Make posters, decks, videos and websites in one app

Social posts, whiteboards and documents too. No design training needed, on Mac, Windows or in your browser.

Version 0.1.33 · macOS 12 or later · Apple silicon (M1 or newer)

Photography website
Lumen, a dark photography studio website template
Poster
Portfolio website
Nora Vale, a playful lilac designer portfolio template
Story
In the editor
The Design Studio editor: an outline of the page on the left, a website being edited in the middle and style controls on the right

One app for everything you make

Build a whole website, no code needed

Pick a template, make it yours, publish in one click.

Swap the template, then publish
Ostra, a minimal black and white creative studio website

Presentations that hold the room

Speaker notes, a timer and a presenter view built in.

Press Present to see your notes
Launch the next big thing
1 of 4

Posts and stories for every feed

Sized right for each platform, ready to share.

Change the size and colour
SUMMER
SALE
50% off
1080 × 1080

Reels and short videos

Moving text, photos and a simple timeline.

Press play or drag the timeline
3 days
to go

Posters, flyers and invitations

Print-ready designs for every occasion.

Bring one forward and recolour it
NIGHT
SHIFT
You’re invitedMaya & LeoJune 14 · Garden party

Whiteboards for big ideas

Sticky notes, arrows and an endless canvas.

Drag the notes around

Documents people enjoy reading

Reports, résumés and one-pagers with real style.

Change the type and the style
Quarterly report

How the spring launch went

We reached twice as many readers as last spring, and most of them arrived through people sharing the launch page.

What we learned

Short videos did the most work. Next time we start them earlier and give them a page of their own.

Websites, made the visual way

If you can make a poster, you can make a website. Here’s how it goes.

The Ostra creative studio website template, with a large OSTRA headline and arched windows illustration
The Design Studio website editor: an outline of the page on the left, the page in the middle and style controls on the right
The Maison Lumière salon website on a desktop screen
The same salon website on a phone, with the text and buttons stacked in one column
  1. Step 1

    Start your way: AI, a template or a blank page

    Describe the business and AI Builder plans the sitemap, lays the sections out as a wireframe, chooses a look and builds the site for you to edit. Or start from a finished template for a salon, a photographer, a portfolio or an event, or from a blank page.

    • AI Builder: sitemap, wireframe, style, then your site (needs an AI key on your server)
    • Templates and a blank page need nothing extra
    The Ostra creative studio website template, with a large OSTRA headline and arched windows illustration
  2. Step 2

    Click anything to change it

    Your site looks exactly like the real thing while you edit. Click a heading to retype it, drag a photo in, change colours and fonts from the panel on the right.

    • See every part of the page in a simple outline
    • Save a look once and reuse it everywhere
    The Design Studio website editor: an outline of the page on the left, the page in the middle and style controls on the right
  3. Step 3

    Swap any picture in seconds

    Select a picture and choose Replace: pick one of your own assets, search stock photos from Pexels or Unsplash, or describe a picture and let an AI image model make it. Or press Generate above the picture and describe a change: the AI makes a new version from the current picture, in the same shape and place. Stock photos and AI images use keys you add to your own server, and they stay off until you do.

    • Your assets, stock photos or AI-made pictures
    • Generate a new version of the current picture from a few words
    • The new picture takes the old one's place and size
  4. Step 4

    Add a little motion

    Make sections glide in as people scroll, buttons lift when hovered, and menus open with a click. Accordions, drop-down menus and smooth effects are built in.

    • Scroll, hover and click effects
    • Shadows, blur, tilt and other finishing touches
  5. Step 5

    Looks right on every phone

    Preview your site at desktop, tablet and phone sizes with one click. Layouts stack neatly on small screens, and you can fine-tune each size on its own.

    • Desktop, tablet and phone previews
    • Text and images resize for you
    The Maison Lumière salon website on a desktop screen
    The same salon website on a phone, with the text and buttons stacked in one column
  6. Step 6

    Publish with one click

    When you're happy, press Publish and your site is live on the web. Changed something? Publish again and the update is online in seconds.

    • No hosting to set up
    • Update any time
  7. Step 7

    Put it on your own domain

    Add a domain you own in the Publish panel and create the two DNS records it shows you, at Namecheap or wherever you manage your domain. Your site then opens at that address with every page, picture and form working.

    • HTTPS is set up for you, with no certificate to upload
    • Prove the domain is yours with one DNS record
    • Needs a self-hosted server open to the internet

Bring your tools into your designs

The marketplace adds outside tools to the editor: stock photos, moving graphics, your Notion pages and video uploads. You approve what each one can do.

  • You approve what each app can do

    Before you install, an app lists what it can do in your design and which services it talks to. It can't do anything else.

  • Your accounts stay yours

    Apps like Notion Images use your own account, so you only see your own pages. Your sign-in stays on the server, and the app never sees it. Disconnect whenever you like.

  • You choose when to update

    When a new version is approved, you see what's new and press Update app when you're ready. Until then, your version stays as it is.

  • You can report any app

    Each app's page has a Report this app link, and your report goes to whoever runs your server.

  1. 1

    Find one

    Open Apps on the home screen, then search or browse by category. Each app has its own page with what it does and who made it.

  2. 2

    Check what it asks for

    The page lists what the app can do in your design. Choose a design to use it in, and that adds the app.

  3. 3

    Use it beside the canvas

    It sits in your side panel, ready in every design. Remove it whenever you like.

Ask Studio: write with AI, on your own key

Describe what you need and get a draft in your Doc. You pick the AI model, and your key stays on your server.

Untitled doc

  1. Step 1

    Open Ask Studio in any Doc

    Click Ask Studio in the Doc toolbar. It sits right where you write, so you never leave the page.

    • Works in every Doc
    • Your cursor stays where it was

    Untitled doc

  2. Step 2

    Say what you want written

    Type a request in your own words, or start from a suggestion: executive summary, proposal outline, meeting notes, impact highlights or a recommendation letter.

    • Plain language is fine
    • Optionally let it read your document for context
  3. Step 3

    Studio drafts it into your Doc

    The answer lands as real Doc blocks: headings, paragraphs, bullets, checklists, callouts and tables. Edit it like anything you typed yourself, or press Undo to take it back.

    • Headings, lists, tables and callouts
    • One Undo removes it
  4. Step 4

    Bring your own AI

    Ask Studio runs on a model you choose: Anthropic, OpenAI, a model on your own network through Ollama or vLLM, or any OpenAI-compatible service. Add your key to the server settings; it never reaches browsers or the desktop app.

    • Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, vLLM
    • Your key, your bill, your data rules
  5. Step 5

    You stay in control

    Only signed-in people with a verified email can use it, each with an hourly allowance, and prompts and answers are capped. Without a key it's simply off. What people type goes to the provider you chose, so choose one you trust.

    • Per-person limits
    • Off until you turn it on

Start from a template, then make it yours

  • Maison Lumière, a beauty salon website template with a soft pink arch
  • Nora Vale, a playful lilac designer portfolio template
  • Lumen, a dark photography studio template with a huge Capturing Light headline
  • Forward, a clean tech conference template with a Get tickets badge
  • Ostra, a minimal black and white creative studio template
  • Launch the next big thing
  • Summer sale
  • Agenda
  • Night shift
  • 3 days to go
  • Learn design in 10 min
  • Maya & Leo
  • Café menu

Work together, offline or on your own server

Design together, live

Invite friends, clients or your team. Everyone edits at once and sees each other’s cursors, with the picture they chose beside their name.

  • Talk in a call room

    Each design has one voice call room, for up to 6 people. Join, mute and choose your microphone without leaving the page.

  • Follow someone

    Follow a teammate and your view moves with theirs, so they can walk you through the design.

  • Chat on the canvas

    Press / and type. Your words appear beside your cursor for everyone there, then they’re gone.

  • Comments that reach you

    Pin comments to the page and @mention people, even ones who are away. They see it under the bell and by email.

  • Choose what you’re emailed

    Pick everything, only mentions and replies, or nothing, for your account or one design.

  • Version history

    Versions save by themselves as you edit. Name one, preview any, and restore it. A restore keeps what it replaces.

Your photos, always at hand

Keep photos, logos and graphics in one library and drag them into any design.

Works offline

Keep designing on a plane or in a café with bad signal. Your work is saved on your computer.

On your desktop and in your browser

Install it on your Mac or Windows PC, or open it in a web browser when you’d rather not install anything.

Self-hosted

Run it on your own server

Keep designs, photos and accounts on your own infrastructure. Start with one Docker Compose bundle, or run the same server behind your own proxy, with your own database, or on Kubernetes.

Read the Self-Hosted Guide

Draft text with Ask Studio

Draft summaries, proposals and notes right in a Doc. Bring your own AI key: it stays on your server, and it’s off until you add one.

  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • Ollama
  • vLLM
  • Any OpenAI-compatible API

Common questions

Do I need to be a designer to use it?

Not at all. Start from a template, click on what you want to change and type. Everything snaps into place, and you can undo any step.

Which computers does it run on?

Design Studio runs on Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) using macOS 12 or later, and on PCs with Windows 10 or later. There's also a browser version if you'd rather not install anything.

Does it work without an internet connection?

Yes. On your computer you can open, edit and save your designs with no connection at all. Things that need the internet, like publishing a website or editing with others, pick up again once you're back online.

How do I put my website online?

Press Publish. Your site goes live on the web straight away, with no hosting to set up. Made a change later? Press Publish again and the new version replaces the old one.

Can my website use my own domain?

Yes, on a self-hosted server open to the internet. Add the domain in the Publish panel and create the two DNS records it shows you. Once they're found, your site opens at your domain with HTTPS set up for you. Visitors only reach your website there, never the Design Studio app or anyone's account.

Can I work on a design with other people?

Yes. Share a design and everyone can edit at the same time, see each other's cursors and leave comments right on the page. You can also follow someone's view, or press / to chat beside your cursor. Cursor chat works everywhere except Docs and Sheets.

Can we talk while we work?

Yes. Every design has a voice call room for up to 6 people, in the desktop app and the browser. It's voice only, and it needs an internet connection.

Will I get emails about comments?

By default you get an email when someone mentions you or replies to you. On your Account page you can choose every comment on your designs, or nothing at all. Emails wait a little, so a busy thread doesn't fill your inbox, and each one has an unsubscribe link.

Can I go back to an earlier version?

Yes. Open Version history from the File menu to preview earlier versions and restore one. Versions are saved by themselves about every 10 minutes while people edit, and you can name the ones you want to keep. Restoring first saves what you had, so nothing is lost.

What can I download my designs as?

Save designs as images or PDFs for printing and sharing, and export videos and reels ready to post. Websites are published straight to the web.

Where are my photos kept?

Photos you add in the desktop app stay on your computer and are ready to use in any design.

What are apps?

Apps add outside tools to the editor, like free stock photos, moving graphics, videos and pictures from your Notion pages. Get them from Apps on the home screen, and they appear in your side panel. Apps need an internet connection and a Design Studio account.

Why does an app say it needs setting up?

Some apps need a key from the service they connect to, and it stays on the server, never in the app. Whoever runs your server adds it. Until then, the app's page says which setting it's waiting for.

Can I choose which apps my team can use?

Yes, on your own server. Set APPS_ALLOWED to all, none or a list of app ids. MARKETPLACE_URL=off stops reading the marketplace altogether. Your server only requests the list and the app packages, so nothing about people or designs is sent.

Can an app see my designs?

No. An app runs apart from your design and can't read what's in it. It can only do what you approved when you installed it, such as adding a picture. Apps listed by outside developers are reviewed before they reach the marketplace, and you can report or remove one at any time.

Can I make my own app?

Yes, if you run your own server. An app is a small web page, and the developer docs on this site take you from nothing to one running in a design. You build it in your server's developer portal, and whoever runs the server reviews each version before people can install it.

Can I host the backend on my own servers?

Yes. The usual install is one Docker Compose bundle with its own database, file storage and automatic HTTPS. The Self-Hosted Guide also covers your own proxy, a database and file storage you already run, a process without Docker, and Kubernetes.

Does Design Studio include AI writing?

Ask Studio drafts text in Docs and powers the AI Builder for websites, but it runs on an AI model you provide: your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic or a model on your own network. The key stays on your server and the features are off until you add one. What people type is sent to the provider you choose. The Self-Hosted Guide shows how to set it up.

Can I make pictures with AI?

Select a picture and choose Replace: pick one of your own assets, search stock photos from Pexels or Unsplash, or describe a picture and have an AI image model make it. The stock photo and image model keys are yours and stay on your server; the options are off until you add them, and what people type is sent to the provider you choose.

Download Design Studio for Mac or Windows

Version 0.1.33. There’s also a browser version if you’d rather not install anything.