Juan CreatesJuan Creates

Juan Córdoba — product design leader at Canva. Ecosystems, apps and AI.

I lead product design for Canva’s ecosystem platform,
connecting apps, creative tools and AI.

That starts with understanding what people need, bringing the right people together, and giving ideas enough shape to test and learn.

Hey, connect the dots.

Goal
YouDrag me

Drag your avatar to the goal or use the left and right arrow keys. Click to edit your profile.

I’m putting a reel together. Coming soon.

Juan in creative mode, sketching storyboards beside a video editing timeline in his studioJuan sketching storyboards beside an editing timeline, in midnight blue, purple and pink charcoal
Reel coming soon.
A few chapters from my work2022 — 2026

Selected work

2026
AI Connectors in Canva AI
Canva AI Connectors

Connecting Canva AI to the world.

I helped shape an experience that brings the context people already have in other tools into Canva AI, so they can create without starting from scratch. I coached the early vision, brought designers together, and helped turn launch feedback into decisions.

Read my part in the story
A curious young girl discovers creative apps through a blue magnifying glassA curious young girl discovers creative apps through a blue magnifying glass2026
Canva Intents

Make apps discoverable.

I led the Intents Platform vision, from discovery through delivery and evolution, making app capabilities discoverable across Canva.

Read my part in the story
Data Connectors

Bring data into Canva.

I helped teams bring data from other tools into Canva, then use it in Sheets, turn it into charts or make designs in bulk.

Import data into Canva SheetsBring data from tools like HubSpot into a Canva Sheet and work with it there.
Import data into chartsConnect your data to a chart and make the pattern easier to see.
Use data to design at scaleFill text and images with your data, then create a batch of personalised designs.
API Everywhere

Making CanvaAI-ready.

An open creative toolbox connects Canva tools to AI through an orange cableAn open creative toolbox connects Canva tools to AI through an orange cable2026

I helped shape API Everywhere with product and engineering partners: a strategy to make Canva’s creative capabilities easier for other products and AI to build on.

Good foundations make it easier for more people to build on Canva.

Together, we worked out which capabilities to open up, who would own them, and how to support them over time. I helped set the direction, bring teams together and shape guidance for each stage.

  1. Discover
  2. Own
  3. Launch
  4. Evolve
Juan’s illustrated avatarJuan’s illustrated avatar
Still curious. Still making.
How I got here

Alwayscurious.

I’m Juan Córdoba, a product design leader working across ecosystems, apps and AI. I like asking “what if?”, then giving ideas enough shape that we can try them together.

At Canva, I lead design for the ecosystem platform, helping teams connect creative tools and the people who build on them. My work moves between setting direction, coaching designers and getting hands-on with the details. I care about how an interaction feels and how the whole experience fits together.

Juan imagining a light-bulb idea, with a winding path leading to Australia.Juan imagining a light-bulb idea, with a winding path leading to Australia.
One sketch led to another.

How did I get here?

I started in graphic design, making icons, and eventually found my way to Australia. Sketching, designing and building are how I think things through, whether I’m exploring an interaction or working out where a whole product could go. I like giving an idea enough shape that we can try it, question it, and find something we hadn’t considered.

I started at Canva in Admin Experience, spending my first six months or so as a Group Product Design Lead before joining Ecosystem. Before that, I led the product design team at Gumtree, imagining what buying and selling could become. Now, apps, the Ecosystem platform and new ways to create with AI keep giving me fresh things to figure out.

An excited close-up of Juan looking at a simple app idea above his open hand.An excited close-up of Juan looking at a simple app idea above his open hand.
What if we tried this?

What’s exciting me right now?

Right now, I’m excited about how short the distance between an idea and a working thing has become. It brings back some of the excitement I felt about the early web: so much to learn, so many things to try.

I’m exploring what I can make with creative apps, AI agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) connectors. That means sketching, sharing references, prompting, revising and seeing how well the tools work together. Through Juan Creates, I want to share those building journeys: the decisions, the rough edges and what I learn along the way.

Juan revising designs at a desk with coffee, crumpled drafts and a laptop, with successive iterations sketched above him.Juan revising designs at a desk with coffee, crumpled drafts and a laptop, with successive iterations sketched above him.
A few more revisions…

One prompt and you’re done?

There’s usually a lot of thinking and iteration behind a polished demo. Building something changes my understanding of what it should be. I try an idea, look closely at the result, and change direction when it teaches me something new.

Judgement, taste and good questions matter throughout that process. I bring them to the teams I coach and the tools I explore. Being able to imagine something and have a real shot at building it is what excites me about what we’re making at Canva, and what I might make next.

Away from the screen
dogs
games
a little salsa

Where I started

A few earlier chapters

Let’s
make.

Have an idea?I’d love to hear about it