Aseem Kishore · April 30, 2025 · 11 min read If you’re not on the AI train yet, now’s a good time to hop on! This isn’t some passing tech trend. AI is becoming a permanent part of daily life, and it will only grow from here. The people who understand how to use AI tools will be the ones who stay ahead and remain valuable in both personal and professional settings.
One area where AI really shines and where most of us could use a little help is design and creativity. Whether you’re drawing a comic book or planning your company’s next big marketing campaign, chances are you’ll be using a smartphone, tablet, or computer to bring those ideas to fruition.
In this article, we’ll share the best design and creativity tools we’ve come across so far. Some are brand-new. Others are trusted favorites that now come packed with powerful AI features.
Canva Magic Studio
Canva is one of the most well-known tools out there for creators and designers. They have really taken AI seriously, as it posed a huge risk to their business model if they didn’t adapt quickly. Originally, they started out with some basic text-to-image tools when the first AI image-creating apps came about, and they were woefully behind. Now, their tools are much better, and they have integrated all of them into one nice package called Magic Studio.
Magic Studio’s all-in-one set of AI tools includes features like Magic Write for generating text, Magic Design for layout ideas, and Magic Media for creating images and videos from simple prompts.
With these tools, you can quickly create content, turn your words into awesome visuals, or make your photos and designs look better without switching between different apps. It’s designed to make your creative workflow smoother and ensure everything you need stays in one place.
✅ Pros:
- All-in-one AI suite: Text, image, and video generation built right into a popular design platform
- User-friendly: No design or tech experience needed
- Collaboration tools: Easy sharing and team-based editing
- Time-saving templates: Generates branded designs quickly
❌ Cons:
- Limited customization compared to pro design software like Adobe Suite
- Some features are gated behind a Pro subscription
- AI outputs can feel generic if the prompts aren’t specific
Midjourney
Midjourney is one of the OG AI tools that whips up some of the most beautiful, crazy-looking images you’ve ever seen. Seriously, it’s like magic for anyone who loves fantasy, sci-fi, or just wild, artsy ideas. Whether you have a wild creative project that needs to get done or you’re just messing around with some cool visual ideas, it delivers. You can try it for free with a few images to start, but if you want the good stuff – faster results and more options – you’ll need to go with one of the paid plans. It’s totally worth it if you ask me.
It used to be this quirky Discord-only thing where you’d chat with a bot in these channels, and then after scrolling through a hundred outputs, you’d find yours! It was fun at first, but mostly a hassle to figure out, especially when you had to add parameters to change the settings. Now thankfully, they’ve got a proper website up and running, which is much easier to use. Also, they just dropped version 7, which is a big step up in output quality. The images look sharper, the details make more sense, and it actually gets what you want. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into design, gaming, or telling stories with pictures.
✅ Pros:
- Stunning, artistic outputs great for concept art, posters, fantasy, and surreal visuals
- High-quality rendering and detail
- Active community with prompt sharing and inspiration
❌ Cons:
- Only able to generate single images at this time
- Complex rules for commercial use of images
- Limited editing control makes it hard to tweak small elements once the image is generated
- Text generation still sucks compared to newer models from competitors
ChatGPT-4o (Open AI)
You’ve probably seen your social media feed full of people showing off images created with ChatGPT’s latest image generation model, ChatGPT-4o. They’re taking ordinary pictures of things like bottles or shoes and instantly turning them into impressive ads. People are joking that designers might be in trouble because practically anyone can now whip up fancy-looking marketing images in seconds.
I’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT-4o myself, and I’m genuinely impressed. It understands my instructions clearly and creates sharper, more detailed images than the older DALL·E model. One major improvement I’ve noticed is how well it handles text in images. If you’re making visuals like posters or graphics that include words, this new model is a big upgrade. The lettering comes out crisp and clear, making professional-looking visuals so much nicer.
✅ Pros:
- Create images directly in ChatGPT by simply describing and adjusting them conversationally
- Handles images, text, and design tips all together without switching between different tools
- Lets you quickly edit specific image details just by typing what you want changed
❌ Cons:
- Not great at artistic styles compared to Midjourney or other creative-focused tools
- Output resolution isn’t very high, so not ideal for professional print projects.
- Commercial usage rights aren’t fully clear yet, especially for bigger branding projects
Looka
Looka is an AI design tool focused on helping small businesses and entrepreneurs build a brand identity quickly and cheaply. It starts by generating logo concepts based on your style and industry preferences, then lets you customize everything with different fonts, colors, layouts, etc. Beyond just logos, Looka offers a full Brand Kit that includes templates for business cards, social media posts, and even a basic website builder (though we don’t recommend it). This makes it a great option for creating a cohesive brand presence without hiring a designer.
Compared to tools like Canva or ChatGPT-4o, Looka is more specialized. It doesn’t offer advanced image editing or artistic styles, but it does very well at delivering polished branding assets with minimal effort. The platform is easy to use, and the results are professional enough for most small business needs. If you’re launching a new venture and need a logo and matching materials fast, Looka is worth considering.
✅ Pros
- Easy to use for beginners and non-designers
- Generates logos and brand kits quickly
- Affordable pricing for small business needs
❌ Cons
- Logo designs can look a bit generic or templated
- Limited customization options and creative flexibility
- Not ideal for large-scale brand identity projects
Runway
We’ve also been checking out Runway, and we have to say that it’s pretty cool for anyone who wants to make videos but isn’t a pro at editing. It’s a website that lets you make original videos using AI. You can create a video just by typing in some phrases, and it also works with images or videos you already have. We like it because now anyone can easily make short clips for video projects. You can quickly add cool effects and animations too, which is perfect for TikTok videos or Instagram stories. Kids could even use it for school projects and presentations.
With their Gen-4 model, you can do things like remove backgrounds, track moving objects, or edit your video super fast. It’s like having a mini movie studio in your browser! We found it really handy for whipping up content in no time, especially when trying to tell a story or make something eye-catching for our brand.
Now, compared to something like ChatGPT-4o or Canva Magic Studio, Runway is all about videos, not so much photos or designing posters. It gives you more control over making things move and adding special effects, which is great for practical video tasks. But, it’s not as artsy as Midjourney. The only thing is, it might take a little while to figure out how everything works. So if you want to make short videos without a ton of hassle, give Runway a try.
✅ Pros
- Advanced AI tools for video editing and effects
- Web-based with a clean, modern interface
- Great for quick visual prototyping and content creation
❌ Cons
- Most powerful features require a paid plan
- Can be overwhelming for first-time users
- Limited control for frame-by-frame editing
Synthesia
Synthesia is an AI tool that transforms written scripts into professional videos using AI avatars. They have over 230 avatars that can speak in more than 140 languages! It’s a simple and effective way to make training videos, tutorials, or ads without needing cameras or actors. We live in wild times! Just type up your script, pick an avatar, and watch it generate a video that’s ready to share instantly. This is a great tool for beginners and businesses alike.
Unlike Runway or ChatGPT-4o, which focus on creative visuals, Synthesia’s skills are at delivering clear, spoken content through lifelike avatars. It’s perfect for companies needing quick videos in multiple languages, though it offers less control over visual effects compared to other tools. For straightforward, high-quality videos without technical hassle, Synthesia is a solid choice.
✅ Pros
- Creates professional videos without actors or cameras
- Supports 120+ languages with realistic AI avatars
- Ideal for training, explainer, and marketing content
❌ Cons
- Avatars can appear stiff or unnatural at times
- Limited customization for gestures and expressions
- Higher pricing for frequent or large-scale use
Opus Clip
Opus Clip uses AI to make short, shareable (and hopefully viral) clips from longer videos. It scans your video to pick out the best parts, adds captions, and formats them perfectly for platforms like TikTok or YouTube Shorts. This makes it really easy for anyone to create social media content quickly without spending hours editing, which is great for busy creators.
Unlike Runway or ChatGPT-4o, which focus on making new videos or visuals, Opus Clip is all about reusing what you already have. It’s a fantastic tool for podcasters, teachers, or marketers who want to share bite-sized pieces of their longer content. With its simple setup, Opus Clip helps get your videos seen by more people with way less effort.
✅ Pros
- Automatically turns long videos into viral short clips
- Adds captions, emojis, and highlights for engagement
- Saves time for content creators and marketers
❌ Cons
- Sometimes misidentifies the best moments to clip
- Limited editing control after AI processing
- Output styles can feel repetitive without manual tweaks
Even More AI Design Tools
Adobe Firefly creates images and videos from text descriptions, offering improved realism and creative options. It works smoothly with Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and Illustrator, making it easy to switch between designing images and videos. Its standout features include Firefly Boards for team brainstorming, support for third-party AI models like those from OpenAI and Google, and a mobile app that uses your device’s unique capabilities.
Flux by Black Forest Labs, created by the team behind Stable Diffusion, is a powerful text-to-image tool that produces high-quality images. It shines with features like Flux.1 Fill for editing specific parts of images and Flux.1 Depth for adding depth-based effects, giving users lots of control to customize their designs.
Creatie is an AI-driven product design tool that helps with everything from brainstorming to final UI/UX designs. It offers text-to-design creation, image improvements, and checks to keep styles consistent, letting designers skip boring tasks and focus on creativity.
Lummi AI acts as a design helper, suggesting layouts, generating design ideas, and providing creative prompts to spark inspiration. It’s great for overcoming creative blocks, helping designers quickly explore different design paths without starting from zero.
Designs.ai is an all-in-one design platform with AI tools for making logos, videos, and more. It simplifies the creative process by letting users move easily between different design tasks, all in one place.
Pixlr 2024 is a cloud-based editing tool with AI features for creating, enhancing, and editing images. Its freemium model includes tools like AI smart resize, colorization, and batch editing, making it accessible for beginners and pros alike.
Magician for Figma is an AI plugin for Figma that creates unique icons, text, images, and more right inside the platform. It boosts creativity and speeds up work by offering AI-generated assets and helpful design suggestions.
There are so many awesome tools out there, with even more on the way, so you’ll always have fresh ways to design your next ad, build your company’s brand, or produce a killer YouTube video. AI is making creativity super accessible, way more than it already was! Frankly, there’s no reason not to share your thoughts and ideas with the world now!
