Canva’s AI image generator put through its paces: results make a mixed impression

Testing Canva’s image tool

Craft is available through Canva’s Dream Lab, although users face AI usage limits and must sign in to a Canva account. Canva said the tool plans layout, proportions and text before it generates an image, aiming for clearer lettering and accurate details.

Business Insider tested it with three prompts that grew more demanding, starting with a greeting card and ending with a photorealistic image. The first task exposed weaknesses in a birthday-card design.

The birthday card falls short

Canva’s card had awkward typography and an oversized cartoon character’s head, and it left out the requested paisley. Other models made different choices: ChatGPT used pink, while Muse added fall elements for a November birthday.

Gemini interpreted the request as a request for a picture of a physical card. That literal approach earned the reviewer extra credit.

A pendant in a new setting

For the second prompt, the models had to recognize an element and place it in a new setting. Canva identified the pendant and created an atmospheric scene, but showed the jewelry floating or resting on a metal pole.

The reviewer found that ChatGPT and Muse better reflected how objects look in reality. Muse nevertheless changed details of the pendant without being asked.

A stronger result with a cat

The final prompt asked for a realistic image of the reviewer’s favorite animal. Canva’s cat had fur that looked too strandy and high-contrast, but its features were intact and its composition was comparable to Muse and Gemini.

The reviewer praised the cat’s posture, the realistic glow on its left side and the white balance. Clouds around the moon may have reflected the request for a starless sky.

Room left to improve

The tests showed uneven performance: Canva struggled with the birthday-card design, handled the pendant imperfectly and produced a stronger cat image. The reviewer concluded that the tool still had ground to cover compared with other models, particularly given Canva’s focus on graphic design. For now, the reviewer plans to keep moving design components by hand.