Does Design Space Really Suck That Much?
Yes, I am sorry to say it really does.
“Is there an alternative to Design Space?” is definitely in the top 10…maybe even top 5 frequently asked questions we get on r/cricut and unfortunately there is no way to run the machine without using Design Space. There had been at least one company in the past that tried to create an alternative software to run the machine, but Provo Craft sued them and they gave up. There is a Github program called CutCutGo that supposedly has the ability to make the machine run on limited functionality. Reading their documentation it appears they have only been able to get this to work with one version of an original Maker (they apparently failed on 2 different motherboard types on the original Maker and one on a Maker 3) To use this program you have to be willing to literally drill into the motherboard of the machine, so I would only recommend attempting this with a deactivated (aka bricked) machine since it may render the machine useless and unable to connect to Design Space again.
Why can’t I use this thing offline?
Since Design Space must connect to Cricut’s server to function, an outage will leave you with no ability to work.
Ironically while I was in the midst of editing this blog post Cricut’s servers went down three times in one day, something that renders the machine useless. A huge part of Cricut’s business model is keeping you inside their ecosystem and the easiest way to do that is to force a connection to their servers. The software on your computer contains zero ability to write the .json files for your machine to run the cuts, everything it does comes from the host server, its basically a communication hub. Think of the early days of the telephone when calls were routed through a literal operator, Design Space is that operator plugging the call through, your machine is asking the server for the commands and the server is sending it back, the app is reading a book while this is happening waiting for a new call to be placed. For this to work you need a solid internet connection. If your internet is down or Cricut’s servers go offline the machine is unable to operate, Design Space does have an offline mode but it only works under very specific conditions. You have to be already connected to the internet or logged in before you can take it offline and once it’s offline you cannot add, edit, or make anything that wasn’t saved in the system for offline use, you also cannot upload new images or cut flies created in another program when you’re in offline mode. This might be the biggest strike against Cricut as a brand.
If you can forgive that side of their business or you bought a machine without knowing, then you must clear the next annoying hurdle, one of the first thing genuine artists and designers discover when then use Design Space for the first time is:
The Cricut Cutie is always scheming.
Design Space is not a design program.
Cricut at it’s core is designed to be a plug and play machine for people with no design acumen. They want you to use the premade graphics in their library, if you do alter anything it should only be simple text or the color of what you are cutting, but if you want to do any basic editing functions…you know, the kind you need to do when you’re actually designing something, like direct node selection/deletion, a pen tool, curvature tool, eraser, or lasso selection…you absolutely cannot do that within Design Space.
Design Space is a vector reader.
Knowing the difference between a raster image and a vector image is a huge part in understanding how a cricut works. This Adobe article and this post by MiDankie are possibly my most referenced pages that give you a pretty good description of the differences between raster and vector images, but TLDR here is my janky summary: Raster images are made up of tiny squares, the larger the image gets, the bigger the square gets, the more noticeable each square becomes. Vector images are made up of lines and curves that can stretch and shrink without loss of quality.
Cricut machines live in a walled garden.
Viewing the two images side by side at 100% scale with the raster image set to 300ppi, you cannot really tell the difference between them.
The vector image zoomed in at 1500%
The raster image zoomed in at the same 1500%
(artwork stolen borrowed from my husband’s book Skull Man Sad, out now!)
Why does the file type matter when it comes to using a Cricut?
A Cricut is just a cutting plotter and plotters work by using math to calculate the points along a plane (in the case of a Cricut, your cutting mat) where it should make its cuts and curves. A vector file is also using a mathematical equation to determine the placement and scale of the lines, curves, and points used to create the image. The cutting files are based on direct translations of the vector images. When you upload a raster image, the machine must still vectorize the edge since the pixels won’t give it a clear path to follow. The downside of that is it’s difficult for the software to create a smooth line from the pixels. The design software of choice for a lot of sticker artists is Procreate, but since its a raster program, a lot of the images exported from it get absolutely butchered by Design Space because the exterior lines are not smooth enough to vectorize.
Center: a raster image drawn in Procreate. Left: the vectorized cutlines created from the original file. Right: the same file edited in Adobe Illustrator to add a smooth edge
original artwork by Little Looks by Lilly
Sometimes your artwork colludes with Cricut to betray you.
In the example above you can see this especially around the bottom edge of the graphic, all of these little cutouts and bumps aren’t even visible in the actual print graphic which is very frustrating to people who encounter this issue. A lot of this can be minimized by using the correct brush for your outer edge to make sure the lines stay smooth when they are imported, Adobe Fresco the software I use has a section of brushes called Vector Brushes that create hard lines, I know Procreate has an equivalent, and a lot of people have used this brush with much success for this purpose.
Another method is to clean up the image first in another program, I use Adobe Illustrator to edit all of my cutlines, you can see not only did I remove all of those stray cuts at the bottom of the graphic, the edge are much smoother all around. Once again I will recommend downloading this excellent free Crafting with Confidence guide by MiDankie to get a firmer grasp on these concepts.
What are some alternatives to create designs for use in Design Space?
Just because you are forced to use Design Space to run the machine, doesn’t mean you should rely on it for your design work. Below is a list of the most common used software when it comes to creating your own ready to cut files, there are dozens of other software and you can find a more comprehensive list here.
Key: Free 🆓, Paywalled Features 🧱, One time fee 💰, Subscription 💸
But what about Canva?
Canva is a great tool for creating uniform social media graphics and quick branded content for businesses. But just like Design Space, it is not a design program. The most you can claim to be doing when using Canva is digitally scrapbooking images together. Ever notice 90% of the time someone recommends Canva for Cricut it’s followed by “here’s my referral link!’? I spend some of my spare time inspecting and fixing SVG files for Cricut users who can’t seem to get them to work in Design Space and 98% of these files originate from Canva. In order to be able to use Canva successfully for Cricut projects you need to have a thorough grasp of how files are made, and honestly if you had that knowledge you would know there are a few dozen software programs better suited to the creation of SVG files.
Is that why my Canva upload has a huge black box instead of my image?
Yes. Vector files have the ability to store raster data in them, but Design Space cannot read a raster inside of a vector file, Canva also uses clipping masks to contain a lot of their vector data, Design Space cannot read those properly either.
Ok, but I want to sell the things I make with my Cricut, and Cricut Access or Canva Pro gives me commercial licenses to do so.
::record scratch::
You should only ever feel confident selling designs that were 100% created by you using an original idea.
I will reiterate what I said above but when you use the elements from Cricut Access, Canva, Creative Fabrica, or similar sites like Design Bundles, So Fontsy, etc. to create your graphics you not actually designing anything you are basically digitally scrapbooking things together. The copyright around this is very murky. Many of these sites will tell you that you have legal permission to sell these things and then will not stand behind you when you get sued for infringement.
Cricut's Angel Policy is not very clear for a laymen to understand but there are actually very few elements in Design Space that are covered by the policy since the Contributing Artist program was enacted.
Contributing Artists hold the copyright to all of their artwork, and unless you get their permission they CAN sue you for infringement if you sell things with their graphics on it.
Always assume if you didn't make it 100% (and the things you are making aren't using characters or concepts created by others) that it is not ok to sell.
Got questions about anything you read today, please let me know in the comments!
Until the next time we can hate Design Space together, happy crafting!!
- Shelana
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