An infographic, a process diagram and a visual explainer answer different questions. The first makes approved figures readable; the second shows how a documented process actually moves; the third walks a reader through supported facts in panels. Canva Magic Design can propose editable layouts for the first and third. Lucid AI can draft the flowchart. Neither knows whether your numbers, process or explanation are correct. This guide is based on product documentation checked on 21 October 2026; BIG CHANGE did not run these tools or inspect a generated export.

The big change

  • What changed: AI can arrange source material into an editable design and draft a flowchart from written steps. The source record still determines what every figure, label and arrow should say.
  • Why it matters: A communicator can start with a layout or diagram draft, then spend the careful work on three different checks: data for the infographic, process logic for the diagram and claim order for the explainer. Canva's AI chart tool specifically excludes infographic chart types.
  • What to watch: The decisive step is the exported file. Its displayed values, branch paths and panel text must still match the approved records at the size and in the format the audience will receive.

1. Prepare three source records

Before opening either editor, gather an approved data table with units, dates and source links; a written process that names each action, decision, branch and exception; and a short set of approved facts in the order a reader needs them. Record who approved each source and which photos, icons or other assets you have rights to use. Decide the audience, where each visual will appear, required dimensions and file size, and whether a readable text description must accompany it. Remove material you cannot put into either service. The three outputs can share a subject, but each needs its own checkable source.

2. Build the data infographic in Canva

  1. From the Canva homepage, choose Canva AI. Describe an infographic layout for your intended audience and destination. Use + to add approved text or permitted assets, submit, then choose Edit design on a useful result. Canva's Magic Design instructions also describe an editor route through Templates → Try Canva AI. Treat generated headings, figures and illustrations as placeholders until checked.
  2. In the editor, open Charts from the side panel, or Apps → Charts if Charts is hidden. Choose a chart suited to the approved data, including an infographic chart where appropriate. Enter or import the real data. Canva's Charts guide describes the chart editor's data table and Edit → Chart setup controls for choosing displayed values and labels. Keep the source's units, period, denominator and category names visible where the graphic needs them.
  3. Compare every displayed number, category and annotation with the approved table. Check that the chart scale and pictograms do not imply more than the values show. Remove any AI-added claim or asset that lacks a source or permission.

Canva's AI chart guide says its chart generator can use sample data and cannot generate infographic charts. Do not use an AI-created chart as evidence or describe an ordinary Charts infographic chart as automatically generated.

3. Draft the process diagram in Lucidchart

  1. Open a Lucidchart document and select the Lucid AI icon at the top of the left primary toolbar. Give it the approved process in order, including the exact decision questions, branch labels, exception paths and end states. Lucid's current AI guide documents text-to-flowchart generation and edits to a selected diagram.
  2. Trace every path in the draft against the written record. Check each node's wording, connector direction, decision outcome, loop and exception. Fix mistakes through a follow-up prompt or by editing shapes and lines. Ask the process owner to resolve ambiguity in the source record before settling an ambiguous branch; the drawing cannot supply a missing rule.
  3. Use Lucidchart's File → Export route, choose PDF, PNG, JPEG or SVG, set the relevant crop and image-quality options, and download. Lucid's export guide notes that comments, notes and some other editor features do not appear in the export. Put any essential instruction in the visible diagram or its accompanying text.

Lucid describes AI as a beta feature optimized for English. Its guide lists Free, Individual, Team and Enterprise availability, excludes FedRAMP accounts, and says future paid access is possible. Check your actual account and administrator settings before relying on the AI control.

4. Make a separate panelled visual explainer

Start a second Canva design. Use Canva AI or the editor's Templates → Try Canva AI route to request an editable panel layout from your approved notes and permitted assets. State the intended panel order and audience. Then assemble the explanation yourself: each panel should make one supported point, the next panel should follow logically, and any statistic or quoted wording should be checked against its source. Delete invented transitions and decorative images that imply an unsupported event. This is an editorial use of Magic Design's layout capability, not a documented automatic fact-checking or dedicated explainer mode.

5. Export, reopen and decide whether the work is done

For each Canva design, use Share → Download, select the destination's file type and pages, and review size and quality before downloading. Canva documents PNG and JPG for images and PDF formats for documents; some quality, size and SVG options depend on the plan. Its download instructions warn that the editor may flag issues before saving. Check the actual account's AI allowance, paid assets and export options before committing to a format.

Open all three downloaded files, not just the editor previews. At the audience's intended viewing size, verify every infographic value and label against the table; trace every diagram branch against the process record; and read every explainer panel against its approved fact. Check legibility, contrast, source attribution, image rights, the required dimensions and the actual file size. Supply a concise text description that carries the important numbers, process route or explanatory sequence for readers who cannot use the image. Do not assume an editor's alt text or notes survive a particular export.

If an AI control is unavailable, check the account's plan, allowance and administrator settings. You can build the Canva designs manually from templates and Charts, or draw the Lucidchart process with shapes and connectors. Label that result as manually made. If a value, decision or rights clearance cannot be verified, hold the affected file until the source owner resolves it; a polished export is not a completed check.

For a different visual task, see our guides to updating one native PowerPoint chart from Excel and building social carousels, quote cards and a visual calendar.