Back in May, images of an app called "Designer" leaked. It basically showed off a tool that offered pre-designed templates or could even generate designs for you to share on social media and other platforms. Although the service has still not been announced, more details about Designer have now leaked.
The recent discoveries have once again been attributed to prolific leaker WalkingCat on Twitter who spotted a new create.microsoft.com URL (currently inaccessible) and shared another screenshot of the Designer utility, which can be seen below:
As can be seen, the top of the page says that "We use your content and AI to create designs for you". There are also a couple of drop-downs and text boxes for platform selection and personalization. The bottom of the page also mentions "Browse more templates at Microsoft Create", which is the create.microsoft.com URL where all the templates will likely be housed.
Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet says that the internal codename for Designer is "Oasis". Interestingly, this wouldn't be the first use of this term as a Microsoft product codename. According to Foley, the holographic shell for Windows 10 shared the same name.
There has been lots of speculation about how Designer would fit into Microsoft's portfolio. Although some have talked about a Canva competitor or some form of integration with PowerPoint, another theory also claims that it is the successor to Sway.
Foley believes in the last theory but hasn't dismissed the idea about PowerPoint integrations as an add-on either. Pitching AI-generated designs front and center also suggests that Designer could be powered by ContextIQ technologies.
All in all, it remains to be seen when Designer will be publicly announced and become generally available. There's also the matter of pricing, as it's unclear whether this will be a standalone product, a Microsoft 365 offering, or something else entirely. We'll likely find out within the next few weeks or months, considering that the product is seemingly in active development.
Source and image: WalkingCat (Twitter) via ZDNet
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