Canva has launched Craft, its first AI image generation model developed by its in-house research team, Canva Research. It is now available to Canva users worldwide and can also be accessed by developers through a public API. Craft can generate images at up to 2K resolution, work with more than 30 aspect ratios and create text in 55 languages. Canva says the model ranked fourth overall on DesignArena, where users compare AI-generated designs, and topped the rankings in two image categories, namely People and Portraits, and Landscapes and Nature.
Canva Craft Features, Capabilities
Canva said Craft ranked fourth overall on DesignArena, a crowdsourced platform for evaluating AI image generation models. It ranked first in People and Portraits among 87 models and in Landscapes and Nature among 85 models. The model also placed second in Abstract and Patterns and fourth in Products. Based on these results, Canva said its research team is now the world’s second most advanced AI lab for image generation.
Craft uses a two-stage process to generate images. It first plans the composition based on the user’s prompt, including the placement of objects and text, before a separate model renders the final image at up to 2K resolution. Users can choose from more than 30 aspect ratios or set custom dimensions. The approach is designed to improve text rendering and object placement in complex designs.
The model was trained on millions of templates from Canva’s content library, including posters, presentations, social media posts, infographics and menus. This training helps Craft handle layouts and typography alongside image generation. It also works with Canva’s Magic Layers feature, which converts generated images into editable design elements. Canva said it plans to add more advanced editing and reference-image capabilities in future updates.
Craft can generate a range of content, from marketing materials and presentation visuals to lifestyle photography, portraits, illustrations, digital art, landscapes and architectural imagery. Users can write prompts in any language, while the model can generate text in 55 languages.
Canva also said it has reduced Craft’s image generation time through model distillation and a custom inference engine. The company is developing two variants, Craft-fast and Craft-ultrafast, which are expected to offer faster, lower-cost image generation.
Canva Craft Availability
Canva users can access Craft through Dream Lab, while developers can use the public API to add its image generation capabilities to their own tools. Canva also plans to bring Craft to its MCP platform, which will let AI assistants generate images for designs as part of larger automated tasks.
Craft also comes with Canva Shield, the company’s AI safety system. It includes content moderation, privacy and safety controls, and tools for reporting potentially harmful or misleading content.
