Back in the day, only graphic designers were able to create amazing designs, but that has changed over the years. Anyone can take a stab at it thanks to platforms like Canva and YouTube, as well as artificial intelligence.

Magic Design is Canva's answer to helping design novices create magic without racking their brains. All you need is an idea or a starting point, like an image, and you're good to go. Learn how to turn your ideas into reality with Canva's Magic Design tool.

What Is Canva’s Magic Design Tool?

Canva's Magic Design tool uses AI to turn ideas into reality, thereby fast-tracking the design process. For example, you can design a wedding invitation by typing in the prompt, "Design a black tie wedding invitation for [bride] and [groom]". You can also upload a picture as a starting point and Canva will take it from there.

The tool renders multiple designs, which you can customize and play around with until you're happy. The whole idea behind Canva is to empower everyone to design. As an AI tool, Magic Design takes that to a whole new level.

It allows you to spend less time "creating" your designs—like considering the right fonts, colors, and the best placements for your text and objects. Instead, you can focus on fine-tuning them to ensure they're exactly what you're looking for. The best part is that Canva's Magic Design creations are customized, so each design will be unique.

How to Use Canva’s Magic Design Tool

Anyone can use Canva's Magic Design tool, as long as they have an idea of what they want to create. There are two ways to create with Magic Design.

Uploading an Image or Video

Use this method if you want to design something around an existing media file.

Sign in to your Canva account and click the Home tab in the sidebar. Head to the Meet Magic Studio section and click Upload. Choose or drop your files and click Add to template.

Consider adding a prompt to help Magic Design yield more accurate results and reduce the amount of work needed on your part. Describe what you want it to create in at least five words using the text box provided. The more descriptive you are, the better. Canva will generate media based on your photo or video and prompt.

In my case, I uploaded a video and told Canva to "create a YouTube thumbnail about funny parenting moments." As you can see, the first row is dedicated to designs created using Magic Design.

Click All filters above the Magic Design section and browse the various categories in the sidebar. Here, you can pick the relevant audience, topic, media category, and more. If you have a particular look and feel in mind, head to the Style and Theme sections and make your selections. Click Apply when you're done.

You'll notice adjustments in your design based on your selections. Choose the best design, click Customize this template, and add the final touches in the editor.

Not sure where to go from here? Our overview of Canva's editor page for beginners can help you get started.

Entering a Prompt

Use this method if you don't have a photo or video to use as a starting point.

On the Home page, type your idea in the text box in the Meet Magic Studio section. The tool may take a while to create your designs. I entered the search query, "Instagram post about the importance of staying fit." Below are the designs created by Canva.

Click All filters above the Magic Design section, make your selections based on your vision, and click Apply. View all the design options provided and pick the one you like best. Click Customize this template and play around with fonts and more in the editor.

Forgot to set your design colors in the previous section? Don't sweat it; you can change the color scheme of your Canva design in the editor.

Create Magic With Canva

Design doesn't have to be complicated. Canva already makes it accessible with templates to help novice designers get started. However, Magic Design takes it further to help bring your imagined designs to life. If you can think of it, you can probably create it with Canva's Magic Design tool.