Microsoft Expression Design 3 creates graphics for use in your design projects.

Microsoft Expression Design 3 is the perfect companion to Expression Blend or Expression Web. Leverage existing artwork, or use intuitive drawing tools to quickly build sophisticated vector assets. Seamlessly transfer them to your Expression Blend or Expression Web projects knowing that their fidelity will be maintained throughout the entire designer-developer workflow.

Expand Your Portfolio

Expression Design is the perfect companion to Expression Blend and Expression Web. Quickly build sophisticated vector assets, and then seamlessly transfer them via XAML to your Expression Blend projects or sliced to perfection for your Expression Web Websites.

Designed for Creativity

Unleash your creativity with innovative vector drawing tools and non-destructive effects that you can apply to either vector or imported bitmapped images. Apply both hard-edged and organic strokes while maintaining the flexibility of vector paths. Expression Design has been built from the ground up for designers by designers.

Your Vision, Uncompromised

Create assets knowing that their fidelity will be maintained throughout the entire designer-developer workflow. From Expression Design through Expression Blend or Expression Web to Visual Studio, graphics, user interface elements and design assets move seamlessly from your initial concepts to the finished product. Your original vision, fully realized.

Top Features

Expand Your Portfolio

• Use All Your Assets

  Incorporate graphics from other applications using standard file formats such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF, or open vector-based artwork from other popular graphic tools. The powerful new Adobe Photoshop File Format Importer (PSD) enables you to import your Photoshop files with full layer support providing you a streamlined workflow with your traditional design tools. Export is provided in a variety of standard formats such as PSD, PDF, and XAML.

• Precise Edits

  Work with advanced and flexible vector manipulation tools, path operators, and shape transformation/morph capabilities.

• Pixel-perfect

  Place and align your graphic elements precisely with snap-to, grids, points, guides and pixels.

Designed for Creativity

• Powerful Tools

  Intuitive and flexible shape drawing tools including Bezier, B-Spline, and polyline—with full curve control. The Paintbrush tool gives you precision drawing control, while tablet support lets you draw with greater expressive freedom.

• Editable Effects

  Apply non-destructive Live Effects to any object or image. Then re-order the effects, toggle them on and off, or change the effect settings for a completely different look and feel.

• Expansive Options

  Enhance your vector paths with a wide array of preset fills, strokes, and gradients, or create your own to build a unique appearance or texture.

Your Vision, Uncompromised

• Connect with Expression Studio

  Powerful new export and slicing tools seamlessly bring your artwork to Expression Web and Expression Blend. Target individual slices as separate formats, including Silverlight canvas, WPF canvas, WPF resource dictionary, HTML comp, PSD and PDF. Maximize re-use of your assets. Graphics can be overlaid by multiple and overlapping slices, so you can simultaneously export multiple formats in one simple action.

• Build Assets

  Create assets such as buttons or backgrounds that you can use in any authoring tool, such as Expression Web or Visual Studio.