Generative AI is everywhere these days. Some designers find it deeply concerning, while others see it as a new tool to help create effective design work. We’ll be looking more into the uses of AI in our Future of Design series.

At this crossroads, we’re looking at ways AI can be incorporated into your design process. In this post we’ll look at Adobe’s new Generative AI tool and how you can use it in your work.

Adobe has launched the 3rd version of their Firefly Image 3 Model, a new Generative AI that integrates right into Photoshop, and other Adobe software, like Illustrator, InDesign, and AfterEffects.

Photoshop now features a new Text to Image Feature, and higher quality controls that allow you to manipulate high-quality images through AI.

We highly recommend designers using Adobe Creative Cloud and consider it one of the best software packages for interdisciplinary designers.

You can check out our list of the best software for interdisciplinary designers in this post. 

Adobe Creative Cloud is the industry standard for Design work, but it comes with a diverse range of tools to explore the 12 interdisciplinary design principles.

Not All Generative AI is Created Equal

There are many controversies surrounding AI data, how it’s obtained (often illegally) from uncredited artists, and the long-term impact it will have on designers. We’ll look more into this in upcoming posts. So sign up for the Nollie Newsletter to stay up to date!

What separates Adobe Firefly is that it’s trained on licensed content from Adobe Stock, and public domain content where the copyright has expired. Adobe offer compensation for designers whose work on Adobe Stock is used to train their AI. Also artists and designers can opt-out of having their work train Firefly. So no artists are being exploited to create image results.

This means you can feel guilt-free when using their generative AI tools. Not only that, Adobe’s AI products are tested against their AI Ethics Principles, which aim to reduce harmful biases and stereotypes in their image creation.

Adobe also offers a “Do Not Tag” Option if you’re uploading to Adobe Stock, to prevent your work being used in their AI datasets. Also they have collaborated with the Content Authenticity Initiative to include meta descriptions on AI-Generated work.

Adobe integrated AI image creation into the beta versions of Photoshop in May 2023. Since then the tool has been named TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023.

Try Photoshop to access Generative Fill.

How Photoshop’s Generative Fill Works For Interdisciplinary Designers

We highly recommend Photoshop as part of your interdisciplinary design practice. Not only do we often list it as one of the best tools for designers, but also it is the industry standard for design work.

There are multiple ways designers can use Photoshop’s Generative Fill.

• A graphic artist can ideate entirely new worlds across visual concepts, develop inspirational and unique composites, and deliver design portfolios for clients.
• A fashion photographer can ideate and incorporate inspirational styles into their vision, remove distracting elements, change photo shoot backgrounds to new locations, and resize images for different publications and compositions.
• Small business owners or entrepreneurs who wear many different hats can efficiently create their brand advertising assets and generate custom details for product images to scale their marketing campaigns.
• An interior designer, or regular person looking to redesign their home, can mockup mood boards and concepts for their space, stage rooms with images of stylized décor, and insert distinctive furniture into specific layouts or floor plans.

Now let’s look closer at the possibilities of Generative Fill.

Photoshop’s Generative Fill is more than just Text Prompts

Generative Fill in Photoshop uses Adobe’s Firely 3 Image Model. 

With the new version of Firefly, you can now get better photographic image quality, precise controls to manipulate outputs, prompt comprehension to understand complex descriptions and get different results with generation variety compared to its previous version.

We are already seeing a disconnect between understanding what makes good design vs just understanding software. Remember that this is a tool to help you become a better designer, not a cheat code. 

We’re seeing a rise in creative people who use Generative AI but have no understanding of design fundamentals. Their work isn’t fit for purpose. Remember that these tools should be used with a solid understanding of what makes good design.

When paired with a solid understanding of design, there are no limits to what you can do with Photoshop, especially now with Generative Fill.

Life Before Generative AI

As someone who’s used Photoshop since 2010, this is a great tool that a few years ago was unimaginable. Before Generative AI, we had to scour the internet for images we could use in our designs. We had to ensure that these images were licensed to use or create them ourselves which was more time and energy put into a project, or we had to hire external help like photographers.

Now with Generative AI, we have more control over the images we can add to our Photoshop scenes. We can create more intentionally, with high accuracy, details, and realism. Designing creative images is now more efficient than ever.

AI technology is still in its infancy, so the improvements to the Firefly model in Photoshop will only allow for easier transformative tools

Another difference between the Generative Fill and other AI image creation software is you can add reference images. For example, rather than just enter a text prompt, you can enter a reference image that helps inform the generated image. This is great if specific details are hard to describe.

Reference Image provides more control over your output and reduces the randomness of the AI-generated image. Also sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, an image helps relieve some of the pressure of writing prompts.

If You’re Familiar with AI, You’ll Still Be Able To Use Text-To-Image

For those of you who may have used Midjourney or Dall-E (which used stolen content), you’ll be familiar with Text-to-image prompts. But you can’t type out a design solution. 

Text to Image Prompts are called Generate Image in Photoshop. When you enter these words, the Gen AI will comb through its database and provide a mix of reference images together to create something as described in your prompt.

This is great for those who have little design experience and little technical know-how. Plus you can also add reference images 

What I like about Photoshop’s Generative AI is that it offers Text-to-image prompts but can allow you to adjust and manipulate the images in Photoshop as you would without AI. It’s still Photoshop!

You’re not limited to just text prompts. Instead, you can use Prompts if you need to create something you’re unable to find for a reference then use the tools in Photoshop to help further your work. You can also use Adobe’s Content Type, Style Effects, and Reference Image.

Other AI capabilities of Photoshop’s Generative Fill

Generate Similar Tool

Another element of Photoshop’s Generative AI capabilities is the Generate Similar tool. Once a variation is created you can see similar results to an existing one that is aligned to your vision.

This allows you to develop an iterative process and come up with refined results. With Generative Fill you can pick the option that works best for your designs.

Generate Background

Removing backgrounds is one of the most common tasks people use Photoshop for. Generate Background powered by Adobe’s Firefly 3 Model allows you to easily remove the background and replace it with AI images that match the lighting, shadows, and perspective of your subject.

When using the Photoshop desktop app, when you import an image you can change the background or fill it with color. With Generate Background, this feature selects and fills the background with new images. 

This is great if you are trying to create new backgrounds that are unique locations with diverse scenery that would be a challenge to make yourself using traditional Photoshop tools.

Enhance Detail

Enhance Detail is another tool that incorporates Adobe’s Firefly model. It works by improving the sharpness and outputs made through Generative Fill. This makes it great for if you need an extreme closeup and more detail.

Conclusion

Adobe’s Firefly 3 Model is being introduced across many of Adobe’s platforms, like Illustrator, InDesign, and PremierePro. By integrating AI they have helped innovate their software to meet the technology needs of today.

Generative AI isn’t going anywhere in design and should be used to streamline your workflow and make things more efficient for you when creating.

While Generative AI tools have the potential to change the design industry, it’s important to remember you need to balance their use with a solid understanding of design principles. As I mentioned earlier you can’t type your way through a design project, but you can use Generative Fill as a way to help you.

As designers, we need to do more than just create nice visuals. We need to understand critical thinking, problem-solving, and human factors. You need to bring empathy, intention, and context into your work.

By combining Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill with a solid foundation of design theory, you can leverage the technology to enhance your creative output, while still keeping the essence of human centered design.

Remember, that while AI is a powerful tool that can be used to make designer’s lives easier, it’s the human touch and understanding of design that makes a truly great designer.