In today's fast-paced digital landscape, businesses need to produce visually compelling content quickly and efficiently. Traditional methods of creating product mockups or images for marketing content can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. However, with AI-powered tools, such as Adobe AI, Canva AI, and Midjourney, the process has been revolutionised, enabling businesses to streamline their visual content creation. In this blog post, we will delve into which tools can significantly expedite the creation of images for your business.
Table of Contents
- AI-Driven Personalisation
- Advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- AI in Cybersecurity
- AI-Enhanced Creativity
- Ethical AI and Regulation
- Generative AI
- AI for Workplace Productivity
- How to Stay Ahead
The Benefits of Using AI to Create Visual Content:
AI brings numerous benefits to visual content creation, offering significant advantages over traditional methods. Some of the key benefits include:- Enhanced Efficiency: AI image generation tools automate and streamline the creation process, eliminating the need for manual design work. With AI, businesses can generate a large volume of high-quality images in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods. This increased efficiency allows for faster turnaround times and greater productivity.
- Cost Savings: Traditional visual content creation often requires hiring graphic designers or outsourcing design work, which can be expensive. AI tools like Adobe AI offer a cost-effective alternative by reducing the need for external resources. Businesses can leverage AI to create professional-looking images in-house, saving time and money.
- Creative Versatility: AI image generation tools enable businesses to explore a wide range of creative possibilities. These tools have various features and functionalities, allowing customisation, experimentation, and iteration. Whether adjusting colours, adding effects, or generating unique designs, AI empowers businesses to express their creativity and stand out in a visually saturated digital landscape.
With so many benefits, it is clear that the future of creative images will include AI. So it is best to know which tools you should equip to best suit your needs.
For easy comparison of the tools, try this prompt in each tool:
“Create an image of a person working in their office space with a cup of coffee. Make it realistic.”
With this single prompt, it is easy to compare the quality of the generated images.
1. Midjourney
Midjourney stands out as one of the most impressive image generators on this list, consistently delivering remarkable results that captivate users. Its output is characterised by enhanced coherence, rich textures, vibrant colours, and an overall visual appeal that sets it apart from other AI image generators. Notably, Midjourney excels in rendering realistic and lifelike representations of people and real-world objects, surpassing its competitors in this aspect. When pitted against these other tools, Midjourney often surpasses in quality.
An aspect that distinguishes Midjourney is its unique accessibility through Discord. Users can join the Midjourney Discord server or invite the Midjourney bot to their own server to access its capabilities. By utilising the '/imagine' command, users can provide prompts and receive four distinct variations of their desired image. These generated images can be downloaded, upscaled, and further edited to meet specific requirements.
Best For:
- Businesses
- Professionals
- Graphic Designers
- Marketing Content Creators
Pricing:
While Midjourney is currently in its closed beta phase, it stands out by adopting a transparent pricing model. Users are granted a complimentary trial of 25 images, following which they can select from three membership tiers: Basic, priced at $10 USD, Standard at $30 USD, and Professional at $60 USD. This pricing structure offers users flexibility, accommodating different levels of engagement and requirements.
Benefits:
- Discord Integration: Midjourney AI's integration with Discord creates a thriving community where users can connect, share tips, showcase their creations, and stay updated with the latest developments.
- Vast Range of Settings: Midjourney V5 introduces a suite of new settings, enabling users to generate images of higher quality and photorealism, expanding the creative possibilities. One of the best tools is that it allows reiteration of a prompt on an already generated image, allowing users to fine-tune images to the way they want them.
- Better Prompt Understanding: Midjourney AI aims to understand user prompts more accurately, allowing artists to spend less time tweaking and more time creating. With a single prompt, like the one we used to create the image above, Midjourney was able to not only create a photo-realistic image but also include details like the coffee mug, a Macbook computer, and a candle.
- Next-Gen Aesthetics: Midjourney's commitment to a next-generation aesthetics system promises diverse styles and easier image variations, providing artists with a broader spectrum of creative possibilities.
Limitations:
- Consistent Characters: Maintaining consistency in character appearance across multiple renderings can be challenging with Midjourney, potentially affecting the continuity of a story or visual narrative.
- Specific Details: Instructing the model to include specific details, such as a character wearing a particular hat or clothing, may not always result in the desired outcome, as the model's interpretation may differ from the intended representation.
2. Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly represents Adobe's foray into the realm of text-to-image generation with its AI model. Firefly marks the release of a dedicated text-to-image generator, albeit in beta form. It is available for free on the web and can also be accessed through Adobe Express. However, the full potential of Firefly is best experienced in the latest Photoshop beta, which is exclusively available to Creative Cloud subscribers.
Leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms, Adobe AI empowers businesses to generate high-quality images with remarkable ease and speed. With its intuitive interface and robust feature set, this tool enables users to transform concepts into stunning visuals in minutes. In addition to generating images based on detailed text descriptions, it can create text effects from written prompts, recolour vector artwork, and add AI-generated elements to images. While the web app allows users to explore these features, it is the integration with Photoshop that truly sets Firefly apart.
Best For:
- Existing Adobe Users
- AI Art Creators
- Artists or Designers
Pricing:
- Free: Users are entitled to 25 free generative credits, which is perfect if you are looking to just test out the software or have limited use cases. For $4.99, you can get 100 credits if you want to top up.
- Premium: For $19.99 USD per month you can get access to Adobe Firefly and the Creative Cloud Photography Plan.
Benefits:
- Seamless Creative Cloud Integration: Adobe Firefly seamlessly integrates with other Adobe products and some Microsoft tools, creating an interconnected creative ecosystem that streamlines workflows and ensures design project continuity.
- Versatile Editing Capabilities: Firefly offers versatile editing capabilities, including dynamic animated images, text effects, generative fill, and vector recolouring. These features provide designers with a wide range of creative possibilities.
- Reduced Copyright Concerns: With training on Adobe Stock and access to public domain content, designers can create without worrying about copyright issues, allowing for more peace of mind and freedom in the creative process.
Limitations:
- Still in Beta: Adobe Firefly is still in its beta phase, which means it may not yet be fully stable or feature-complete. Users may encounter bugs or experience occasional issues while using the tool.
- Requires Creative Cloud Subscription: To access the full range of features of Adobe Firefly, users need a Creative Cloud subscription, which may be an additional cost for those who are not already subscribed to Adobe's creative suite.
- Not for Commercial Use in Beta: The beta version of Adobe Firefly is not intended for commercial use. This limitation may restrict designers who wish to sell or use their AI-crafted designs for commercial purposes.
3. Canva
Canva offers an AI image creator powered by Stable Diffusion, allowing users to generate a wide range of photorealistic images. This AI image creator is part of Canva's "Magic Studio" suite, which encompasses multiple features and is designed to cater to various user groups. One of the advantages of Canva's AI image creator is its speed. Users can quickly create quality visuals, making it ideal for those working under time constraints. The tool provides users with a range of design elements, including typography choices and visual effects, offering flexibility and creative control.
In addition to Canva's AI image creator, the Canva Visual Worksuite introduces several new AI-powered features, all labeled as "Magic." While the naming convention can be a bit confusing due to the similarity of the descriptions, these features bring added functionality to the platform. One such tool is the "Magic Replace" feature, which allows users to replace unwanted elements in an image with AI-generated alternatives. Whether it's removing people in the background or eliminating unnecessary objects, the "Magic Eraser" feature is designed to seamlessly erase unwanted elements from images. Another feature called "Magic Edit" takes it a step further by enabling users to swap one object in an image with something entirely different using generative AI.
Best For:
- Artists and Illustrators
- Product Designers
- Social Media Content Creation
- Already existing Canva users
Pricing:
- Free: Canva allows users to generate up to 50 images for free. Making it a good option for those looking to begin testing AI image generation without making the financial commitment. The magic editing tools, however, are only available on the pro plan. If you are already a Canva Teams or Pro account holder, you can generate up to 500 images per user per month and get access to the magic tools.
- Premium: For $14.99 USD monthly, you can have a Canva Pro Plan to generate 500 images per user and gain access to the magic tools.
Benefits:
- Time-saving: Canva AI allows users to create quality visuals quickly, saving valuable time in the design process.
- Design flexibility: Users have the freedom to play around with various design elements, including typography choices and visual effects, offering a wide range of creative choices. Another cool feature is their PatternedAI tool that lets you seamlessly generate unique patterns. Whether it be for product design or the background of a social media post, it's a great way to get a unique design made quickly.
- User-friendly interface: Canva AI features an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for users, even those who are new to the platform.
Limitations:
- Limited style variety: While Canva offers a range of styles, some users may find that other platforms provide a greater variety of style options, potentially limiting the customisation choices available.
- Feature limitations: In terms of advanced features, Canva AI may not be as robust as some other tools on the market. Users seeking more extensive customisation options may find that other platforms offer a wider array of features and functionalities. For example, they do not have the option to reiterate an already generated image.
- Detailed Imagery: Canva’s images are not comparable in the level of detail to some of the other tools in this list, like Midjourney. Detailed images of faces, hands or human-like features are often lacking in detail to make it look photo-realistic. In the example above, we can see that even though the prompt asked for the image to be realistic, it looks more like a sketch or drawing.
4. DALL·E 3
DALL·E 3 has emerged as a prominent player in the tools available for AI image generation.
Building upon the success of its predecessor, DALL·E 2, DALL·E 3 has introduced significant enhancements: improved ability to produce more interesting, realistic, and consistent results. DALL·E 3 has captured the attention of users seeking high-quality AI-generated images. What sets DALL·E 3 apart is its simplicity and ease of use. With a few prompts, users can quickly obtain four distinct AI-generated variations, leveraging the power of GPT's language understanding capabilities. While DALL·E 3 is no longer free, it does offer a compelling option for ChatGPT Plus subscribers who can use it without restrictions within GPT-4's messaging limits.
Best For:
- Product Designers
- AI Enthusiasts
- Artists
Pricing:
- DALL-E can be used for free if you already have the ChatGPT Plus subscription. It can also be used for free in Bing Chat
- Varied pricing for enterprise customers so the exact pricing will depend on your needs.
Benefits:
- Enhanced Image Quality: DALL-E 3 offers improved image quality with clearer visuals and enhanced textures compared to its predecessor, allowing for the generation of more visually appealing and detailed images.
- Efficient Text Integration: Version 3 has overcome its past challenges and now integrates text effectively, allowing users to generate images based on text prompts with better accuracy and relevance.
- Integration with Bing Chat: DALL-E 3 is integrated with Microsoft's Bing Chat, expanding its accessibility and allowing users to leverage its capabilities within the chat platform.
Limitations:
- Limited Editing Adjustments: There is limited editing adjustments compared to its predecessor, DALL-E 2. Users may find that they have fewer options for fine-tuning or customising the generated images according to their specific preferences.
- Variable Outcomes from Requests: The results of image generation in DALL-E 3 can greatly vary depending on the specific prompt or request the user gives. Users may not always get the desired output or need to experiment with different prompts to achieve the desired results.
5. Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion is known for its rapid image generation, open-source customisation, and personal data training capabilities. It utilises advanced algorithms to generate highly detailed images from text prompts quickly. The app is open-source, allowing users to access and modify the source code to suit their needs. It also supports personal data training, enabling users to train the AI model on specific datasets to generate images aligned with their preferences or requirements. Stable Diffusion includes advanced technical features such as negative prompting, which allows users to specify elements to exclude from the generated images, and fine-tuning options to adjust parameters like image style and resolution.
Best For:
- Experienced Designers
- AI Enthusiasts
Pricing:
- There is a free version where you can generate up to 10 images per day
- The most expensive version costs $14 USD per month to get 4000 fast image generations per month, as well as being able to generate up to 4 images at a time with no ads, no watermarks and a commercial license.
Benefits:
- Rapid Image Generation: One of the main advantages of Stable Diffusion is its ability to generate images quickly. The advanced algorithms used by Stable Diffusion can interpret and translate text prompts into visual content with impressive speed. This feature is particularly valuable for digital artists, content creators, and marketers who need a swift turnaround in creating visual content. Despite its speed, Stable Diffusion maintains the quality of the generated images, making it suitable for both quick prototypes and finished artworks.
- Open-Source Customisation: Stable Diffusion is an open-source tool, which means users have the ability to access and modify its source code. This level of customisation is advantageous for developers and tech enthusiasts who want to integrate the tool into larger projects or develop new features. The open-source nature of Stable Diffusion also fosters a collaborative community where users actively contribute to its improvement and diversification.
- Personal Data Training: Another unique feature of Stable Diffusion is its capability to be trained on personal data. Users can feed the AI with specific datasets to generate images that align with their preferences or requirements. This feature is valuable for businesses looking to create brand-specific visuals or artists who want to train the model to adhere to their unique artistic style. It allows for the creation of personalised and distinctive AI-generated art.
Limitations:
- Technical Expertise Required: Stable Diffusion's flexibility and customisation options come at the cost of requiring a certain level of technical expertise. Users who are not technically inclined may find it challenging to fully utilise and customise the tool. It may not be the best choice for individuals who prefer a more guided and straightforward AI art generation experience without delving into technical details.
- Output Consistency: Whilst Stable Diffusion can generate impressive and realistic images, its outputs may be less consistent compared to other tools, especially those that are specifically designed for highly artistic and nuanced results. The focus of Stable Diffusion is on flexibility and customisation rather than providing consistent artistic outputs. Users seeking consistent aesthetic quality may find other tools, such as Midjourney, more suitable.
- Additional Resources Required: Whilst Stable Diffusion itself is open-source and often comes with a free plan, implementing and customising the tool may require additional resources. Depending on the desired customisation and scale of capabilities, users may need to invest in additional resources like APIs or technical infrastructure. The cost and complexity associated with these additional resources should be considered when evaluating the practicality of using Stable Diffusion.
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| Midjourney | Adobe Firefly | Canva | DALL-E 3 | Stable Diffusion | |
| Best for | General Use: including businesses, graphic designers or marketing content creators | Existing Adobe Users or AI art creators. | Existing Canva users, artists, product designers or social media content creators. | Utilising Gemini to provide human-like interactions, functioning as a personal assistant | Tasks that involve high-dimensional data and complex dependencies. |
| Main benefit | Discord integration and photo-realistic image creation. | Seamlessly integrative to creative cloud and complex editing capabilities. | Design flexibility with the magic tool, as well as the ability to integrate with the Canva software for easy design. | It allows efficient text integration which means it can create a detailed image with little prompt input. | Allows for extensive customization and technical control over image generation. |
| Main Limitation | The Inability to create consistent characters or people. | It is still in the beta stage and not permitted for commercial use. | Inability to create detailed, photo-realistic imagery, especially human faces. | Varying outcomes. The image generated from a single prompt can often vary greatly, making it difficult to standardise the outcome. | It has a more complex interface that requires time and effort to learn. |
| Pricing | Ranging from $10 USD to $ 30 USD | Free up to 25 credits, then $4.99 USD for additional credits. | Free up to 50 images, then $14.99 USD per month for Canva Pro with 500 images per user. | Free for ChatGPT Plus users otherwise $20 USD per month to get access to both GPT plus and DALL-E. | Free for up to 10 image generations per day but can go up to $14 USD per month for the premium features. |
Which is the best tool to use?
When choosing an AI art content generation tool, consider your project's specific needs and objectives. Each tool has unique features catering to different user groups and requirements.
Midjourney V6:
- Best for realistic and lifelike representations
- Remarkable image quality and vibrant colors
- Integration with Discord for community and creative exploration
Adobe Firefly:
- Seamless integration with Adobe products
- Versatile editing capabilities
- Ideal for existing Adobe users and those seeking a connected creative ecosystem
Canva:
- AI image creator and Magic Studio suite
- User-friendly interface with design flexibility
- Suitable for artists, designers, and social media content creators
DALL·E 3:
- Enhanced image quality and efficient text integration
- Limited editing adjustments compared to its predecessor
- Great for product designers, AI enthusiasts, and artists
Stable Diffusion:
- Rapid image generation and open-source customization
- Utilizes personal data training capabilities
- Advanced features like negative prompting and fine-tuning options
The best tool depends on your specific needs and what you value most in an AI art generation tool.
