# LayoutNUWA: Revealing the Hidden Layout Expertise of Large Language Models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.09506 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.09506/

## Key facts

- Cited by 19 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 43 of its 53 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 Sep 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 43)

- [Llama 2: Open Foundation and Fine-Tuned Chat Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.09288/) (2023)
- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [Self-Consistency Improves Chain of Thought Reasoning in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.11171/) (2022)
- [Finetuned Language Models Are Zero-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01652/) (2021)
- [The Curious Case of Neural Text Degeneration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.09751/) (2019)
- [Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12712/) (2023)
- [Code Llama: Open Foundation Models for Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.12950/) (2023)
- [Multitask Prompted Training Enables Zero-Shot Task Generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.08207/) (2021)
- [WizardLM: Empowering large pre-trained language models to follow complex instructions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.12244/) (2023)
- [MaskGIT: Masked Generative Image Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.04200/) (2022)
- [Program of Thoughts Prompting: Disentangling Computation from Reasoning for Numerical Reasoning Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.12588/) (2022)
- [Diffusion-LM Improves Controllable Text Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.14217/) (2022)
- [STaR: Bootstrapping Reasoning With Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.14465/) (2022)
- [Show Your Work: Scratchpads for Intermediate Computation with Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.00114/) (2021)
- [Cross-Task Generalization via Natural Language Crowdsourcing Instructions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08773/) (2021)
- [Instruction Tuning for Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10792/) (2023)
- [Unnatural Instructions: Tuning Language Models with (Almost) No Human Labor](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.09689/) (2022)
- [PubLayNet: largest dataset ever for document layout analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.07836/) (2019)
- [LayoutGPT: Compositional Visual Planning and Generation with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.15393/) (2023)
- [OPT-IML: Scaling Language Model Instruction Meta Learning through the Lens of Generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.12017/) (2022)
- [Instruction Induction: From Few Examples to Natural Language Task Descriptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.10782/) (2022)
- [LayoutDM: Discrete Diffusion Model for Controllable Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08137/) (2023)
- [LayoutGAN: Generating Graphic Layouts with Wireframe Discriminators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.06767/) (2019)
- [LayoutVAE: Stochastic Scene Layout Generation From a Label Set](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.10719/) (2019)
- [CanvasVAE: Learning to Generate Vector Graphic Documents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.01249/) (2021)
- [Variational Transformer Networks for Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.02416/) (2021)
- [Neural Design Network: Graphic Layout Generation with Constraints](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.09421/) (2019)
- [Constrained Graphic Layout Generation via Latent Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.00871/) (2021)
- [DOC2PPT: Automatic Presentation Slides Generation from Scientific Documents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.11796/) (2021)
- [BLT: Bidirectional Layout Transformer for Controllable Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05112/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [Graphic Design with Large Multimodal Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.14368/) (2024)
- [PosterLlama: Bridging Design Ability of Langauge Model to Contents-Aware Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.00995/) (2024)
- [LayoutFlow: Flow Matching for Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.18187/) (2024)
- [Layout-Corrector: Alleviating Layout Sticking Phenomenon in Discrete Diffusion Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16689/) (2024)
- [LayoutCoT: Unleashing the Deep Reasoning Potential of Large Language Models for Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10829/) (2025)
- [UTDesign: A Unified Framework for Stylized Text Editing and Generation in Graphic Design Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.20479/) (2025)
- [Smaller But Better: Unifying Layout Generation with Smaller Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.14005/) (2025)
- [From Fragment to One Piece: A Survey on AI-Driven Graphic Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18641/) (2025)
- [Relation-Rich Visual Document Generator for Visual Information Extraction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.10659/) (2025)
- [LLMs as Layout Designers: Enhanced Spatial Reasoning for Content-Aware Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.16891/) (2025)
- [DocReward: A Document Reward Model for Structuring and Stylizing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.11391/) (2025)
- [A Two-Stage System for Layout-Controlled Image Generation using Large Language Models and Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.06888/) (2025)
- [From Pixels to Policies: Reinforcing Spatial Reasoning in Language Models for Content-Aware Layout Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.13912/) (2026)
- [MemSlides: A Hierarchical Memory Driven Agent Framework for Personalized Slide Generation with Multi-turn Local Revision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.17162/) (2026)
- [StructLayoutFormer:Conditional Structured Layout Generation via Structure Serialization and Disentanglement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.26141/) (2025)
- [Sketch-to-Layout: Sketch-Guided Multimodal Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.27632/) (2025)
- [Content-Aware Ad Banner Layout Generation with Two-Stage Chain-of-Thought in Vision Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12596/) (2025)
- [DesignSense: A Human Preference Dataset and Reward Modeling Framework for Graphic Layout Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.23438/) (2026)
- [One Figure, Every Canvas: Editable Flowchart Relayout via Agentic Pipeline](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.06852/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Graphic layout generation, a growing research field, plays a significant role in user engagement and information perception. Existing methods primarily treat layout generation as a numerical optimization task, focusing on quantitative aspects while overlooking the semantic information of layout, such as the relationship between each layout element. In this paper, we propose LayoutNUWA, the first model that treats layout generation as a code generation task to enhance semantic information and harness the hidden layout expertise of large language models~(LLMs). More concretely, we develop a Code Instruct Tuning (CIT) approach comprising three interconnected modules: 1) the Code Initialization (CI) module quantifies the numerical conditions and initializes them as HTML code with strategically placed masks; 2) the Code Completion (CC) module employs the formatting knowledge of LLMs to fill in the masked portions within the HTML code; 3) the Code Rendering (CR) module transforms the completed code into the final layout output, ensuring a highly interpretable and transparent layout generation procedure that directly maps code to a visualized layout. We attain significant state-of-the-art performance (even over 50% improvements) on multiple datasets, showcasing the strong capabilities of LayoutNUWA. Our code is available at https://github.com/ProjectNUWA/LayoutNUWA.