Microsoft Designer: AI-Powered Design Software in Public Beta

In the realm of design, technology continues to push the boundaries of creativity. Microsoft Designer, an AI-powered design software, has recently emerged from the shadows and opened its doors to public beta testing. With the might of OpenAI’s DALL-E 2.5 model behind it, Microsoft Designer promises to redefine how we approach image and video creation. Join us on this exploration as we delve into the world of Microsoft Designer, dissecting its features, usability, and pondering the potential disruptions it might bring to the design industry.

By clicking the official website link, you can access Microsoft Designer’s public testing page. To make it user-friendly, the official website provides prompt methods on the right side. All you have to do is input a command, such as a LinkedIn post, and wait a few seconds for the system to generate samples in different styles. To proceed, click on “Customized Design” below to enter the editing page.

What’s interesting is that Microsoft Designer also integrates OpenAI’s cutting-edge DALL-E 2.5 model. By clicking the “Generate Image” button and inputting a text command, you can obtain three images. Simply choose one and click “Select” to apply it to your design.

Upon entering the design page, you’ll find that Designer’s layout is clean and straightforward. The left side contains the toolbox, while the right side offers reference designs provided by the system. In the middle, you have the preview area. After completing your design, a click on the “Download” button in the upper right corner will save the image and video locally. If you’re familiar with Canva, you’ll notice that Designer’s layout closely resembles Canva’s design interface. By clicking “Templates” on the left, you can select different design templates or use keywords to find more related templates.

In the “My Media” section, you can upload local material images to Designer. The “Visuals” section allows you to choose content images, graphics, and video materials generated by AI. In the “Text” section, you can select different fonts, while the “Brand Kit” is suitable for design teams. You can even remove the background by uploading an image and clicking the “Background” option. And if you need to undo changes and restore the background, simply click “Restore.” Additionally, you can crop the image by clicking “Crop” and dragging your mouse. By clicking “Effect” above, you can use the background blur feature and add various filters. You can also adjust the front and back positions of various layers by clicking “Position.”

Now, let’s dive into designing images and videos:

Step 1: Start by clicking “New Design” in the upper right corner to return to the design homepage. In the dialog box, enter prompts related to your design, such as “Instagram Post About Switzerland Travel Tips.” Click “Generate,” and after a brief moment, the system will provide several related templates on the right.

Step 2: Click the “Size” button above the template to choose from three different resolutions.

Step 3: Select a template you like and enter the settings page. If you’re not satisfied with the template, you can click “Ideas” in the upper right corner to choose similar templates. Select a background, open the color palette, and replace the background with any color you like. Double-click on text to change its content and choose your preferred font from the list. To change the background, simply double-click on the image, and the system will automatically recommend relevant content. From the left material library, select an image you like and drag it to the corresponding area to complete the replacement. Click the “Download” button in the upper right corner to save the design as JPG, PNG, or PDF files.

Step 4: For creating short videos, start a new project and input a command like “Instagram Reel About Video Games.” Wait for a moment, and the system will recommend multiple short video templates. Choose one you like and enter the editing page. Select a suitable style from the recommended designs on the right by double-clicking. Drag lines and text from the template to the appropriate positions. Stretch the short video by holding the left mouse button, and double-click to drag the video to the desired location. After completing the design, click the “Download” button in the upper right corner to save it as an MP4 file.

Step 5: For banner ad design, input a command like “Facebook Ads About Website Building.” Choose a design from the right and enter the design page. Adjust the font size and scale, and similar ad creative options will appear on the right. Click to apply. If you need design material, you can select “Generate” in the “Visuals” section, input a command, and drag the generated image to the right for use. If there is a color inconsistency issue, you can remove the background of the material image. Additionally, you can obtain graphic, image, and video design materials in the “Visuals” section on the left. Right-click an image, choose “Flip,” and adjust the image’s mirror position.

In summary, let’s consider the pros and cons of Microsoft Designer:

Advantages:

1，Designer is an AI-powered online design tool that supports both AI-driven and traditional manual design modes. Its intelligent recommendations reduce design complexity and provide ideas and preset templates.

2，The simple user interface and the addition of AI text-to-image functionality improve material collection efficiency. Creating designs through text commands opens up a new era in design.

Disadvantages:

1，Although Designer uses the advanced DALL-E 2.5 model, the image generation may not be as impressive as mainstream graphic models like Midjourney or Stable Diffusion.

2，Designer currently supports design for only a few social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, limiting its versatility.

3，Some features of Designer, including the built-in GPT-4 language model, are not yet available. The quantity of design materials and third-party applications is limited compared to mature platforms like Canva. It also lacks manual resolution settings.

In conclusion, as Microsoft’s design software, Designer is currently in the testing phase. We believe that with future optimizations and the addition of more features, it will have a significant impact on existing online design tools. Furthermore, the Designer application is integrated into the Edge browser, allowing users to generate titles and tags for social media posts. The functions we’ve tested today represent only a small part of Designer’s capabilities. We look forward to the full version of the software being released soon, providing more convenient services for designers.