Melanie Perkins
Melanie Perkins is the Australian co-founder and CEO of Canva, sharing the work of making design easier and using the company’s success to support communities.
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Latest
Melanie’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- From
- Perth, Western Australia
- Work
- Entrepreneur; Canva co-founder and CEO
- First venture
- Fusion Books, co-founded in 2007
- Breakout
- Canva’s public launch in August 2013
Mini bio
How it started.
While studying in Perth, Melanie taught design software and saw how hard it was for students to learn. She and Cliff Obrecht began with a smaller version of her idea: an online tool for school yearbooks called Fusion Books.
Building Canva.
The early business ran from her mother’s living room, with family helping with mailouts and printing. She kept working toward a broader design platform. With Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams, she brought Canva to the public in 2013, combining browser-based design and collaboration.
What comes next.
Her recent launch posts follow Canva’s expansion into spreadsheets, coding and AI-assisted design. Alongside that work, Melanie and Cliff signed the Giving Pledge in 2021 and have developed their philanthropy around giving communities more say in the support they receive.
Creditschronological, newest first
- 2025Creative Operating SystemLaunch author; Canva co-founder and CEO
- 2025Visual Suite 2.0Launch author; Canva co-founder and CEO
- 2013CanvaCo-founder and CEO
- 2007Fusion BooksCo-founder
Awards
Quotes
In this day and age, companies have a much greater responsibility than the old mantra to do no evil.Melanie Perkins, Canva Careers
On sustainability and the company’s responsibility; source linked below.
Trivia
- She sold handmade scarves at Perth shops and markets at age 14.
- When Fusion Books received its first $100 deposit cheque, she and Cliff debated framing it before deciding to cash it.
- Her mother sometimes watched over the yearbook printers when the founders needed a break.
Find Melanie
Follow her notes on building Canva, new launches and giving back.
Are you Melanie Perkins?
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