# Design widget

> Lay out posters, flyers, social posts and one-pagers on a desk with PlexiiDesign: templates, sizes, pages, AI layouts, your brand and print-ready PDF.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-design
Section: Widgets > Draw and diagram
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

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:

| Tool | What it needs |
| --- | --- |
| **AI design** and the **Assistant** panel | AI set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits). |
| Generating a picture inside a design | Your own OpenAI API key. |
| **Stock** photo search | A free Pexels API key. |
| Removing a picture's background | A remove.bg API key. |

Add keys in Settings > **AI**, under **AI · API keys**. See [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/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:

| Group | Templates |
| --- | --- |
| **Social** | Quote post, Announcement, Big stat, Story cover |
| **Marketing** | Event flyer, Sale promo, Business card |
| **Presentation** | Title cover, Section divider, Pull quote |
| **Logo & brand** | Wordmark, Badge mark, LinkedIn banner |

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

| Buttons | What they do |
| --- | --- |
| Undo and Redo | Step back and forward through your changes. |
| **Templates**, the size button | Start from a template, or change the page size. |
| **Redesign**, **Layout**, **Guides** | Pour text into a laid-out design, set margins and columns, and show layout guides. |
| **Text**, **Rect**, **Ellipse**, **Triangle**, **Round**, **Line** | Add a text box, a shape or a line. |
| **Image** | Add a picture from your computer. |
| **AI design** | Draft a design, or generate a picture, from a description. |
| **Stock** | Search free stock photos. |
| **Logo**, **Brandify**, **Brand kit** | Use your brand. See [Use your brand](#use-your-brand). |
| **Assistant** | Show or hide the AI Assistant panel. |
| **Export** | Save a PNG or a PDF, or a print PDF. |

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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-brand-kit).
- **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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-export-and-print).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-live-web-view).

## 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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys).

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

## Related tasks

- [Draw & diagram widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-draw-and-diagram)
- [PlexiDesign overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-overview)
- [Start a design at the right size](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-start-a-design)
- [Generate designs and copy with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-design)
- [Export and print a design](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-export-and-print)