If you’re a graphic designer who uses AI tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm and write, you probably want to do the same with your designs. Fortunately, there are AI tools designed specifically for graphic design that you can use to improve your creative process.
AI graphic design tools empower you with innovative ways to create, edit, and refine your designs. These tools can help you generate unique and custom images while automating tasks like background removal and font pairing.
Additionally, some of these tools make it easier for non-designers to create designs, reducing the need to master the often complex process of graphic design.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the best AI tools for graphic designers, highlight their key features, and show you how to use them effectively.
Key takeaways
- AI tools enhance creativity by generating, editing, and refining designs, helping designers save time by automating repetitive tasks and overcome creative blocks by generating ideas and suggestions.
- You can choose between AI-enhanced software and standalone design tools that offer customizable features.
- Free trials are available, but advanced features often require a paid subscription.
- Even non-designers can use AI tools to create professional-quality designs.
- Some of the best AI tools for graphic designers include Adobe Firefly, Looka, AutoDraw, Canva AI, Designs.ai, and Midjourney.
- Use AI as a creative assistant, not a substitute for your unique design skills.
AI in graphics design
AI tools for graphic designers are easy to use since most of them are user-friendly or integrate seamlessly with tools you already use.
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced designer, these tools can support you throughout your design journey. While not all of them are free, some paid options exist alongside free AI tools you can try.
You’ll encounter two main types of AI graphic design tools: existing graphic design software enhanced with AI features or standalone AI design tools. These tools assist you with tasks like content generation and design enhancements.
AI generally helps you design faster and boosts your creativity. You can use AI design tools for tasks such as:
- Background removal: Remove images from their original background to use them in new contexts.
- Image upscaling: Improve resolution for sharper visuals.
- AI content generation: Automate the creation of design elements, illustrations, or patterns.
- Image enhancement: Reduce noise and refine details for clearer images.
- Color palette generation: Create color schemes for branding and design projects.
Why do graphic designers use AI for designs?
Beat creative blocks
AI tools for design help you break through creative blocks. Just like writers experience writer’s block, you may face creative blocks as a designer. AI tools can assist you by providing ideas for color pairing, pre-created palettes, or even brainstorming concepts.
Techpoint Africa news delivered to your inbox
Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts. 100% free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Simply give the AI a prompt, and it generates images or suggestions to kickstart your creativity. It can even validate your ideas or offer new perspectives. You can also use these tools for creative experimentation.
Save time
AI helps you accomplish tasks in half the time it would take to do them manually.
You can use AI to edit or generate designs, making your work easier, faster, and more enjoyable. It might even lead you to discover new creative directions you hadn’t considered before.
Automate repetitive tasks
AI tools can automate tasks like background removal, resizing, maintaining design consistency, and creating guides or matching fonts.
Check accessibility
AI helps you ensure your designs meet accessibility standards. It can assess readability, color contrast, and adherence to best practices, making your work more inclusive and user-friendly.
7 best AI tools for graphic designers
| Best AI tools for graphic designers | Key features |
| Adobe Firefly | Text-to-Image Generative Fill Text Effects Generative Recolor |
| Khroma | Personalized color palettes You can copy color codes or hex values for use in other design tools.You can add colors to your images on Khroma Simple setup process |
| Canva AI | Magic Eraser and Background RemoverMagic Switch and Magic Morph Magic Grab Magic Expand Magic Animate |
| Designs.ai | AI Draw and AI AudioFace Swapper and Imagemaker AI Writer Videomaker Logomaker Designmaker |
| AutoDraw | Color pickerType toolShape tool The Fill feature Resize and rotate options |
| Midjourney | AI image creation from text prompts Access through Discord Options to upscale or refine imagesKnown for hyper-realistic outputs |
| Looka | Logo MakerAI Logo GeneratorBrand KitSocial Media KitBusiness CardsBusiness Name Generator |
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is Adobe’s generative AI system designed specifically for creatives. It integrates seamlessly with Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications, making it available for graphic designers like you.
You can access Firefly directly through your browser or within popular apps like Photoshop. With features like generative fill, text-to-image generation, text effects, and generative recolor, Firefly provides a variety of tools to enhance your creative workflow.
When you use Firefly’s text-to-image feature, you simply describe the image you want, and it generates a result that matches your input. With the generative fill feature, you can edit your images—removing, adding, or replacing elements with AI-generated content using text prompts.
If you subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Express, or a plan including Adobe Stock, you’ll get a specific number of monthly Firefly-generated creations. Even as a free Creative Cloud user, you’ll receive a limited number of monthly generative AI credits. When you reach your limit, you can choose to upgrade to a paid plan or wait until your credits reset the next month.
Key features of Adobe Firefly:
- Text-to-Image
- Generative Fill
- Text Effects
- Generative Recolor
Khroma
If you’re a graphic designer, Khroma is an AI-powered tool you’ll want to explore. It simplifies the process of choosing compatible and captivating color combinations, making your design projects easier. Khroma uses AI to learn your color preferences and generate palettes for you to browse, search, and save. It is free to use.
To get started, you select 50 of your favorite colors. From there, Khroma creates combinations to meet your style.
You can easily copy the color codes or hex values of your chosen suggestions to use across other platforms. Additionally, you can upload images and enhance them by adding colors from the palettes Khroma provides.
Key features of Khroma:
- Personalized color palettes
- You can copy color codes or hex values for use in other design tools
- You can add colors to your images on Khroma
- Simple setup process
Canva AI
Canva is a design tool for creating a wide variety of designs, including social media posts, logos, and presentations.
As a graphic designer, you might already be using Canva. Canva’s AI integration includes Magic Design, a text-to-image generator, and Magic Studio, which features AI-driven photo editing and text-to-video generation. Magic Eraser allows you to remove unwanted objects from images; the background remover is for removing original backgrounds; and Magic Switch is for transforming designs into different formats.
While many of these features are available on Canva’s Pro or Teams plan, you can still explore some AI tools on the free plan with certain limitations.
Key features of Canva AI:
- Magic Eraser
- Background Remover
- Magic Switch
- Magic Morph
- Magic Grab
- Magic Expand
- Magic Animate
Designs.ai
Designs.ai is one of the best AI tools for graphic designers. It offers a wide range of AI-powered tools that can handle logo creation, image generation, and video creation.
With its AI Draw, you can transform simple sketches into proper designs. You also get access to features like Face Swapper, which lets you swap faces in images or videos, and AI Writer, which helps you create written content.
You can try out its features with a free seven-day trial, but you’ll need a subscription to continue enjoying the platform if it suits your needs.
Key features of Designs.ai:
- AI Draw
- Face Swapper
- Imagemaker
- AI Writer
- Videomaker
- Logomaker
- Designmaker
- AI Audio
AutoDraw
AutoDraw is an AI-powered design tool that combines AI with illustrations from artists. With AutoDraw, you can start by sketching a rough idea, and the tool uses AI to guess what you’re trying to draw. There are several polished options to choose from. Developed by Google Creative Lab, this free design tool makes it easy for you to transform simple doodles into professional-grade visuals.
Once you choose a suggestion that matches what you have in mind, you can then customize it. When you’re finished, you can download your work as a PNG or share it via a link.
Key features of AutoDraw:
- Color picker to select and apply colors
- Type tool for adding text to your design
- Shape tool for selecting basic shapes
- The Fill feature for filling areas with solid colors
- Resize and rotate options to adjust design’s size and orientation
Midjourney
Midjourney is a design tool that allows you to create AI-generated images from text prompts. To use Midjourney, you access it through Discord. Once you’re in, you send the “/imagine” command in the Discord chat and start entering your image prompts.
To get the best results, you need to learn how to write good prompts. You can then select your favorite and refine it further. Midjourney gives you the option to upscale images or ask the AI to enhance the different versions.
If you’re already familiar with Discord, you’ll find Midjourney easy to use. Even if you’re new to Discord, you can learn to use the platform.
Midjourney can create hyper-realistic images, but it is not entirely free; you can start with a free trial. For advanced features and access to un-watermarked images for commercial use, you’ll need to subscribe to a paid plan.
Key features of Midjourney:
- AI image creation from text prompts
- Access through Discord
- Options to upscale or refine images for better results
- Known for hyper-realistic outputs
Looka
Looka is an AI graphic design tool that helps you create brand kits, including logos, color schemes, and other media. It focuses on logo and brand design.
To get started, you enter your company name and industry, then select your preferred logo styles, colors, and symbols. Looka uses this input to generate logo designs for you. Looka generates each design based on your input and offers a wide range of fonts, layouts, icons, and color options
The platform is user-friendly and provides multiple logo and brand iterations. It has paid options, including basic and premium logo packages, as well as a brand kit subscription for high-resolution designs. But, you can get started for free.
Key features of Looka:
- Logo maker
- AI Logo generator
- Brand kit
- Social media kit
- Business cards
- Business name generator
Besides these, five AI tools that also rank among the best for graphic designers include:
- Kittl
- LetsEnhance
- Remove.bg
- DreamStudio
- Microsoft Designer
- DALL-E
Choosing the right AI tool for graphic design
It’s true that there are many tools ranked as the best AI tools for graphis designers, but how do you choose the right one?
Define your need
Graphic design covers various tasks. You might want to create a logo, generate custom images, brainstorm ideas, or develop a style guide for your project. By clearly defining your need, you’ll identify the right AI tool tailored to your needs.
Evaluate features
As highlighted in this article, these tools offer key features. While some share similarities, others provide specific functions. You should carefully assess the features to find a tool that suits your requirements. Also, match the tool to your skill level, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user.
Check compatibility
Some AI tools integrate with existing design software, while others work as standalone platforms. If you prefer an easier integration, choose a tool compatible with your current workflow. If you’re going for a new tool, ensure it fits smoothly into your design process.
Budget
Look for tools with flexible pricing plans or free options. Use free trials to test the platform and confirm it meets your needs before committing to a paid plan.
Community and support
Choose tools with active communities and customer support to help you learn and take care of issues, if any arise.
Considerations with AI in graphic design
- Mastering AI-powered tools can take time, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the interface or features.
- To get the best results, you need to write clear and effective prompts.
- When it comes to originality and ownership, designs generated by AI can raise questions about intellectual property rights.
- AI-generated suggestions may be limited by the training data.
- If you rely too much on AI, you might hinder your creativity. Use AI as a tool to enhance efficiency, not as a substitute for your unique skills and efforts.
- Keep in mind that advanced AI features often require paid plans.
FAQs
What are the best AI tools for graphic designers in 2025?
Some of the best AI tools for graphic designers include Adobe Firefly, Canva AI, and Looka. If you design on Figma, you can also use AI plugins on Figma.
Are there any free AI tools for graphic design?
Yes, there are. You can start with AutoDraw.
How can AI enhance creativity in graphic design?
AI can enhance creativity by generating design, ideas, and inspiration and automating repetitive tasks.
Which AI tool is the most user-friendly for graphic designers?
Well, you can start with the Canva AI since Canva is one of the known tools for graphics designers. It has drag-and-drop functionality and beginner-friendly features.
What are the best AI tools for creating branding assets?
You can try out Looka and Canva AI.
Can AI tools fully replace graphic designers?
No, AI tools cannot fully replace graphic designers. Most times, they lack the human touch, originality and emotions that go into designing
Conclusion: best AI tools for graphic designers
There are several reasons you might use AI tools as a graphic designer. Whether you’re looking to save time or overcome a creative block, the best AI tools for graphic designers can help you achieve these goals.
In this article, we’ve walked through seven top tools for graphic designers and highlighted their key features. However, with so many tools available, choosing the right one for you can be challenging. To make the best choice, you need to define your needs, evaluate features, check compatibility, and consider your budget and platform customer support.
While these tools offer innovative benefits, they are not a replacement for your unique creativity and insight. Instead, they act as assistants.
Disclaimer!
This publication, review, or article (“Content”) is based on our independent evaluation and is subjective, reflecting our opinions, which may differ from others’ perspectives or experiences. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the Content and disclaim responsibility for any errors or omissions it may contain.
The information provided is not investment advice and should not be treated as such, as products or services may change after publication. By engaging with our Content, you acknowledge its subjective nature and agree not to hold us liable for any losses or damages arising from your reliance on the information provided.
Always conduct your research and consult professionals where necessary.
