How Microsoft Designer Could Rival Canva

Thanks to apps like Plixr, Adobe Spark, and Canva, online graphic design can be used to add professional polish to your branding with only a few taps, clicks, and swipes.What if you could convert a blank canvas to a beautifully designed picture with only a few words? Microsoft Designer will make that possible. Should those other apps, like Canva, be worried?

Microsoft Announces AI-Powered Design App

Microsoft recently unveiled an online graphic design tool, Designer, that will create a perfect picture for you by typing in a few individual words or a complete sentence.

This is done by taking advantage of an artificial intelligence tool DALL-E 2. All you need to do is enter some text and the computer will provide you with an picture. Curious to learn more? Our tutorial on DALL-E 2 explains how AI can turn your vision into reality.

Using the “start from scratch mode”, you can describe the picture that you want to see (using words) and Microsoft Designer will create that picture for you. You can add more content like images or text and, voila, you have enhanced your picture with a few clicks.

You will notice similar branding within this online tool reminiscent of PowerPoint (and other apps within the O365 suite). A lot of template suggestions come from existing content libraries, such as PowerPoint, while Microsoft Designer leverages the power of brand-new tech born from AI.

Microsoft Designer is planned to be released with Microsoft Create. Currently, you may accept Microsoft’s invitation to join the Microsoft Designer waitlist by providing your email address.

Should Canva Be Worried?

Canva is an online graphic design tool that provides free and paid amazing graphic solutions for your online persona. The downloadable Canva app features many bells and whistles, along with an extensive picture library, enabling you to create professional designs without requiring ample artistic talent.

Hundreds of thousands of customers use this tool and create a healthy income for Canva, valued at about $26 Billion (US Dollars).

Think about all the effort saved by removing the time required to create a brilliantly designed picture from a concept. You’ll probably find yourself searching on the internet for inspiration. Then, you’ll want to find that perfect picture using Canva’s picture library. Care to add text? More steps. Then fiddle with the configurations and tweak the picture contrast. Finally, post online.

Remove all of those steps and replace them with typing in your concept in Microsoft Designer, enhance, and post online. How much time will you save? Minutes? Hours? Days? Suddenly, Canva feels sluggish and complicated. All thanks to a new app that’s partnering with AI.

Will Microsoft Win Over Online Designers?

The idea, in theory, is fantastic. Leveraging artificial intelligence to provide you with a faster way to create professional images online is always welcomed.

Yet, there are a few bad apples in Microsoft’s design history. Expression Design offered an alternative to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator back in the early 2000s. Probably best described as a glorified version of Microsoft Paint. As well, Microsoft Publisher has been around since the early 1990s and still exists as a less desirable application when compared to Adobe InDesign.

For Microsoft to pull in a large chunk of Canva’s customer base, this AI-based online design tool will need to be very easy to use, intuitive, and produce excellent results. Additionally, this app will need to offer a wide range of compatible export formats to allow for maximum compatibility. Otherwise, it will turn into something that will be used as a second thought.