Graphic design has come a protracted means since I began within the arts almost a decade and a half in the past. Enhancements in instruments like Photoshop or my private favourite, Procreate, from then to now have helped take away inventive roadblocks and pace up the design course of. Then, user-friendly design instruments like Canva have made design extra accessible to non-specialists.
Now, it’s 2024, and we discover ourselves within the throes of the “AI revolution.” We’re met with a ton of AI instruments for graphic design that promise to streamline our inventive workflows and extra. However is the juice actually well worth the squeeze with these instruments? Right now, we discover out.
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Desk of Contents
Why use AI for graphic design?
From eradicating inventive blocks to saving time, listed below are three causes to think about including AI to your graphic design course of.
Take away Inventive Blocks
One of many essential advantages I’ve discovered through the use of AI is that it helps me take away inventive blocks. So, after I’m writing and hit a wall, moderately than gazing a clean display screen, I’d ask ChatGPT to generate an instance use case for one thing. Even when the textual content it generates is clunky and unusable, it at the least provides me a place to begin.
In terms of design, particularly, the identical goes for one thing like colour pairing. With out AI help or pre-created palettes, I battle to decide on multiple colour for a design. (As you’ll see later, a particular AI device for graphic design may also help take away that inventive block.)
Inventive Experimentation
As an Illustration graduate who specialised in printmaking, I can let you know first-hand that inventive experimentation in actual life will get messy.
Not solely is the method usually messy, however it might take up loads of house. Earlier than you already know it, a number of bodily variations of your experimentations are mounting up, and the following situation is the place to retailer them.
Except for that, non-digital inventive experimentation is commonly riskier. With out the trustworthy “Ctrl Z” or equal at your disposal, you’re at all times one transfer away from ruining a design. The crux? It’s sufficient to place you off even attempting, and that’s not good for enterprise.
However I’m not just a few random ex-art grad on a cleaning soap field lecturing you about inventive expression with out simply trigger. I’m additionally a enterprise proprietor shouting from the rooftops about one key truth: Experimentation is the driving power behind innovation. So, the extra you may encourage it in your self and, if related, your group, the higher.
Save Your self Time
There’s a cause 95% of pros utilizing AI say it helps them spend much less time on handbook duties. And an additional 83% say it helps them give attention to the inventive facets of their position.
By way of automation, AI may also help you simplify your inventive workflow, be it by way of bulk edits or producing designs in just a few prompts. Additionally, by eradicating inventive blocks and offering a approach to experiment at pace, you will get from an idea to a remaining design a lot faster.
That mentioned, there’s one thing magical about making a bodily piece which you could maintain in your fingers. And with out all these years spent within the print room or experimenting with totally different mediums — from textiles to gloopy oil paints — I don’t assume I’d perceive the best way to use AI to attain my desired final result.
How I Examined the Greatest AI Graphic Design Instruments
I examined every device towards the next standards:
- Worth. I wished to know when you might get began with the device at no cost. (As a facet notice, it’s price exploring how a lot it’ll value you to really obtain and use the tip product for business functions.)
- Ease of use. I wished to check how intuitive and user-friendly the design platform was.
- Design capabilities. I wished to understand how broad every device’s design capabilities had been. Extra particularly, I attempted to grasp whether or not the instruments’ AI components had been overhyped or genuinely useful.
- Licenses and copyright. I wished to know when you might use the tip merchandise commercially. Bonus factors if the businesses behind the instruments actively defend folks from potential authorized motion after utilizing designs created by way of the platform.
- Ethics. As a inventive, I used to be inquisitive about how every firm educated the AI fashions. I personally would favor to not use a device that didn’t work with creatives pretty or didn’t brazenly state the way it educated the fashions.
AI Instruments for Graphic Design
I road-tested six instruments for graphic design. Right here’s what I discovered.
1. Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is a generative machine-learning mannequin particularly for design. You will get it as a part of the Adobe Inventive Cloud inside the Photoshop (beta) app or as a stand-alone device.
A preferred use case for Adobe Firefly is to “create beautiful, life-like pictures.” Nevertheless, you can even use the device for AI photograph enhancing (i.e., altering backgrounds and eradicating undesirable components out of your pictures).
I made a decision to strive the stand-alone device for producing pictures from scratch. For context, bear in mind what I mentioned earlier about having an Illustration diploma and spending quite a bit of time in a printmaking studio. So, I’d undoubtedly say my bias is towards the extra painterly/illustrative facet of graphic design.
My immediate: “A easy black define of a mountain drawn within the fashion of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings drawings coloured with random splotches of drawing ink in magenta, blue, purple, and gold.”
I used to be truly fairly impressed with the output, particularly contemplating I solely prompted the device and didn’t configure any of the settings initially.
However how does Adobe Firefly stack up if you get extra particular with the settings? I headed to the Normal settings part and selected Artwork because the content material kind to seek out out.
For my part, the setting change didn’t make that a lot distinction to the output. However that could possibly be as a result of the unique immediate was biased in direction of an “artwork” kind of output anyway.
As an additional experiment, I additionally adjusted the immediate to carry extra whitespace into the mountain portion of the design. Adobe Firefly interpreted that as extra whitespace, usually, moderately than within the mountain part itself. Lengthy story quick, that didn’t work out as I envisioned, so I ditched that portion of the immediate.
After that, I experimented with the Colour and tone setting, selecting Golden. I didn’t anticipate a lot from this setting change, however I trulycherished this output.
I might create one thing related digitally utilizing Procreate, which might take a while. Or I might make one thing like this by hand utilizing both woodcut/block or lino printing, which might take hours, possibly even days, relying on the complexity of the design.
I’ll say that with one thing like this (private work), it’s usually in regards to the journey as a lot because the vacation spot. And though it took mere seconds to provide, it wasn’t as enjoyable to create this digitally as it could’ve been through the use of conventional printing and even with biro and drawing ink.
What I like: Adobe Firefly first piqued my curiosity in 2023 when Sarah Rogers, a Contributing Artist at Cricut, posted in regards to the device on LinkedIn.
Greatest for: Particular person graphic designers, design groups, college students, college students and lecturers. And anybody trying to enhance their design abilities utilizing a accountable AI device.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
I’d adopted Sarah’s considerate LinkedIn posts about AI for some time. And we each appeared to have an identical mindset relating to its use inside inventive endeavors. I don’t need to converse for Sarah, however as for me, right here’s my mindset:
- Sure, you would possibly be capable of pace up your inventive course of with AI — if you understand how to make use of it.
- No, you shouldn’t fireplace all your inventive crew and change them with AI.
- And sure, it’s best to preserve a wholesome stage of skepticism relating to the appliance of AI inside what you are promoting. (A wholesome stage of skepticism, particularly in regards to the output of the instruments, authorized points like licensing, and the way the fashions are educated.)
So, what caught my eye probably the most about Sarah’s endorsement of Adobe Firefly was that Adobe is, seemingly at the least, appearing responsibly on this house.
They’re arguably the most accountable of us within the design device world relating to AI. That makes me really feel extra assured about any potential licensing points and that “no creatives had been harmed” in coaching the fashions.
2. Canva
Canva is a free on-line graphic design device. You need to use it to create a spread of designs, corresponding to social media posts, logos, and displays.
Canva has built-in AI into its platform in a number of alternative ways, together with Magic Design, a text-to-image generator, and Magic Studio, which incorporates AI-driven photograph enhancing options and text-to-video era.
Today, I largely use Canva to make (some would possibly say, hilarious) memes for my LinkedIn. Nevertheless, I used the device quite a bit after I supplied social media advertising and marketing companies, so I wished to make use of Magic Studio to create a social media picture.
I began with a time-saving social media template — an Instagram submit particularly.
I selected Cream Minimalist New Assortment Instagram Publish by Kinley Inventive.
I wished to customise the picture, so I uploaded an image of a few of my very own paintings.
I additionally wished to add a font I’d lately downloaded from Sort Colony. (That is TC Kuareen when you’re .)
To add the font, I clicked on the “new assortment” templated textual content, chosen the font drop-down menu, and clicked “Add a font.”
As soon as I’d come this far, I noticed I’d not used any AI options. So my subsequent process was to attempt to discover some. However, strive as I’d, I might solely discover two noticeable AI options inside the picture editor.
Certainly one of them was “Magic Write.” I might see that being useful for designers or enterprise house owners who need assistance writing copy. That mentioned, when you don’t know the best way to use AI nicely, it’s no substitute for working with a educated copywriter. In fact, the identical goes for design.
The opposite AI function was “Translate.” As soon as once more, I might see this being useful. Nevertheless, like copy and design, AI translation is not any substitute for having an precise translator to safeguard towards translation mishaps.
This could possibly be my misunderstanding of the device, however I discovered it exhausting to see a particular AI use case for social media graphic creation.
However I believe the device could possibly be actually useful for AI picture enhancing. For instance, the “Magic Eraser” edit function removes undesirable design components, and “Magic Edit” provides to, replaces, or edits a picture in just a few clicks.
What I like: Canva is admittedly user-friendly. I really feel like folks with various ranges of design data, and even these with little expertise utilizing design instruments might use it.
What I like: Canva is admittedly user-friendly. I really feel like folks with various ranges of design data, and even these with little expertise utilizing design instruments might use it.
I additionally like that the platform has launched an “industry-leading assortment of strong belief, security, and privateness instruments” by way of Canva Defend. It looks like Canva can be safeguarding towards mental property claims for Enterprise prospects. Plus, they’re compensating Canva creatives for his or her work by way of an AI royalty program.
Greatest for: Particular person graphic designers, design groups, and small to enterprise companies.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
3. Designs.ai
Designs.ai is an built-in Company-as-a-Service platform powered by AI expertise. It’s a one-stop store for all the things from emblem design to social media and picture era. You possibly can even convert textual content to speech for voice-over content material.
I attempted making a social media picture to see how Designs.ai compares to Canva, primarily as a result of I wished to know if the AI facets of this device had been extra distinguished.
My first thought was that when you’ve used Canva earlier than, it received’t take you lengthy to familiarize yourself with the structure for this part of the device. However even when you haven’t, the Designs.ai platform is easy and intuitive. I can see most individuals having the ability to choose up this device and run with it to some extent.
At first look, the social media part is similar to Canva when it comes to selecting templates to customise based mostly on the channel (Fb, Instagram, and many others.). So, it’s fairly commonplace stuff, actually. The “Wizard” possibility, nevertheless, caught my eye.
The default format is “Enterprise Card,” however you may select from totally different choices, corresponding to “Quotes,” “Product Listings,” and “YouTube Thumbnail.” I picked “Instagram Publish” to match the outcomes to Canva.
Along with the totally different design format choices, you can even select from predetermined classes like “Occasions & Celebrations,” “Enterprise, Authorized & Finance,” and “Animal & Pet.” I chosen “Artwork, Design & Inspiration.”
As a facet notice, I had to enroll/sign up to add my very own title picture. However I did all the things till that time through the web site with out signing up for the platform.
After inputting the design variables, I hit Generate. The choices the device spat out weren’t standout designs, however they had been higher than I anticipated — a pleasing shock!
Subsequent, I chosen one of many urged designs to see what the picture editor was like. As with a lot of Designs.ai, the structure is much like Canva.
For the sake of continuity, I might’ve missed one thing, however in contrast to Canva, so far as I’m conscious, you may’t add your individual fonts to Designs.ai.
Total, I discovered the platform simple to navigate and use. That mentioned, I don’t assume this could serve your wants when you wished to create advanced designs. I additionally couldn’t discover any details about how Designs.ai educated its fashions, so I’m cautious of that side.
There may be details about licensing, although. Typically, “completed initiatives made with our inventive AI instruments might be distributed to advertise and promote what you are promoting.” Nonetheless, there are particular Do’s and Don’tssegmented by every side of the device (Emblem, Social Media, Video, and many others.) that you simply would possibly need to take note of.
What I like: By way of AI, Designs.ai goes a step past Canva. I can even see the “Bulk Edit” operate coming in useful if you wish to automate mass edits.
Greatest for: Small companies initially of their journey who don’t have the price range for a designer. Particular person graphic designers or design groups specializing in holistic advertising and marketing.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
4. AutoDraw
AutoDraw is an AI device that mixes machine studying and drawings from artists. You need to use the device to “draw stuff quick.” By way of graphic design use instances, you might use AutoDraw to make studying supplies and customized graphics. And for any design that requires a fast define, I can see Autodraw dashing up the method.
A warning: I don’t have my graphics pill arrange. So all the things you’re about to witness — hilarious although it might be — was finished with only a mouse. I’m guessing the device’s capabilities are far larger with a pill or a stylus at hand. Nevertheless, with out giving an excessive amount of away, it proves which you could enter a horrible drawing into AutoDraw and get one thing higher again.
I made a decision to maintain issues easy with an excellent outdated smiley face. First, I used the “Form” device to create a circle define, after which I used “AutoDraw” for the eyes and nostril. As you may see, the AutoDraw components inputted by me are … missing finesse, let’s assume.
However that’s not an issue. The “Do you imply” part on the highest toolbar provides numerous choices to finesse your drawing. So even when your try to attract a smiley face with only a mouse didn’t end up so nicely, one click on on a smiley face up prime, and also you’re golden.
As you may see the smiley face is now rather less insufferable to behold. Subsequent I used Choose to pick after which delete the preliminary circle form I added. (It turned out to be pointless.) Et voila! A shiny completely happy clipart fashion individual laughing … or one thing.
Concerning coaching the fashions, Google used “the identical expertise to guess what you’re attempting to attract,” as Fast, Draw!, which relied upon “artists, designers, illustrators, and mates of Google” so as to add drawings to the doodling information set.
I doubt the artists had been compensated for his or her work. Nonetheless, at the least they shared designs willingly moderately than having them scraped by AI with out their consent.
What I like: I actually like that the device is straightforward to make use of, free, and, let’s be trustworthy, enjoyable! Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be perfect for advanced design work. That mentioned, when you don’t have loads of time and wish to visualise an concept shortly, AutoDraw may also help.
Greatest for: Anybody who must convey concepts and ideas at pace.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
5. Khroma
Khroma is an AI graphic design device that helps you match your favourite colours right into a sequence of palettes. The device additionally blocks the colours you don’t like, so that they’ll by no means discover their means into your palettes.
I really like that this device is so specialised for a particular objective. And I can see this being a giant time saver when you battle with colour pairing like me.
For context, I can choose just a few colours that I like, no downside. However I’m not at all times assured they go collectively and might get misplaced in evaluation paralysis. In consequence, I have a tendency to purchase pre-made colour palettes for my go-to illustrative device, Procreate.
After I clicked Generate, I used to be prompted to decide on 50 colours “to coach a colour generator algorithm” customized to me. I dove proper in and picked the colours that stood out to me at a look.
As I picked the colours, the “likes to go” part counted what number of colours I nonetheless had to decide on. The colour bar additionally began filling up with those I’d chosen to date.
After selecting my 50 colours, I hit Begin Coaching.
Then, the outcomes got here in. The structure for the colour pairings is gorgeous, and I see loads of potential on this device.
One other attention-grabbing factor of Khroma is which you could visualize your colour pairings in numerous methods, together with “Sort” (the view above) and “Gradient” (the view beneath). You may as well see how your colour decisions look as posters, pictures, and inside broader colour palettes.
Since Khroma helps you pair colours already in existence, I can’t see it being exploitative to creators or needing particular licenses for business use. However I can’t say that for sure, so do your due diligence.
What I like: If you click on the knowledge icon towards every colour pairing, Khroma supplies you with the colour codes. That shall be such a time saver if you wish to colour match in one other design device.
Greatest for: Particular person designers and design groups trying to save time on colour choice and pairing.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
6. Looka
Looka is a platform particularly for emblem and model design. It makes use of synthetic intelligence and machine studying to create designs based mostly in your enter.
I began my take a look at by getting into an instance firm title and clicking Get began. From then on, Looka took me by way of a sequence of steps to assist me create a emblem.
Step one was to choose my {industry}. As you may see, there’s a vary of sectors to select from.
I used to be then prompted to pick some logos I preferred, adopted by some colours.
The next steps had been so as to add an organization title (once more, for some cause?) accompanied by a slogan after which to decide on some image varieties.
An remark: I preferred that Looka gave me notes about my firm title and slogan decisions as I inputted them. This could possibly be useful recommendation for learners. Plus, you can even choose your individual symbols if you wish to be extra hands-on with the design.
After that, Looka generated just a few totally different logos for me. Whereas they had been competent logos, they had been too “out of the field” for me and lacked the inventive aptitude wanted for model differentiation. That mentioned, I didn’t go too deep into customizing the brand.
This device shines extra within the presentation of the designs than within the designs themselves. For instance, I like that Looka supplies design mock-ups so you may see how your emblem will look on a enterprise card, web site, social media, and extra.
I couldn’t discover any specifics about how Looka educated its AI fashions, however they at the least deal with the potential unfavorable influence on human designers right here:
By way of licensing and copyright, Looka says:
“You might not use any of Looka’s Finish Merchandise exterior of the Web site, whether or not for business or private use, with out paying all relevant and respective Charges prematurely. This contains each digital and bodily use of the Finish Merchandise.”
What I like: Total, the platform is intuitive and simple to make use of. I like that Looka doesn’t use templates; moderately, it generates every design based mostly in your particular enter. There may be additionally a variety of font, structure, and colour choices.
Greatest for: New companies with out the price range to work with a designer. Particular person designers and design groups working particularly in branding.
Pricing: Get began at no cost.
Seeking to pair your designs with AI-powered textual content? Get began with HubSpot AI at the moment.
The Backside Line on AI Instruments for Graphic Design
Let’s be trustworthy: A device is simply pretty much as good because the individual wielding it. So, when you don’t know a lot about graphic design ideas to start with, it’s unlikely you’ll create a brand-differentiating finish product. Nevertheless, if you already know your means round your colours, typography, alignment, visible hierarchy, steadiness, and the remaining, AI can pace up your inventive course of.
Personally, I cherished testing out Adobe Firefly. The tip output exceeded that sterile “out of the field” template, which feels frequent with different instruments. I additionally preferred that you might create one thing painterly in fashion.
Plus, I really like Adobe’s moral strategy to utilizing AI. They’re working with creatives to coach their fashions responsibly and defending product customers towards potential licensing and authorized points.
