How to Change Background Color on Canva
I'm going to show you how to change the background color on your Canva design. I have this template on my Canva design, and it has a really bright red background. I'm going to turn that red into black.
Change Background Color on Canva: Basics
First you have to click on the background. This is very important. When you click that, you will usually see a purple border on the canvas, and that means the background is being selected.
In case you have a lot of elements and the background might be overlapped by other elements, go to Position. Navigate Layers and make sure to click the background, which is usually located at the very bottom of Layers on your document.
Click on the Background color menu. Change the color to whatever color you find best for the design. I switch that to black, and this is the result.
If you need to recolor parts of an image instead of the canvas background, see how to change the color of an image in Canva.
Change Background Color on Canva: Gradient
If gradient is your thing, you could use gradient as well. Gradient contains multiple different colors if you want. This gives you a smooth blend across the background.
To remove or replace a photo background with AI tools, check out this guide to changing photo backgrounds in Canva with AI.
Change Background Color on Canva: Split Colors
If you want to create a clear separation between one background and another, for example the left side could be black and the right side could be red, you need to use a different method.
I'm going to visit Elements, and I'm going to visit Shapes. I'm going to add this square shape into my design.
Change the color to red. Make it bigger. Make it overlap the entire half of my design.
Right click on it. Choose Layer. Select Send to Backward.
Now I have two different background colors on my design, which I think gives it a more unique look.
Final Thoughts
Click the background, confirm selection in Layers if needed, and use the Background color menu to switch to your new color. For multi-color looks, use gradients or place colored shapes and send them backward to split the canvas. For video projects, here is how to change a video background in Canva using AI.
