Artboard sizes
Every part has a size. You set it when you create a part, and you can change it any time from the right panel when nothing is selected. The artboard defines the drawing area and the export resolution.
Quick overview
- Pick a product type when you create a part; the canvas resizes to its default automatically.
- Choose Custom to type an exact width and height instead, in whichever unit you prefer.
- Change the size later from the right panel; existing objects stay exactly where they are.
- For a business card, also set orientation, corner shape, and whether it has a back side.
Detailed reference
Product types
Starting from a product type sets a sensible default size: business card, logo, CV/resume, invoice, social post, story/reel, banner, email header, slide deck, video, and a custom size, spanning print, brand, social, digital, presentation, and motion categories. A CV and an invoice both default to A4 proportions, and a story or reel defaults to a vertical 9:16 frame, so picking the right type up front usually saves a trip to the custom size fields. See Product types and sizes for the full dimension table.
Changing a size later
Click an empty area of the canvas to deselect everything, and the right panel switches to the part's own size controls: the product type dropdown, width and height, and the orientation and corner options where they apply. Switching product type or resizing this way keeps every existing object exactly where it is, so nothing jumps or rescales just because the canvas around it changed shape.
Custom sizes and units
| Setting | Range or options |
|---|---|
| Units | Pixels, millimeters, centimeters, inches |
| Custom width and height | 50 to 4,096 px |
Switching units converts the same physical size instead of resetting it, so a print size stays accurate whether you're reading it in millimeters or inches. Print work is usually easiest in millimeters or inches, screen work in pixels.
Presets
Pick from social presets (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest) and print presets (A4 and Letter, portrait and landscape) instead of typing dimensions by hand. See Product types and sizes for the full list.
Orientation and corner shape
Two switches are specific to the business card type:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Horizontal (3.5 x 2 in) or vertical (2 x 3.5 in); swaps width and height |
| Corner shape | Sharp or rounded |
Other product types don't expose these two controls, since a portrait social post or a landscape banner is usually just a different product type or a custom size rather than a rotation of the same one.
Front and back (dual face)
A business card can hold a Front and a Back: two independent pages that share the same size but keep their own objects and background. Turn it on when you create the card, or add a second page and label it "Back" yourself, then switch between the two exactly like any pair of tabs. See Classic pages for tab switching.
Export produces both sides: as two separate image files, or as one multi-page PDF with the front and back as its two pages. See Exporting a page and PDF and PSD for the full output options.
Bleed and safe zone
Print guides are available for the business card and CV/resume types. They draw two dashed rectangles inside the artboard, plus faint center crosshairs, and never appear in an export:
| Zone | Where it sits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | A dashed rectangle 21 px inside the artboard edge (the trim line) | The 21 px band between this line and the canvas edge is trimmed away after printing. Fill full-bleed backgrounds and images all the way to the canvas edge, past this line. |
| Safe zone | A dashed rectangle 35 px inside the artboard edge | Keep text and other important content inside this rectangle, so a slight trim never clips it. |
Turn the guides on from the gear menu (Toggle Print Guides). They redraw automatically when you resize the card or flip its orientation, and they cover both the front and back of a dual-face card. On any other product type the toggle reports that print guides are for print products only and stays off. See Guides, grid, and rulers.
Step by step
Start a two-sided business card with rounded corners
- Create a part and pick Business Card. The canvas opens at the standard 700 by 400 px (3.5 by 2 in) size.
- Turn on the two-sided option so the card gets a Front and a Back, or add a second page and label it "Back" yourself.
- Set the orientation. Horizontal keeps 3.5 by 2 in; vertical swaps to 2 by 3.5 in.
- Set the corner shape to Rounded. Corners are a card-only control, so they appear alongside orientation only for this type.
- Switch between the front and back with their tabs and design each side independently. See Classic pages.
Resize an existing design from pixels to millimeters for print
- Click an empty part of the canvas so nothing is selected. The right panel switches to the part's size controls.
- Open the unit dropdown and choose mm. The width and height fields re-display the same physical size in millimeters instead of resetting it.
- Type the millimeter dimensions you need and apply. Existing objects keep their exact positions, so the layout does not jump or rescale.
- If a value looks off by a fraction after switching back to pixels, that is the rounding described under Troubleshooting, not a lost size.
Set up at a social preset, then switch to a custom size
- Deselect everything and open the preset menu. Pick a platform size, for example Instagram Post at 1080 by 1080.
- Design the piece at that size.
- Later, change the product type to Custom and type an exact width and height. The switch keeps every object in place, so you can retarget the same artwork to a new size.
Turn on bleed guides and check the artwork before exporting
- Open a business card or CV/resume, since print guides are limited to those two types.
- Open the gear menu and choose Toggle Print Guides. The bleed and safe-zone rectangles appear.
- Confirm that full-bleed backgrounds and images reach the canvas edge, past the dashed bleed line, and that all text sits inside the safe rectangle.
- Export. The guides are excluded from the output automatically, so they will not print. See Exporting a page.
Common tasks
- Make a vertical business card: switch orientation to vertical, which swaps the card to 400 by 700 px (2 by 3.5 in).
- Match a platform exactly: reach for the matching preset instead of typing dimensions from memory.
- Work in inches for a US print shop: set the unit dropdown to inch before entering the size.
- Give a card rounded corners: set the corner shape to rounded. This control appears only for the business card type.
- Give a card a matching back: turn on the two-sided option, or add a page labeled "Back"; export produces both sides.
Troubleshooting
- A size will not go above 4,096 or below 50 px. Values over 4,096 px per side are rejected outright, so the canvas keeps its current size and it looks like nothing happened. Values under 50 px snap up to 50. Stay within 50 to 4,096 px on each side.
- A converted size reads slightly off. Applied sizes are rounded to whole pixels while the displayed value is rounded to two decimals, so converting a size from pixels to millimeters and back can shift it by a fraction. Set the size once in your final print unit rather than round-tripping between units.
- No width and height fields for a business card or video. The custom size fields are hidden for the business card and video types (and on whiteboards). A card is sized by its orientation instead. For a video or an arbitrary size, switch the product type; Custom exposes free width and height.
- Objects fall outside the artboard after shrinking it. Resizing keeps every object at its exact pixel position instead of rescaling, so making the canvas smaller can leave objects hanging past the new edge. Move or scale them back in, or resize the canvas up again.
- Print guides will not turn on. They are limited to the business card and CV/resume types. On anything else, including an invoice, the toggle reports that print guides are for print products only and switches back off.
Tips
Extend backgrounds past the bleed line
A full-bleed background should fill the whole canvas out to its edges, past the dashed bleed line, so a slight shift while trimming never leaves a white sliver.
Change size without losing your layout
Switching product type or entering a custom size keeps existing objects in place, so you can preview a design at a few different sizes without starting over.
Pick a preset over guessing
A platform's on-screen dimensions change often enough that typing them from memory is a common source of slightly-wrong exports. Reach for the matching preset first, and fall back to a custom size only when nothing matches.
Related
- Classic pages for switching between a card's front and back
- Page tabs and groups for managing many sized parts at once
- Guides, grid, and rulers for bleed and safe-zone guides
- Product types and sizes for the full dimension table
- Exporting a page and PDF and PSD for output