Microsoft Expression Design

Welcome to Microsoft® Expression® Design!

Expression Design is a tool for creative professionals and developers who want to build high-impact graphics for rich application user interfaces, the Web, or any other medium. Expression Design offers powerful features to help you express your creativity.

The drawing tools in Expression Design let you seamlessly blend vector paths and bitmapped images together for unprecedented flexibility. The convenience and editability of vector graphics in Expression Design can be a cornerstone of your WPF, Microsoft® Silverlight™, and Web images. Whether you're a veteran professional illustrator, a designer building a dazzling Web site, or a budding artist eagerly experimenting with various styles and techniques, you will find Expression Design an indispensable tool for your creative tasks.

Getting Started

To get started with Microsoft Expression Design, take a look at these four help areas (click on each heading to go to that page), or go directly to the Table of Contents.

• Installing Expression Design: If you're reading this, then you have probably already installed Expression Design on your computer. However, it's worth taking a quick look through the installation procedures.
• Opening Documents: Before you create or edit anything with Expression Design, you need to open or create a document. Here's how to open new and existing files, including a rundown of what file formats Expression Design supports.
• The Document Page: Once you have a document open, you'll need to learn your way around the user interface in Expression Design, including its panels, rulers, flip bar, and so on. This page is the best place to start this exploration.
• Tutorials: To get up to speed fast with Expression Design, follow these tutorials. All the sample files you need are installed on your hard disk to help you become an Expression Design expert.
• Additional Resources: If you need additional help, check out these useful forums and Web pages.