Are you new to Cricut and wondering how to start in Design Space? When I first got a Cricut and started using CDS (Cricut Design Space), I was overwhelmed, to say the least. I had never really used a design program before.
When it comes to getting started with a Cricut machine and the Design Space software it can be daunting trying to figure out what all the functions and terms.
Even though you are anxious to use all those wonderful craft materials, before jumping into tutorials it can be helpful to familiarize yourself with all the terminology that Cricut uses.
The purpose of this article is to teach you and show you an overview of every Icon, and Panel of the Cricut Design Space Canvas Area. The canvas is the Design Space graphic work space where you will design and arrange your vectors or prints and access all the tools.

Lower Right Corner of CDS:
- Slice – Cut images out of others or slice objects. Use to make split letter monograms.
- Attach – Attach text or images so they cut out exactly as you have them on your canvas
- Weld – Weld cursive text so it is one continuous line and no tails are cut. Weld objects to turn into one object.
- Contour – Delete inside or outside of images or unwanted lines.
- Flatten – Flatten your image together to print it
Upper Right Corner of CDS:
- Layers Panel – See all the different layers of your images. Click the eye to hide or unhide certain layers.
- Color Sync – See how many colors you have on your canvas. Change items to the same color by dragging and dropping in this panel.
Now, Cricut Design Space is my favorite design software! It is so user-friendly and can do so much. let’s get started!
How to Use Cricut Design Space
If you need help setting up an account in CDS, hop on over to my getting started with Cricut Design Space tutorial.
Canvas – The canvas refers to the screen that you are designing on. To start a new project on the Cricut Design Space landing page, simply click on one of the two “new project” buttons.

This will open up your canvas. Now let the magic of creating begin!

There is also a Zoom in and out buttons to see the tiny details or the big picture on the bottom left corner.
On the left side, you will find the main buttons.
- New – start a new project
- Templates – One of my favorite parts of the canvas is using the templates so you can see how your project will work on different items. You can easily change the color and the size of the templates to get a better idea.
- Projects – opens up all the different projects in CDS
- Images – where you’ll find all the images you can buy off Cricut Access and also the ones you’ve uploaded
- Text – What I use the most! Type in text and find the font you want to use in the drop-down menu. Watch my all things font Cricut Design Space video tutorial to learn more.
- Shapes – All the basic shapes and scoreline. You can make a ton of different designs just by adding shapes together.
- Upload – Upload a svg, jpeg, or png that you have saved on your computer. See #8

Do you want to learn more about cricut? Cricut Fonts?
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