Canva to PowerPoint to DataPoint: A Streamlined Workflow for Stunning, Data-Driven Presentations • PresentationPoint

Here at PresentationPoint, we LOVE PowerPoint. Its ease of use and the fact that most people in organizations already have access to PowerPoint as part of the Microsoft Office Suite make it the perfect companion platform for DataPoint. Another amazing feature of PowerPoint is that there are so many different templates available. In this article, we are going to explore how I incorporate the thousands of presentation templates in Canva into my Canva to PowerPoint to DataPoint workflow.

What is Canva?

Canva is an easy-to-use online graphic design tool that lets people create a variety of visual content such as social media graphics, posters, videos, websites, and of course, presentations. Canva offers both free and paid versions, and I have found the paid version to be great value as it gives me access to a lot more stock photos, videos, and illustrations and can produce higher-resolution output.

Why Use Canva Instead of PowerPoint?

Quite simply – templates. Canva has over 26,000 presentation templates, all in one place. Presentation templates and designs created in Canva can easily be exported to editable PowerPoint presentations, so you get the best of both worlds.

My Canva to PowerPoint to DataPoint Workflow

Here is an overview of my Canva to PowerPoint to DataPoint workflow. Details for each step are broken down below:

Step 1: Assemble My Data
Step 2: Find a Great Canva Template
Step 3: Export to PowerPoint
Step 4: Connect PowerPoint to Data
Step 5: Share my Data Visualization Presentation

Step 1: Assemble My Data

I always start my data visualization workflow by making sure I have the data collected that I want to show. For this example, I am using an Excel spreadsheet, but you can use DataPoint to connect to thousands of additional data sources using our data PowerPoint integrations.

For this example, I created a spreadsheet to match a Canva template I wanted to use, but usually, you would start with the data and choose a Canva template based on this.

DataPoint database for using with Canva and PowerPoint

Step 2: Find a Great Canva Template

Log into your Canva account (you can create a free account if you are not already a Canva member). Then click on [Create a Design] and choose [Presentation].

Then search within the templates until you find a design template you like. When you click on the template you can choose either to apply the entire multiple-page template to your presentation or just a single slide template.

Step 3: Export to PowerPoint

Once you have chosen either a single slide or an entire presentation template, I adjust the presentation’s graphic using the stock photos, videos, and other elements within Canva. Once I am happy with the design, I then export the presentation to PowerPoint so I can connect it to my live data using DataPoint.

To export, click on the [Share] then [Download] option.

Then click on the > on the [Download] menu item to access the pull-down menu to choose what format to download the template in. Choose PPTX in this case as we want the presentation to be in an editable PowerPoint format. Save the template to your computer hard drive.

Step 4: Connect PowerPoint to Data

If you haven’t already installed our DataPoint add-on for PowerPoint, install it now. Now we open the exported PowerPoint and click on the [DataPoint] option in the menu options at the top. After you click on [DataPoint], then click on the [List] options in the [Connections] group.