Turn a screenshot, photo or old flyer into an editable design

Updated 2026-09-04

Everyone has designs trapped in pictures: last year’s flyer as a JPG, a competitor’s ad, a screenshot of something you liked, a scan of a menu. Recreate turns them into a design you can edit. Text comes back as real text in a matching font, the main subject is lifted onto its own layer with the background cleaned behind it, and colours and layout are kept.

It streams like generation: you watch the layers being rebuilt. Photos and logos inside the picture keep their pixels; sketches and wireframes are designed up rather than copied.

How to do it

1. 1

   Start from the picture

   On the start screen, click “Or start from an image”, or in the editor click “Recreate a poster…” in the top bar. Choose a JPG, PNG or a screenshot from your device.

2. 2

   Let the layers arrive

   Studio reads the picture, names the fonts it sees, lifts each line of text as live text, cuts out the subject and cleans the backdrop. Elements stream onto the canvas as they are recovered.

3. 3

   Correct what it got wrong

   Double-click any text to fix a word, pick a different font from the font picker if the match is off, and drag layers into place. The Layers panel (⌥1) shows each recovered piece.

4. 4

   Make it yours

   Now it is an ordinary design: change the dates, swap the photo, apply your brand kit in one click with Brand recolour, or ask Refine for a new look. Save it as your own template for next time.

Tips

• Sharper input, better output: use the original export or a full-resolution screenshot rather than a photo of a screen.
• A picture that is mostly a photo (a product shot, a logo) is kept as pixels on purpose; add text and shapes around it.
• Sketches and wireframes are treated as briefs: Studio designs them properly instead of tracing the pencil lines.
• Recreate then Brand recolour is the fastest way to bring an old design onto a new brand.

Frequently asked questions

Does the text really become editable?

Yes. Each line is recovered as a text element in the closest available font, so you can retype it, restyle it and export it as vector in PDF or SVG.

What about the fonts?

Studio names the font family it recognises and uses it or its closest match. You can change it afterwards from the font picker.

Can I recreate a competitor’s design?

You can use the tool on any picture you have the right to use. Recreating layout ideas for your own content is normal practice; copying someone else’s protected artwork or logo is not.

How is this different from Canva’s Magic Layers?

Magic Layers separates a picture into image layers and leaves text as pixels. Studio recovers text as live text with named fonts and cuts the subject onto its own layer, so the result is editable end to end.

Related guides

• Generate from a promptGenerate a complete, editable design from a prompt
• Brand recolourRecolour any design to your brand in one click
• Photo toolsEdit any picture in a design: remove the background, erase, expand, adjust
• Refine with AIEdit a design by describing the change — or point at an element and say it