What is Cricut Design Space and how does it work?

What is Cricut Design Space and How does it work? I’m giving you all the details you need to know about Cricut’s design platform!

If you are brand new to Cricut, haven’t ordered your Cricut, or are considering making the switch to the Cricut machine, this post is a MUST READ. Plus, if you scroll down to the bottom of this post, you’ll get a FREE Cricut Design Space Tool Guide!

What is Cricut Design Space?

In order to use the Cricut, you have to have Cricut Design Space installed on your computer or iPad. Make sure you click on that link to take you to the download page, then follow the instructions there.

After that, you’ll be asked to connect your machine, so make sure you have your Cricut machine turned on. This step only takes a couple of seconds, then you’re ready to go!

Learn how to use Cricut Design Space for your Cricut Machine

How does Cricut Design Space Work?

After you have it installed, you’ll use Cricut design space to create Cricut projects. You’ll be able to create your own designs, upload purchased files, and use Ready to Make Cricut Projects.

The following tutorials are also very helpful for getting started with Cricut Design Space.

It may seem overwhelming at first, but I’m going to break down the basics for you!

Home Page

After you have it installed, you’ll be able to create new projects, pick from a variety of ready to make projects, and you can also click links to view Cricut Tutorials.

Click here to see my Ready to Make Projects

Another fun thing about the home page is you’ll be able to see work created by the Cricut Community.

Another thing I want to point out – those three lines by the word HOME in the top left corner is where you’ll be able to:

Edit your profile and account info
Check for machine updates
Calibrate your machine
Purchase Cricut Access (read why you may want Cricut Access HERE)
Get Help if you have questions about your machine
Manage Custom Materials

Templates

Templates are images that help you figure out the size of your design. Templates will not cut when you send your project to your machine, they are simply guidelines.

You can search through the templates to find what works for you, but you’ll find templates for:

Clothing like t-shirts, hoodies, flip flops etc.
Mugs
Kitchen aid mixers
Electronic Devises
Mugs, wine glasses, and other home decor items
And much much much much more…seriously, there’s so many templates!

Projects

Projects are great for beginners! These are all ready to go, or your can choose to customize them. You’ll find projects for just about every occasion, but here’s a few examples:

Cards
Accessories like earrings, makeup bags, headbands, etc.
Sewing Projects
Infusible Ink Projects
Mugs for the MugPress
Iron-on
Kid Activities
Parties and Events
Planners
Wreaths
Vinyl Projects
Etc., etc.

The thing I love about projects is they’re so easy to make, plus the materials and instructions are already listed for you.

Images

Cricut has a variety of FREE images available in Cricut Design Space, or you can sign up for Cricut Access to get instant access to tens of thousands of images and fonts. Plus, there are other amazing benefits to Cricut Access. You can tell what images are included by the green flag with an A in the corner.

Again, there are images for every occasion, but I also wanted to tell you what types of images you can find in Cricut Design Space.

Cut Images
Draw Images
Cut and Draw Images
3D images
Phrases (you can also search for specific languages)
Cards
Sign Layer Images
Multi-layer Images
Search by brand (like Disney, Anna Griffin, Marvel, etc) – please note some licensed designs may not be included in Cricut Access
Images for specific materials

You can also easily search images in the search bar.

Text

The Text tool allows you to insert custom text onto your project. You can use fonts that are on your computer, or use free Cricut fonts, or fonts available with a Cricut Access subscription.

When you click on the Text Tool, the toolbar will pop up where you’ll be able to:

Select a font
Select a style (bold, italic, etc.) Please note that this option is not available on every font family.
Select the font size
Adjust the space between letters
Adjust the space between lines
Align text left, right, or center
Curve your text
Ungroup the letters or lines of your text. Once you do this, you won’t be able to edit what your text says.

Shapes

Shapes is the best way to create your own images in Cricut Design Space. You can add your basic shapes like squares, circles, triangles, etc., and you can also add a line that would be used for scoring images.

You can combine shapes with other shapes using the weld and slice tool, which I’ll explain in more detail in the tools section.

I created my Monster Photo props almost entirely using shapes, so that will give you a good idea of what you can create with Cricut shapes!

Upload

You can also upload your own files to Cricut Design Space using the Upload Tool. You’ll be able to upload:

SVG files (vector image)
PNG files (flat image with a transparent background – great for Print and Cut projects)
GIF files
BMP files
DXF files (also vector, but only supported on desktop version)
Pattern fill files (a flat image that has a pattern on it)

Make sure you check out some of my FREE SVG and PNG Files to try this out for yourself:

Cricut Design Space Tool Guide

You’ve probably noticed a lot of other tools in Cricut Design Space. You can reference the image above or download the Free Tool Guide at the bottom of this post for a reminder, but here’s a quick overview of the Cricut tools you see on your Canvas.

Undo/Redo – undoes or redoes an action
Operation – where you select to cut, draw, or score an image in your project
Select – click this to select or unselect an image
Edit – cut, copy, or past an image
Offset – creates a larger or smaller outline of your image
Image Tools – use these to align images, arrange them from front to back, or flip images
Sizing, Rotation, Location – use these to type in a precise size, rotation, or location of an image on your canvas

Top Right Tools

Group – group images to make layers easier to work with. The images will cut separately.
Ungroup – ungroups images
Duplicate – creates a copy of an image
Delete – deletes and image
Color Sync – click on this to make sure all your images are cutting on the right material using color as your guide

Bottom Right Tools

Slice – cuts one image out of another image. Check out this tutorial to see how to use this tool.
Weld – combines two images together to make one image. Check out this tutorial to see how to use the weld tool.
Attach – use this to select images that you want to cut together on one material.
Detach – if your images are attached, the attach tool will turn into the detach tool, and you’ll use this to undo the attach function.
Flatten – Similar to attach, but it will flatten an image so you can print and cut that image. It will only cut around the outermost image. You can see how to use this tool here.
Contour – there may be certain pieces of a design you don’t want to cut, so you would use the contour tool to specify which pieces to cut. Check out this tutorial to see how to use the contour tool.

Also, in the bottom left corner, you’ll be able to zoom in and out of your canvas.

Prepare

After you click the MAKE IT button on your home screen, it will take you to the PREPARE page. This is where you’ll:

Select your Mat size (or if you have a Cricut Joy, you’ll select if you want to cut without a mat)
Mirror your image for iron on or infusible ink projects.
Arrange where your images will cut on the mat.

When you’re ready, click continue!

MAKE

This is where it all comes together!! On this screen in Cricut Design Space, you’ll:

Click EDIT to make sure you mirrored your image.
Select your material
Click unload if you placed the wrong material on the mat.
Click Cancel if you need to fix something before you cut.
Your machine will automatically tell you to change your tools (say you’re using the scoring wheel and/or Cricut pens on the same project).

When you’re ready, click GO!

What is Cricut Design Space and How Does it Work?

I hope this helps answer your Cricut Design Space questions! The more comfortable you are with it, the more you can create with your Cricut Machine!

Download the FREE Cricut Design Space Tool Guide PDF

Want a quick guide to answer What is Cricut Design Space and How Does it Work? Download the PDF below!

Cricut Design Space Tool Guide

1 file(s) 709.36 KB

Download

What is Cricut Design Space and how does it work?

What is Cricut Design Space?