Let the AI design from a print spec

A blank canvas is the slowest way to start. The Assistant designs best when you hand it a brief that already carries the print constraints — dimensions, color mode and bleed — so the document comes out print-shaped instead of something you have to retrofit for the press later.

This guide shows you how to write that spec and turn it into a real first draft in a single turn, then refine it without starting over.

Why a spec beats a blank canvas#

Ask for "a nice label" and you'll get a nice screen graphic — probably RGB, probably no bleed, sized to nothing in particular. Ask for "a 90 × 50 mm business card, CMYK, 3 mm bleed" and the Assistant builds inside a real print document. The difference isn't the AI's talent; it's the constraints you give it. A good print spec is just those constraints written down.

Set up the document first (recommended)#

You can let the Assistant infer everything, but you'll get cleaner results if you seed the print constraints before you prompt:

1. File → New at your trim size (the finished size, where it's cut).
2. Set View → Units to Millimeters (mm) so every measurement is unambiguous.
3. Switch View → Color mode to CMYK (print) — labels and cards are printed with ink, and CMYK soft-proofs your colors on screen.
4. Open File → Document setup… and add a 3 mm bleed.

Doing this first means the Assistant builds inside a proper print doc from the first stroke. If you're fuzzy on any of these, the print-production docs cover them — see document setup and bleed and RGB vs CMYK.

Open the Assistant#

The Assistant is the panel on the left of the studio. Type your brief into the composer at the bottom — the placeholder reads "Describe a change…". If the design hasn't been saved yet, the placeholder instead reads "Save the design, then ask for a change…", so save first.

You can also start from the prompt box on the home screen. Whatever you type there carries straight into the editor and becomes your first turn.

Anatomy of a good print spec#

A strong spec has five parts. Include all of them and the Assistant rarely has to guess:

1. Dimensions — the trim size, e.g. 90 × 50 mm.
2. Color mode & bleed — CMYK, 3 mm bleed.
3. What goes on it — every text element, plus where a barcode, logo or QR code sits.
4. The look — mood, palette hints, type feel.
5. Any must-haves — net weight, a legal line, a website, a hashtag.

Here's a paste-ready example:

Design a 90 × 50 mm business card, CMYK, 3 mm bleed.
Front: name "Mara Ellison", role "Ceramic Studio", phone, email, website.
Include a small space for a logo top-left.
Style: calm and minimal, warm off-white background, one clay-orange accent,
a clean humanist sans for the name.

The tighter the brief, the closer the first draft. There's more on this in writing good prompts.

Send and read the result#

Press send and the Assistant goes to work on the Canvas — laying out text, shapes and colors — while it streams each step in the action timeline so you can watch it build. When the turn finishes, a green Done marker latches under the message.

If you had an element selected when you sent, the Assistant focuses on it, which is handy once you start refining.

Refine, don't restart#

Treat the first draft as a draft. Instead of rewriting your whole spec, nudge it in small turns:

• "Make the title bigger."
• "Swap the accent to forest green."
• "Move the barcode bottom-right."

To point the Assistant at one thing, select it on the canvas — or right-click it and choose Add to AI chat to pin it across several messages so your follow-ups keep referring to the same element.

Went a step too far? Hover the message you want to undo and use Rewind to here to roll the design back to before that turn, then try a different instruction.

Let it plan first (bigger jobs)#

For a full label, flyer or card built from scratch, it's worth approving the art direction before the Assistant commits. Open Assistant options (the sliders icon by the composer), find Before building, and turn on Plan before building.

Now your next brief produces a plan card first — a short read-out of the concept, Direction, a palette of swatches, Type, the Steps it intends to take and the Copy it will use. Review it, then choose Approve & build, Regenerate for a different direction, or Skip to build without the plan. It's the cheapest way to catch a wrong turn before any pixels land.

Sharpen the brief automatically#

In the same Assistant options flyout, toggle Refine my prompt to have each prompt polished into a stronger brief before it runs. When your spec leaves something open, it may surface a small card — "A few quick questions to nail the brief" — with answer chips to tap. Fill them in and press Continue, or Skip to proceed as-is.

Keep it on-brand#

If a brand kit is pinned to the design, the Assistant designs to your real colors, fonts and tone automatically — no need to restate them in every spec. You pin one from Assistant options → Brand kit. Building a kit and pinning it is a short project of its own; the Build a brand kit guide walks through it.

Check it before export#

Print-shaped from the start still deserves a final look. Before you export, the print checks flag the usual risks — images under 300 PPI, spot colors that would be lost, and heavy ink coverage — so you fix them on screen rather than on a proof. See preflight checks for the full list.

When it's clean, Share → Download opens the Export dialog. Choose PDF, set the color space to Print (CMYK), turn on Bleed and marks, and export a PDF/X-4 your printer will accept.

Next#

Put the whole flow to work end to end in Design your own product labels, then make sure the file lands right with Export a print-ready PDF.