull in your graphics, style sheets, templates and copy. All you really had to do was fit it all on the page (not much design). It seems like they are bringing that well organized database idea that a big company like the one I worked for had, and they are sharing it with everyone.


That's interesting Cory.  That's indeed very similar to some of the core concepts of Canva.

-----

If anyone has any questions they'd like answered publicly, feel free to post them here.  If you prefer personal or private discussions you can reach me via [email protected]
« Last Edit: August 29, 2013, 06:32 by Lee@Canva »

« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2013, 11:29 »
0
Thanks for responding here Lee.  If they've got you taking care of the social media stuff (or at least on here) they will be well represented!

I'm very eager to see how this platform takes off.  It's always exciting with new stuff.  I'm also impressed by how smooth their site is considering the ultra crappy connection I'm currently surfing through.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2013, 15:19 »
+4
this reminds me of the new deal between SS & FB: It's not that bad if you consider this is a 72ppi image being used, not downloaded, and we are being paid a SS subs fee for a single use. I think it will actually educate more people that images "found" online aren't free. I'm off to have a better look.

« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2013, 22:39 »
0
Thanks for responding here Lee.  If they've got you taking care of the social media stuff (or at least on here) they will be well represented!

I'm very eager to see how this platform takes off.  It's always exciting with new stuff.  I'm also impressed by how smooth their site is considering the ultra crappy connection I'm currently surfing through.

Thanks Tyler!  All those years of watching other agency people do it are finally paying off.  ;)

Yes, the Canva website is super optimised! 

this reminds me of the new deal between SS & FB: It's not that bad if you consider this is a 72ppi image being used, not downloaded, and we are being paid a SS subs fee for a single use. I think it will actually educate more people that images "found" online aren't free. I'm off to have a better look.

A well-spotted similarity, Gillian.  It will be interesting to see if per-use licensing increases as we begin to see more images delivered directly into where they're used, rather than downloaded.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #15 on: August 30, 2013, 03:44 »
0
I'm a little bit stuck at this bit:
Quote
Part of what makes Canva wonderful to design with is that most items in our media library will be cut out, so that the background is transparent.
If we create the cut out, it will be owned by us. But of course the original copyright holder will still own the copyright to the original photo and we wont sell licenses for the cut out if you deactivate the original version.

so if you own the cut out, and sell that cut out, you don't pay me?
are you doing these cut outs yourselves? or farming them off to India? if that's the case, doesn't that put my images at risk of being stolen by a third party?

« Reply #16 on: August 30, 2013, 08:57 »
0
I'm a little bit stuck at this bit:
Quote
Part of what makes Canva wonderful to design with is that most items in our media library will be cut out, so that the background is transparent.
If we create the cut out, it will be owned by us. But of course the original copyright holder will still own the copyright to the original photo and we wont sell licenses for the cut out if you deactivate the original version.

so if you own the cut out, and sell that cut out, you don't pay me?
are you doing these cut outs yourselves? or farming them off to India? if that's the case, doesn't that put my images at risk of being stolen by a third party?

Thanks for pointing that out Gillian.  I've taken it out.  Here's what happened:

One of our early strategies for avoiding becoming a free deep etch farm was to claim ownership of the cutout as a derivative work, in the same way that a designer who uses a stock photo in a design owns the design but not the photo inside it.  That policy lasted a very short time, but when we took it out I neglected to update the "human readable" notes in the right-side column of the Contributor Agreement.  As the big disclaimer at the top says, those side notes are not part of the legal agreement, but they are obviously confusing when they don't match up with the clauses. My apologies for the confusion.

Contributors are currently paid the same royalty for sale of a cutout as for an image that isn't cut out.  We included a clause in the agreement (clause 3.1) stating that we reserve the right to charge a premium for the cutouts and not include that premium in the royalty calculation. This is a facility we wanted to keep in place to enable us to scale up the quantity of cutouts we created, but at this point we're not charging any premium. I don't believe it's likely we'll start using it any time soon, but we wanted to be upfront about the future possibility rather than just change things without warning.

Image security is of critical importance to us, just as it is to microstock agencies.  We contract the deep etching to a company that specialises in that task and have ensured the file security is managed appropriately.  We've spent months working very closely with them to get the deep etching process to a very high standard to suit even high resolution print output.

« Reply #17 on: August 30, 2013, 09:52 »
0
Nice to see someone doing something different from the myriad ill thought out me too sites

« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2013, 10:35 »
0
Can I submit my own cutouts?
Yes, you can. Simply submit a cut out file in PNG format. As you cant embed metadata in PNG files youll have to enter it at submission. Well review the image for the quality of the cutout as well as all the other aspects we usually review.


Perhaps you can explain the advantage of submitting isolated files in the PNG format. I'll have to go back into each file and add the metadata. Will these files be given any preferential treatment? If not, then it would be easier for me to submit JPEGs (with a white background) and the data already embeded.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 10:49 by rimglow »

DC


« Reply #19 on: August 30, 2013, 11:02 »
0
Can I submit my own cutouts?
Yes, you can. Simply submit a cut out file in PNG format. As you cant embed metadata in PNG files youll have to enter it at submission. Well review the image for the quality of the cutout as well as all the other aspects we usually review.


Perhaps you can explain the advantage of submitting isolated files in the PNG format. I'll have to go back into each file and add the metadata. Will these files be given any preferential treatment? If not, then it would be easier for me to submit JPEGs (with a white background) and the data already embeded.

I believe that JPEG does not support transparency, whereas PNG files do.

« Reply #20 on: August 30, 2013, 11:10 »
0
Can I submit my own cutouts?
Yes, you can. Simply submit a cut out file in PNG format. As you cant embed metadata in PNG files youll have to enter it at submission. Well review the image for the quality of the cutout as well as all the other aspects we usually review.


Perhaps you can explain the advantage of submitting isolated files in the PNG format. I'll have to go back into each file and add the metadata. Will these files be given any preferential treatment? If not, then it would be easier for me to submit JPEGs (with a white background) and the data already embeded.

I believe that JPEG does not support transparency, whereas PNG files do.


Yes, we all know that. If Canva is going to farm out the JPEGs to turn them into PNGs, then why give them PNGs? We'll have to go back and edit each one, for metadata. We might save them a step, but it will cost us time to edit each file.

Actually, I've already submitted about 400 PNG isolations. I'm just wondering if it would have been better to give them JPEGs, and have them transform them into PNGs?
« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 11:23 by rimglow »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #21 on: August 30, 2013, 11:27 »
0
I was confused about whether all their images are isolated, and whether that's all that most designers want (I don't see that in use all that often).
I hit 'stop' when she searched on 'monkey' and pulled out an ape.  ::)

« Reply #22 on: August 30, 2013, 11:44 »
0
I was confused about whether all their images are isolated, and whether that's all that most designers want (I don't see that in use all that often).
I hit 'stop' when she searched on 'monkey' and pulled out an ape.  ::)

If you search for "monkey" on iStock, half are isolations, and a lot of the results are apes.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #23 on: August 30, 2013, 11:51 »
+1
I was confused about whether all their images are isolated, and whether that's all that most designers want (I don't see that in use all that often).
I hit 'stop' when she searched on 'monkey' and pulled out an ape.  ::)

If you search for "monkey" on iStock, half are isolations, and a lot of the results are apes.
I've been pointing out the monkey / ape thing for years.
H*ll, on iS if you type in e.g. "Bombus terrestris" in quotes, you get everything tagged Bumblebee.
Irrelevant anyway - I didn't say iS was better.

A new site has the ability to get keywording right from the start, but none seems to want to do it. Bizarre, eh?

« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2013, 12:10 »
+1
Can I submit my own cutouts?
Yes, you can. Simply submit a cut out file in PNG format. As you cant embed metadata in PNG files youll have to enter it at submission. Well review the image for the quality of the cutout as well as all the other aspects we usually review.


Perhaps you can explain the advantage of submitting isolated files in the PNG format. I'll have to go back into each file and add the metadata. Will these files be given any preferential treatment? If not, then it would be easier for me to submit JPEGs (with a white background) and the data already embeded.

PNG files are boosted in the search results because they're more usable - at least they get used more frequently and people tell us they love them. 

To manage metadata, you can upload both the JPG and the PNG versions of the same image with the exact same filename (different filename extensions, obviously).  Our system will extract the embedded metadata from the JPG and associate it in the database with the PNG. 

The reason you may choose to upload cut out images is that images isolated on white (or isolated on another color) are not available in Canva until they're cut out.  Canva is a layout tool and doesn't do pixel manipulation, so isolated images that aren't cut out aren't very useful in Canva.  We have just over a million images now, so you can imagine how many are in the queue to be cut out.  So your images will get online much quicker if you cut them out yourself. 

However, we understand the reality of this situation.  We're a new company and starting from nothing, so we don't expect anyone to alter their images just for us.  That's why we're doing it ourselves.

I was confused about whether all their images are isolated, and whether that's all that most designers want (I don't see that in use all that often).
I hit 'stop' when she searched on 'monkey' and pulled out an ape.  ::)

Not all images are isolated.  We're only cutting out the images submitted as isolated on white (or isolated on another color).  If you choose to contribute, you don't have to separate out isolated images, just send us everything.  Images that aren't shot isolated on white go straight through review and into the system. 


 

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