The waitlist for the Microsoft Designer preview has been removed, and an expanded set of features has been added

The global creator economy has seen a surge in growth, with over 165 million new creators added in the last three years alone. To meet the needs of this growing population, Microsoft 365 has introduced new tools that leverage cutting-edge generative AI technology to unleash creativity and imagination for digital ideation and creation, with no professional skills required. One of these tools is Microsoft Designer, which has recently expanded its features and removed its waitlist for preview access.

Designer is built to assist users at every stage of the creative process, from ideation to creation. Since its announcement in October 2022, it has steadily improved with the integration of AI models throughout the canvas. The app is now integrated into the Microsoft Edge sidebar, making it easily accessible for those moments of inspiration that strike while browsing the web. Designer enables users to create unique and high-quality graphics in less time, with or without a background in design. Users can simply describe what they want and receive one-of-a-kind images, accompanying text, and design suggestions to meet their needs.

The app has been also updated with new features that make it even more user-friendly. For instance, users can now create animated visuals and add motion to their creations instantly with animated backgrounds, engaging emotions, and text with transitions applied automatically with the help of AI technology. Designer also offers copy suggestions, including headlines, short texts, font suggestions, and written captions and hashtags that are more relevant for social media posts. Additionally, the app has been updated to help customize and resize designs more easily, and the new feature enables users to change the original design canvas size to a different size while automatically shifting the elements of the design to seamlessly fit. Microsoft has mentioned that the current free preview does not include all planned features to come, and they will be adding more over time

You can try the Microsoft Designer expanded public preview for free by visiting the website. The preview of Designer in Edge is also rolling out and can be accessed through the sidebar by clicking the “+” icon to enable it. Just be aware that once the app is ready for general availability, it will be available both as a free app and with more premium features available to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.

Our take: Microsoft Designer is emerging as one of the clearest alternatives to tools like Canva in this new field of AI Content Generation Tools, although in my opinion it still has a long way to go, mainly in terms of more modern and polish designs trends.