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Design Beautiful AI Demos with Gradio: Layouts, Themes & Custom Styles

Chapter-3 

By now, you’ve learned how to build basic Gradio apps and work with various input/output types. But raw functionality is only half the story. Great design makes your AI demos easier to use, more professional, and enjoyable to interact with.

In this part, we’ll explore:
Gradio’s layout systems: Interface vs Blocks

Gradio Interface — Quick and Easy UI

The gr.Interface class is perfect when you just want to:

  • Wrap a single function

  • Provide a few inputs and outputs

  • Launch a simple demo fast

import gradio as gr

def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

gr.Interface(fn=greet, inputs="text", outputs="text").launch()

What happens here?

  • A textbox appears for the user to type their name

  • When they click "Submit", the function greet is called

  • The output (greeting message) is displayed below

Limitation of Interface:

You cannot:

  • Add multiple pages or tabs

  • Nest layouts like side-by-side or columns

  • Add multiple functions reacting to different inputs

  • Dynamically change the UI

Gradio Blocks — Full Layout and Logic Control

The gr.Blocks API is much more powerful. Use it when:

  • You need multiple sections, pages, or workflows

  • You want inputs/outputs to appear in custom order

  • You want to chain functions or update outputs dynamically

import gradio as gr

def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

with gr.Blocks() as demo:
    gr.Markdown("## 👋 Welcome to the Greeting App")
    
    with gr.Row():
        name_input = gr.Textbox(label="Enter your name")
        greet_output = gr.Textbox(label="Greeting")

    name_input.change(fn=greet, inputs=name_input, outputs=greet_output)

demo.launch()

What’s Happening Here?

  • You control layout using Row() and Markdown()

  • The greeting appears in a custom location

  • You can use change events (.change) for live updates

  • Much easier to scale later by adding tabs, sliders, or charts

Feature Interface Blocks
Simplicity      ✅ Easier, quick setup ❌ Slightly more code
Flexibility      ❌ Limited layout or interactivity           ✅ Highly customizable
UI Control      ❌ Pre-built layout only ✅ Full control (rows, tabs, themes)
Use Case       Demos, tutorials, simple forms Complex apps, dashboards, workflows

Use Case Use Interface? Use Blocks?
A quick ML demo (e.g., image classifier) ✅ Yes ❌ Not needed
Build a full app with multiple steps ❌ No                      ✅ Yes
Use custom layouts (rows/columns) ❌ No ✅ Yes
Dynamic updates on events ❌ No ✅ Yes
Add tabs or multi-page layout ❌ No ✅ Yes

Use Interface when you're starting out or building a fast proof of concept.
Use Blocks when you want control, custom layout, interactivity, or multiple functions.

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