EXPLORING THE AI WORLD 
As artificial intelligence continues transforming the creative landscape, graphic designers are discovering powerful new tools to enhance their work every day.
AI tools can help remove creative blocks, enabling designers to experiment with new ideas and styles. Furthermore, as AI continues to evolve, it is expected to play an even more significant role in automating mundane tasks, allowing designers to focus on what they do best: creating.
The team behind AISecrets has decades of combined experience working with, reviewing, and developing creative tools. In this article, I will use that experience to explore the best AI tools for graphic designers + their features and benefits.
Read on and find the right match for your graphic design needs!
Start with this quick comparison of AI tools for graphic designers:
| Tool | Features | Pricing | Use Cases | Ethical Practices |
| Adobe Firefly | Image generation, image editing, background removal, object removal | Limited free access – Plans from $4.99/mo | Enhancing professional creative workflows – Automating time-consuming technical tasks | Highly committed to ethical use and development of AI – License coverage for commercial use |
| Shutterstock AI | Image generation, image editing, background removal, modification of pre-shot imagery | Free to test – Plans from $7/mo | Getting started with generative AI – Easy stock photo customization | High ethical standards and procedures to ensure legal safety – License with commercial use included |
| Generative AI by iStock | Image generation, image editing, outpainting | $14.99/100 credits | Creating visuals for personal or commercial projects – Tailoring stock images | Highly ethical development and strict usage and copyright considerations |
| Canva Magic Studio | Image generation, video generation, image editing, object removal and replacement, content format modification, automatic animation | Free with limited access – Plans from $12.99/mo | Various content creation needs for personal or commercial purposes | Prioritizes ethical AI practices |
| Luminar Neo | Photo editing, image enhancement, object removal, object swapping, background removal | Limited free trial – Plans from $49/year | Amateur photo editing seeking professional results | Reputable and ethical company |
| Getimg.ai | Image generation, image editing, modifying and removing objects, expanding canvas | Limited free access – Plans from $12/mo | Exploring creative possibilities and gaining inspiration | Not enough information about training datasets, no legal guarantees for commercial use |
| Dall-E | Image generation, inpainting, outpainting, variations | Limited free access – $15/115 credits | Mastering generative AI, boosting creativity | Not enough information disclosed about training datasets, no legal guarantees for commercial use |
Now, let's see each of them in particular.
Adobe Firefly is a family of generative AI models developed by Adobe, trained solely with images from Adobe Stock libraries and other authorized content. It integrates seamlessly with Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, making it a powerful choice for any designer familiar with Adobe products, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or Premiere Pro. It also powers features within Adobe Express, a more user-friendly editing tool for non-professionals. Some of Firefly’s applications, like the AI image generator, are also available on the Adobe Firefly stand-alone web page.
Adobe Firefly works with generative credits, where, in almost all cases, one iteration of the feature consumes one credit. For example, the text-to-image generator uses one credit every time you hit the “Generate” button, delivering four image variations.
When you run out of generative credits, depending on what plan you’re using, you may be able to purchase additional credits on demand.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Professional designers familiar with the Adobe ecosystem and design-savvy users.
Shutterstock AI is one of the first ethical AI-powered design services. This comprehensive platform, part of Shutterstock’s complete solution for creatives, offers a range of features, from image generation to a virtual design assistant, that make it an essential tool for graphic designers and beginners alike. The generative AI models powering these features have been trained only with Shutterstock’s vast libraries, and there is a program in place that compensates artists for the use of their work in this training.
You can access and use Shutterstock AI’s tools for free, but you'll need to pay to download an asset created or edited with these features. Each iteration of a generative AI feature usually delivers four variations, but you only consume one credit (or one download) when you download an asset.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Shutterstock subscribers, small businesses dipping their toes in generative AI
iStock's Generative AI tool is a game-changer for designers seeking personalized imagery. It uses NVIDIA Edify’s foundation model to power features that let you generate and edit images (both generated and pre-shot) using text prompts and clicking buttons. The best is that the model was trained with content from parent company Getty Images and iStock only, including exclusive images and the visuals generated with it all come under an iStock license with commercial use coverage.
Generative AI by iStock is a paid service yet very affordable. To use it, you must buy generative credits, which are different from regular download credits. Each generation or edit consumes one credit and delivers four image variations (you can download all four for the same price in medium size).
Pros
Cons
Best match: Semi-knowledgeable users looking for a reputable and efficient tool to create images
Canva's Magic Studio offers a comprehensive suite of AI tools accessible to beginners and professionals. It’s one of the most complete offers in the space, and the company is constantly upgrading and expanding its features through partnerships, acquisitions, and internal development of generative AI technology. With Magic Studio, you can create all sorts of designs from start to end, all in one place. And they have great functionality for teams to collaborate in real time, too.
Some Magic Studio features are free with limited use, some you can try for free but require payment for further use, and some are exclusive for premium, paid users. Canva’s paid service has unlimited access to visual AI features and generous limits for others, such as the writing assistance tool.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Designers looking to simplify and automate some parts of their workflow and beginners with no previous design knowledge
Luminar Neo takes AI-powered photo editing to the next level, offering a suite of sophisticated, task-focused tools for photographers and image editors that achieve professional, polished results in less time and without having to learn complex editing skills.
Luminar Neo offers a no-strings-attached, one-week free trial. Passed that time, you need to pay to use the tool.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Photography enthusiasts wanting to create amazing photos without learning traditional image editing.
Getimg.ai offers an integral approach to AI-powered image creation. This platform hosts multiple generative AI tools built on top of Stable Diffusion models to generate and edit visuals with ease. It produces high-quality results, and its various models and applications make it a very flexible solution for creating graphics.
Getimg.ai has a free forever account option with limited access to features and a credit cap that gets renewed monthly. Most of the features consume one credit; for example, one image generated costs one credit. Premium plans give access to more features and more credits.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Experienced graphic designers and visual artists looking to explore new artistic horizons.
Dall-E was one of the first text-to-image generators to reach the public and remains a very popular tool for AI image creation. Dall-E 3, the latest version of the model, is capable of producing extremely accurate visuals from text prompts and also modifying generated or existing images.
Dall-E 3 is available for paid ChatGPT users only, and some limitations to the number of messages sent per hour apply. Note that Dall-E 2, the previous installment of the tool, had a free account option available, but as of 2024, it is not accepting new users.
Pros
Cons
Best match: Hobbyists, beginner designers and visual artists looking for ways to boost creativity or quickly edit images.
As AI technology continues to evolve, the pool of specific AI tools and their applications in graphic design are expanding rapidly. These tools are not meant to replace human creativity but to enhance it, allowing designers to focus on higher-level creative tasks while AI handles time-consuming technical aspects.
When exploring these AI tools, it's crucial to consider ethical usage and copyright implications. Many of the platforms mentioned, such as Shutterstock AI and Adobe Firefly, prioritize ethical AI practices and fair compensation for artists.
We encourage graphic designers to embrace these innovative AI tools and explore how they can enhance their creative process.
By integrating AI into your workflow, you can push the boundaries of what's possible in graphic design and stay at the forefront of this exciting technological revolution.
THE AUTHOR
Ivanna Attie
I am an experienced author with expertise in digital communication, stock media, design, and creative tools. I have closely followed and reported on AI developments in this field since its early days. I have gained valuable industry insight through my work with leading digital media professionals since 2014.
AI Secrets is a platform for tech decision-makers to learn about AI technology. Our team includes experts such as Amos Struck (20+ yrs ICT, Stock Photo, AI), Ivanna Attie (expert in digital comms, design, stock media), and more who share their views on AI.
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