Including your Word of the Year
Every year, it's common to reflect on the previous year and set our intentions for the year to come. There are lots of ways to do this, including choosing a Word of the Year. (Check out my post about my 2024 WotY here!)
Another very common way to keep your intention in front of you is by creating a Vision Board. I might be aging myself by saying this, but I remember several years ago when I'd sit around with other women, surrounded by magazines, glue sticks, markers, and poster boards... we were all scattered on the floor around coffee tables, in the kitchen and on couches, dreaming of the future.
We'd throw on some music, munch on snacks, and at the end of the night, we'd present our Vision Boards to one another and share what our hopes were for the coming year.
Then, we'd all go away and pin our Vision Boards up on the wall, somewhere we'd see it every day. (It was always stressed that this part was very important!)
Well, we've come a long way since then, and now many of us do most of our work in front of a screen. So it only makes sense to have at least some version of your Vision Board that you'll see every time you open your computer to work or create!
Write the Vision, and Make it Plain
In the book of Habukuk, God gives a revelation and tells the prophet, "Write the vision and make it plain..." Now, this was in regards to a specific revelation God gave to Habukuk, but the concept still applies - there is something special about writing our goals and vision down plainly and clearly, and where we can see them every day.
A couple years ago, a friend mentioned that she uploads her Vision Board on her desktop wallpaper! I thought this was a genius idea and have been using a version of this ever since!
So, without further ado, here are 4 easy steps to creating a digital vision board in Canva.
Four Easy Steps to Creating a Vision Board in Canva
1: Do your Prep work
Before you start designing, you do need to have some idea of what you want on your vision board. This could be your Word of the Year, it could be a favorite motivating quote, it could be goals you want to reach, pictures that inspire you, or any combination of those things.
Pro Tip: If you're the kind of person who tends to get overwhelmed with too many options, it also helps if you already have your brand colors, or at the very least, a color scheme, as well as know what type of fonts you love. This will make the sorting, choosing, and editing much easier!
2: Search for a Desktop Wallpaper template
In your Canva search box, use the term "Desktop wallpaper" and hit enter. You'll see a variety of options come up.
Pro Tip: Use the filters to limit the results. I suggest doing this by Style, Theme, or Color.
Pick one that speaks to you, or choose a few and combine them into one Canva design, where you can view them all at once. You can even star certain templates so you can come back to them later.
Here's where you can view your Starred template ideas:
3: Customize your template
Now for the fun part!
Using the ideas you fleshed out earlier, start adding photos, quotes, or goals to your Vision Board. Canva is great for this since you can search for images that represent your Vision. You can even use the search filter to determine whether you want a horizontal or vertical image.
Pro Tip: Be sure to leave a bit of a margin around the edges so nothing gets cut off when you add it to your Desktop.
Pro Tip 2: Be sure you consider what icons and shortcuts are currently on your desktop. I recommend leaving a space for those when you design so they don't cover something you want to see regularly!
Here are a few ideas to keep your Vision Board clear and uncluttered:
Keep it simple: Use a backgound photo that inspires you, and overlay just 1 Word or Quote. Then duplicate this 11 times. Change the quote or word on each design. Now, you'll have one new background for every month of the year!
Create blocks for each category. You can add a colored box (from Canva's elements) to section off different parts of your background for different things. For example: I have a rounded box where I type quotes, reminders, or affirmations. I put it in the lower right corner of my background, since that's the area that's most visible on my second screen (when I minimize my browser!). Then, I have photos of my family on one side, and a header with the Premier Ops Spot company brand settings. (This has nothing to do with my Vision Board, but I like having them on my desktop for easy access all the time!)
Put your Word in the center of your Vision Board. When I handletter things, I sometimes use a lighter marker to write a word in all caps, then handletter a script over top of it. You can use this same sort of idea in Canva for your Vision Board Wallpaper:
Add text with your word of the year.
Change the font to something you love.
Be sure the font color is visible and contrasts with your background.
Put your photos or quotes around the word so it's still always visible.
Here's mine for this year:
4: Upload your Digital Vision Board to your Computer Wallpaper / Desktop Background
First, you'll want to download the image from Canva. A png or jpg is just fine.
Then, you'll want to change your computer wallpaper to this image.
I use a PC, so here are instructions on my Lenovo. It should be the same or very similar for most PCs.
Right-click on your desktop background and choose "Display Settings".
Choose "Personalization" from the side bar (My Lenovo has a shortcut to this directly when I right-click on my desktop).
Click on "Background".
For the "Personalize your Background" option, choose "picture".
Click Browse Photos, then choose your new Vision Board image.
Last step: Check that nothing was cut off around the edges. If it was, you may have to go back to Canva to resize or move things around so they fit properly on your screen. Then redownload and try the process again!
That's it! Now you can enjoy viewing your Digital Vision Board every time you open your computer.
Will you try this method or do you have another one you use? Tell me what you think!
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