Google’s Mixboard: The AI Game-Changer for Digital Designers

Google has quietly released a revolutionary new tool called Mixboard, a generative AI-powered canvas that is set to become a game-changer for digital designers, mockup creators, and anyone in the print-on-demand space. This brand-new tool, part of Google’s experimental labs, allows you to take existing images and designs and transform them in ways that were previously time-consuming and complex. Let’s dive into what makes Mixboard so incredibly powerful.

Getting Started with Mixboard

[0:24.871] [Google Mixboard Welcome Screen] Mixboard is a fresh release from Google and is being hailed as a potential game-changer for those who create mockups or any form of imagery using generative AI. The platform is accessible at labs.google.com/mixboard. Upon arrival, you’re greeted with a clean dashboard showing your projects and some examples to get you started. While you can explore the examples, the real magic happens when you start a new project from scratch.

[1:29.071] [New Project Canvas in Mixboard] Creating a new project opens a blank, grid-lined canvas. At the bottom, a simple prompt box asks, “What do you want to create?” This is where your creative journey begins. You can either start with a text prompt or, more impressively, by dragging and dropping an existing image directly onto the canvas.

Example 1: Creating a Design Bundle from One Image

[1:53.300] [Initial Santa Design on Mixboard Canvas] Imagine you have a single vintage, grungy Santa design and want to create a whole collection or bundle around it. Simply drag the image onto the Mixboard canvas. Once the image is there, you can use natural language to tell the AI what you want to do next.

[3:02.409] [AI-Generated Christmas Design Variations] To expand on the Santa design, you can provide a simple prompt to generate more variations. The AI understands the context and style of the original image, which is what makes it so powerful. For instance, using a prompt like the one below, Mixboard can create a whole set of new, stylistically consistent designs.

Use this exact design and give me 5 more versions of it with different characters and subjects ie: snowman, angel, etc.

In seconds, the AI generates five new images—featuring a snowman, a nutcracker, a wreath, a Christmas cake, and an angel—all perfectly matching the vintage, grungy style of the original Santa. This ability to instantly create a cohesive design bundle is an incredible time-saver.

Example 2: Building a Holiday Clipart Collection

[4:26.398] [Christmas Penguin Clipart on Mixboard Canvas] This tool is pure gold for clip art creators. Let’s say you have a cute Christmas penguin design and want to create an entire bundle of different animals in the same style. After dragging your penguin onto the canvas, you can ask the AI to generate more characters.

[4:57.175] [Full Clipart Set of Holiday Animals] By providing a straightforward prompt, you can generate a massive collection of new clipart. This demonstrates how you can maintain a consistent artistic style across an entire set of characters.

give me 10 more variations of this exact design using different animals

The result is phenomenal. Mixboard produces ten new animals, including a polar bear, cat, dog, elephant, fox, and sloth, all wearing the same sunglasses, Santa hat, and tangled in Christmas lights. It’s a complete, ready-to-sell clipart bundle created in moments.

[6:56.002] [Monkey Clipart in Various Poses] You can take it even further by asking for the same character in different poses. By selecting the monkey image and using a new prompt, you can quickly generate a set of action poses, such as dancing, jumping, and waving, which is perfect for creating dynamic scenes or sticker sheets.

now take this design and give me 5 more images with the monkey in different positions, ie dancing, jumping, waving etc.

Example 3: Repurposing Designs for Different Holidays

[8:24.777] [Holiday-themed Design Variations] Mixboard also excels at adapting a design’s theme. Starting with a Halloween-themed design that says “Oh My Gourd,” you can ask the AI to generate new versions for different holidays while keeping the same font and overall cartoon style.

Give me 5 new designs in this same overall cartoon style using different characters phrases for various holidays or seasons - you can change the colors as needed.

This prompt yields a versatile set of designs for Christmas (“Jingle All The Way”), Spring (“Hello Spring”), Summer (“Taste The Sunshine”), Winter (“Chilly Vibes”), and New Year’s (“New Year New Me”).

[9:49.197] [Jingle All The Way Design with Snowflakes] The customization doesn’t stop there. You can select one of the newly generated images and continue to refine it. For example, you can change the text color to a “bright Christmas green” and then “add some random sized snowflakes” to complete the festive look.

Example 4: Generating Mockups and New Design Concepts

[12:03.205] [Blank Mockup Sweatshirts Generated by Mixboard] Beyond just creating designs, Mixboard can even generate mockup images. If you need a fresh set of mockups, you can simply ask for them. A prompt like “Give me 5 new BLANK mockup images that would work well with this design” will provide a series of blank apparel mockups ready for you to add your creations.

[13:08.309] [Raven Design with Different Colored Florals] The tool is also fantastic for creating variations of more complex art, like tumbler wraps. Starting with a surreal design of a raven with pink roses, a simple prompt can generate multiple versions with different colored florals while maintaining the original’s abstract, moody vibe.

Take this design and give me 5 more using different colored florals - keeping the same vibe and overall feel.

Google’s Mixboard is an incredibly versatile and intuitive tool that can dramatically speed up your design workflow. Whether you’re creating clipart bundles, t-shirt designs, or tumbler wraps, its ability to understand style and context and generate high-quality variations is truly remarkable. As it’s still in an experimental phase, now is the perfect time to give it a try and see how it can revolutionize your creative process.