Design widget

The Design widget puts a PlexiiDesign layout on your desk. Start from a template or a blank page, add text, shapes and pictures, and lay them out the way you want. AI can draft a whole design from a sentence, and your brand colours, fonts and logo are a click away. When it is ready, export a picture, a PDF, or a print PDF with bleed and crop marks.

A Design is a real Office file. You edit it on the desk, and the same file is listed in PlexiiDesign, where you can open it with more room.

Before you start

• The Design widget is on every plan.
• You need a desk open.
• Some tools need more:

Add keys in Settings > AI, under AI · API keys. See Add your own API keys.

Add a Design

1. Open the desk you want it on.
2. Click Add widget in the centre of the header.
3. In the Draw & diagram column, click Design.

Other ways to add one:

• Right-click an empty part of the desk and choose Add object > Files > Design. It appears where you clicked.
• Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows and choose Add Design.

PlexiDesk creates a new design file for the widget, named Design, on a square 1080 × 1080 page, and the Start from a template panel opens. The widget starts at 720 × 540. A design has a lot of tools, so give it room: drag the widget's edges, or use the + button in its title bar.

Start from a template, or a blank page

The Start from a template panel groups its templates:

Click a template to use it. It replaces what is on the page, so choose one before you start adding your own work. To start blank, close the panel by clicking Templates on the toolbar.

Change the size

Click the size button on the toolbar, which shows the current size's name, and choose another from Canvas size. What is already on the page is rearranged to fit the new size, so one design can become a post, a story and a banner.

The toolbar

The menu bar above the toolbar has more, such as Insert > Page and the master pages under Layout.

Edit what is on the page

1. Click an element to select it. The panel at the side shows its settings: fill, font, text colour, alignment, size, opacity, rotation and layer.
2. Drag it to move it, and drag its handles to resize it.
3. Double-click a text box to edit its text.

With nothing selected, the side panel shows the page's Background.

Add pages

Click + Page in the pages strip to add a page. Point at a page to see its number and master page, and to delete it.

Draft a design with AI

1. Click AI design. The Generate with AI panel opens.
2. Describe the design, for example a launch announcement for our new pricing.
3. Click Variations to choose from several on-brand options, or One for a single design.
4. With Variations, a Pick a design window shows the options. Click the one you want.

AI writes the copy and lays it out, using your brand.

Generate a picture for the design

In the same panel, describe a picture under the image section, for example a minimal abstract gradient background, and click Image. It is added to the page. This uses your own OpenAI key.

Improve the words with the Assistant

The AI Assistant panel sits beside the design. Select a text box, then click Improve copy, Shorten text, Suggest a headline or Generate a caption. Check the result, then click Apply or Insert, or Copy it. You can also type a request, such as a bold tagline for a summer sale, and click Ask for a design idea.

If no text box is selected, the panel says Select a text element first, then I can rewrite it.

Use your brand

• Brand kit opens your brand settings: colours, fonts and logo. See Brand kit, Brandify and your logo.
• Brandify recolours the shapes and text on the page in your brand's main colour, and sets text in your heading font.
• Logo places your brand logo at the top left of the page. If you have not added a logo yet, it opens Brand kit so you can add one.

Find stock photos

1. Click Stock.
2. Type what you are looking for, such as mountains or coffee, and click Search.
3. Click a photo to add it.

Stock search needs a free Pexels API key. Without one, it says Add a free Pexels API key in Settings → API Keys to search stock photos.

Export the design

1. Click Export.
2. Choose PNG image or PDF. For a print shop, set Bleed (px) and choose Print PDF (crop marks).
3. Choose where to save the file.

Check accessibility in the same menu reports anything that may be hard to read, or says Accessibility: no issues found. See Export and print a design.

Open it in PlexiiDesign

The design file is listed in PlexiiDesign under Your documents. Open it there to work with more room. It is one file, not a copy: changes on the desk show in PlexiiDesign, and the other way round. Renaming the widget does not rename the file.

Removing the widget takes it off the desk. The file stays in PlexiiDesign. See PlexiDesign overview.

Publishing a live view

When you publish a live view of a desk, a Design widget may show as a placeholder rather than the design. To share a design, export it as a PNG or PDF. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Common questions

I picked a template and lost my work. A template replaces the page. Use undo straight away to step back, or add a new Design widget when you want to try a template.

AI design says to add an Anthropic API key. AI is not set up. Sign in to use your PlexiDesk credits, or add your own Anthropic key.

Remove background says to add a key. It needs a remove.bg API key. See Add your own API keys.

Where is my file? In PlexiiDesign, under Your documents, named Design unless you renamed it there.

Related tasks

• Draw & diagram widgets
• PlexiDesign overview
• Start a design at the right size
• Generate designs and copy with AI
• Export and print a design