An Australian design software giant called Canva has released its first in-house image generation model named Craft. The company built the model from scratch through its internal research lab to improve creative control and reduce operating costs.
Unlike standard image generators that learn primarily from raw photographs, Craft was trained on millions of human-made templates. Specifically, the training data includes professional presentations, infographics, posters, and menus from Canva’s vast content library. As a result, the model learns fundamental design principles like visual hierarchy, margins, and type size.
“We started by creating flat images with diffusion models. Omni models have taken that a step further, where you’re able to edit those flat images with a lot of sophistication through prompting. But the tools have made you prompt your way to the final result, which, for a visual medium, is challenging,” Canva’s global head of product, Robert Kawalsky said to the media. “What we’ve found is that people . . . want the ability to start with a prompt and get far, but also be able to iterate directly themselves.”
The software utilizes a unique two-stage architecture. First, an internal planning model interprets the user prompt to map out spatial relationships, element placement, and required text. Then, a rendering engine turns that structural blueprint into a finished picture. Because of this workflow, the model produces highly legible typography and clean layouts compared to traditional single-pass tools.
The system supports outputs up to 2K resolution across more than thirty different aspect ratios. In addition, generated assets integrate smoothly with Canva’s editing suite, allowing creators to modify individual text or graphic layers easily.
Platform executives noted that managing external AI tools became increasingly expensive as user demand surged. Therefore, building proprietary infrastructure helps the company lower API expenses and secure long-term profit margins. Furthermore, researchers from Leonardo.ai, a media-generation platform that Canva acquired earlier, contributed directly to the development process.
Initial benchmarking results place Craft strongly among industry competitors on evaluation leaderboards. Meanwhile, development teams are already working on lighter variants named Craft-fast and Craft-ultrafast to speed up generation times further.
Ultimately, this launch gives millions of global users a specialized tool designed specifically for professional marketing and everyday design workflows.
