From personalizing social media feeds to delivering movie suggestions to streaming platforms to monitoring corporate bank accounts, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of everyday life at home and at work. As companies and employees become accustomed to AI technology, it will eventually become “embedded into every function,” according to a McKinsey & Company report. [1]. Design business is no exception, and learning AI for graphic design can help boost your creativity.
Discover a variety of AI tools that you can incorporate into your graphic design work. Learn about the different features and find out how to learn AI for Graphic Design through different teaching methods. If you’re ready to start learning, consider enrolling in the Adobe Graphic Designer Professional Certificate.Learn the fundamentals of design and build job-ready skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Express.
What is AI in graphic design?
Graphic designers can use two types of AI-powered tools to enhance the design process and eliminate some manual tasks. These tools allow you to create designs in minutes that previously took hours, days, or more.
-
Traditional AI tools: Traditional AI design tools rely on algorithms that save time and effort by predicting design preferences and automating design tasks such as creating repeating patterns, resizing images, and changing colors.
-
Generative AI tools: Generative design tools that use machine learning create instant graphic images and scenes based on audio or written prompts.
As in other industries, using AI as a tool in design can help you brainstorm new ideas, increase productivity, and amplify your own creativity. Graphic designers can use AI tools to perform a variety of functions, including:
-
Generate your own images from written or audio prompts
-
Predict your project’s color palette and artistic style
-
Finish the digital sketch you started
-
Create a prototype from a simple drawing
-
Automatically adjust design elements such as layout and typography
AI tools for graphic design
To better understand what AI design tools can do, it helps to learn more about specific products. Explore different AI tools and their special features and start imagining how you can implement them in your work.
Adobe Firefly: This popular design tool offers image generation, moodboard creation, and the ability to create video clips from text or images. You can also use it to remove or replace objects, enhance lighting, change themes and colors, and include visually interesting text effects.
Automatic drawing: This free AI tool lets you quickly create designs using machine learning and preset drawings. You can draw freehand, enable automatic drawing (which guesses what you’re drawing based on the image you select), add different shapes and text, and fill it with different colors.
Canva’s Magic Studio: Magic Studio’s collection of AI tools lets you generate your own images, choose from a variety of design templates, access free graphics, images, and sound effects, save branded design elements, edit photos, and create engaging text.
Designs.ai: This AI-powered design platform lets you create original designs from prompts, images, or templates. Try out different art styles like steampunk, 3D, anime, and more. Create a logo. Resize your design. Explore different colors and variations. And try different fonts.
Chroma: This color-focused AI tool uses algorithms to learn your favorite colors. It provides a wide range of color combinations and all the data associated with them, including color names, hex codes, and RGB values.
Will AI replace graphic designers?
Although AI can generate beautiful designs, this technology still relies on human skill and talent. AI design tools can save time, act as a helpful partner, increase creativity, and improve the quality of your work.
How to learn AI for graphic design
As you learn more about AI, you can incorporate it into your graphic design work. Ways to learn about AI include books, online courses, videos, podcasts, and hands-on AI design tools. Find out more about these methods and decide which one is right for you.
Read about AI and how to incorporate it into your work
Learning AI for graphic design starts with understanding the basics of AI technology. Important concepts to understand are:
Thousands of books on the market can help you understand the basic concepts of AI. Once you’ve learned them, you might consider moving on to books on how to integrate AI into your creative process.
Examples of books you can choose from include:
-
Artificial intelligence for dummiesby John Paul Mueller, Luca Massaron, and Stephanie Diamond
Take an online course or series of courses
Universities from coast to coast in the United States are offering online AI courses for people in creative professions. Alternatively, you can take a course or series of courses on one of the many online learning platforms available. Online platforms promote accessibility by allowing you to take courses from far-flung universities (or multiple different universities if you wish) and complete them on your own schedule.
Watch videos and listen to podcasts
If you learn best through audio or visual teaching methods, a variety of videos and podcasts can help you understand how to integrate AI into graphic design. Some examples of podcasts that may be of interest include:
-
AI for creativityNova Lorraine and Camilla Sanders
-
Deep graphic design castwith Nick Longo and Mikel Morrison
-
artificial intelligence showwith Paul Lotzer and Mike Kaput
Practice using AI design tools
Like any other skill, it’s useful to practice when learning how to use AI design tools. Generate images, tweak them, explore different editing features, and try out prompts. Note that you can do a lot of things with prompts, from resizing and changing colors to making your images more accurate with more detailed descriptions.
How to address ethical concerns with AI and graphic design
When using AI-powered tools, carefully vet the design tools you use to avoid ethical concerns such as bias, discrimination, plagiarism, and copyright infringement. For example, choosing an AI model trained on properly licensed images can protect you from legal repercussions. Look for companies that pay creators for the use of training content or that do not claim ownership of content created on their platform.
Learn more about AI for graphic design on Coursera
Incorporating AI into the graphic design process stimulates imagination and increases creativity. Learn how to effectively use AI design technology with Coursera’s online program. With Coursera Plus, you can learn at your own pace and earn certifications from over 170 leading companies and universities. Get access to over 10,000 programs with a monthly or yearly subscription. Please check the course page to ensure your chosen program is included.
