Start your first Gesso project

Open Gesso and choose the document that matches what you want to make. You can start with one project and one document. Add more structure only when the work needs it.

Understand workspaces, projects, and documents

A workspace holds the people and work available to you. A project keeps related documents together. A document is the thing you edit.

For a small piece of work, create one project and start designing. For a client, brand, or ongoing initiative, use a project name another person will recognize later.

Choose the right Gesso document

• Canvas is the flexible choice for identity work, illustrations, layouts, and one-off visual assets.
• Social Campaign keeps related campaign formats together so you can review the set as one piece of work.
• Website is for responsive pages and page-level structure.

If you are planning a set of posts, ads, or banners, read the source-first campaign guide before you build every size.

Create the first project and document

1. Select Open Gesso in the marketing header or go to /create.
2. Sign in if you are entering a hosted workspace connected to your account.
3. Choose or create the workspace where this work belongs.
4. Create a project and give it a short, specific name.
5. Add a Canvas, Social Campaign, or Website document.
6. Name the document for the work, not the tool. Spring launch campaign will be easier to find than Untitled 4.
7. Add the first artboard or page and begin with the main idea.

Confirm the first save

Watch the save indicator after your first edit. Do not assume that being signed in or online proves a browser write reached storage. The browser storage guide explains each save state, recovery, and how to download a manual .ges copy.

For important work, use Export to download that .ges source file yourself before clearing site data, changing browser profiles, or removing the device. Gesso does not automatically write browser documents to a separate disk location.

First-project checklist

Pro tips