brand templates at canva
Canva. Software engineer, Brand Templates team, March 2023 to July 2025.
Under NDA. Role, process and approach only.
I helped remove what Canva’s most senior engineer called the biggest piece of tech debt at Canva, led the frontend for Brand Style Match, and rebuilt a fragile core surface used by millions every day.
the problem
Stand-in. I haven’t yet written the problem statement for this work. It needs to say what state Brand Templates was in when I joined, why the core surface was fragile, and what the team was being asked to deliver on top of it.
role
I was a software engineer on the Brand Templates team, building the tools that help organisations create on-brand content without a designer in the loop. The work combined product thinking, technical execution and a growing use of AI in the engineering workflow.
Day to day that meant React, MobX and TypeScript inside a large ecosystem of internal component libraries and tooling, working across team boundaries and balancing technical trade-offs between legacy systems and evolving product goals.
what shipped
Brand Style Match, a one-click feature for applying a consistent visual style, where I led the frontend. It was featured at Canva Create.
A major evolution of the Brand Templates code structure, shipped in time for Canva Create. Canva’s most senior engineer described it as removing the biggest piece of tech debt at Canva.
The Brand Tab sub-navigation, where I led the frontend implementation, alongside refactoring shared UI components and improving the publishing experience across the editor. The core surface this touched is used by millions of people every day.
working with ai
The most transformative part of the role was how deeply AI became part of the engineering workflow. I used Cursor, Claude Code and AMP Code daily to unblock faster, generate cleaner code and reduce cognitive load while navigating a large, changing codebase. The tools did not just speed things up. They freed energy for thoughtful design and for solving real user problems.
outcome
Stand-in. I haven’t yet written the before and after. It should name what the rebuilt surface made possible, within what the NDA allows: no confidential metrics, screenshots or internal details.
beyond the code
I was an active member of the Brisbane Hub, Canva’s coworking space, and hosted monthly coffee catchups as part of the company’s internal Club events. A small tradition, but one that gave the hub a friendly place to unwind, talk shop and strengthen team culture.