Designers who tirelessly enhance user experience can be seen as doing the “invisible” work since they’re improving processes that non-designers might not realize are designed well. Micro-interactions, which I believe fall into this invisible design category, are a very subtle design detail that separates good design from great design.

What are Micro-Interactions?

Micro-interactions are exactly what they sound like: the small user interface (UI) details that are important for the quality of user experience with a product. More specifically, micro-interactions are trigger-feedback pairs, meaning that they have a trigger, either from the user or from the system, which prompts visual feedback through small changes to a user interface. Despite being small, these micro-interactions are very important for a few reasons.

Micro-Interactions to Encourage Engagement

Implementing micro-interactions is an easy way to create more user engagement in your design. Often through minimal changes to the design system, adding a few strategic micro-interactions can have huge benefits for the user experience of your interface.

Out of all the categories of different purposes for micro-interactions, they mostly fall into this category because these subtle and often enjoyable interactions are mostly seen as nice-to-haves in the design since they’re not the main function of the interface.

When looking to find great examples of micro-interactions, think about the most tedious online services that require a lot of effort from the user. Perhaps you’ve encountered some government websites, or application processes that do not encourage engagement and are more of a burden to work through.

A great example is filling out taxes online, and more specifically, how some tax services keep the user engaged throughout many different categories and sections of information uploads. Turbotax by Intuit is a great example of a product that gamifies its form design, offering dynamic illustrations and rewarding you with positive messages like “nice job” and “you’re almost there” as you move closer to the final submission.

Micro-Interactions to Display System Status

One of the best examples of this interaction is through Siri, the digital assistant on iPhones. If a user says “Hey Siri,” there’s an immediate visual response on the screen, no matter what the user is doing. If you have an iPhone nearby, try it on your device now – what do you notice? And more importantly, what do these visuals indicate about Siri’s status?

During this audio command, abstracted waveforms are displayed on the screen, which indicates that Siri is listening to you and waiting for all of the information to be conveyed. Apple designed Siri to be full of micro-interactions that display an active system status throughout every interaction.

Siri is implemented on all Apple products, which makes it interesting to see how it takes on different forms depending on the product. Siri appears in a similar way on Apple watches, with the circular audio responding to voice commands even in the small format of a watch. On an Apple Homepod, you can touch the top of your Homepod, or say “Hey Siri” to activate the micro-interaction, which fills the top screen and pulsates in a similar way depending on your audio command.

Micro-Interactions for Error Prevention

Error prevention is most commonly seen when completing digital forms, where the user needs to manually enter information. Think about the last time you created a new account. What happens when you need to confirm your password, but it doesn’t match the previous password entered? More often than not, an error message automatically appears below the box with the message, “Your passwords do not match.” Depending on the way the form is designed, there might even be more visual cues like the text box highlighted in red.

According to Material Design, error messaging is vital to clearly communicate what is happening, describe how a user can solve it, and preserve as much information the user has already entered as possible. These are affordances, or visual cues, that help improve user understanding and reduce frustrations when users are prompted to complete a form.

Look familiar? Error messages appear in many shapes and sizes. Quickly scanning this screenshot indicates to the user what they need to adjust. But again, there are some “invisible” design elements, which are great examples of micro-interactions. Here, the interface displays these error messages with 3 subtle changes to display this error. Can you name all three changes to the interface? The error message is displayed, the underline thickness expands, and the color changes to red.

Micro-Interactions for Communicating Brand

As you can see, micro-interactions separate good design from great design. But what can really elevate these interactions across the board is connecting them to the overall brand mission and values. Fun branding can come through in these different micro-interactions to enhance the user experience by adding some unexpected joy.

A great example of this is in Slack, which hides small moments of joy in some of their interactions. Slack, like most of the leading digital products, has realized that less is more in terms of prioritizing intuitive interactions. Less ornamental design elements means that only the necessary information is being displayed in each frame.

They’ve infused small moments of playful branding in small areas that don’t distract the user. In this example, you can see Slack has added a cute text emoji of what seems to be a character reaching out for a hug. This completely unnecessary interaction helps Slack infuse their product with some personality in a less intrusive way.

Micro-Interactions in Action

Here at NoGood, we use the task management tool ClickUp. Like other tools, ClickUp allows users to create and assign tasks, take notes, look at interactive dashboards, and communicate with team members on a project’s status. With so many interactive features and countless tasks, notes, and communications going on all at once, it’s paramount that ClickUp maintains intuitive interactions so that the user can easily accomplish their tasks with visual cues and text indications that support their goal. Micro-interactions provide the necessary feedback to keep users informed and engaged. Without them, seemingly simple tasks become confusing and tedious.

A great example of this is through the use of ClickUp’s hover effects. As stated above, ClickUp is a beast of customization and tracking anything you could think of. There’s a lot of information, buttons, status updates, clickable interactions, and more.
Essentially, everything is clickable on any given page. With so many different options for the user to interact with, and with the intention to not over-complicate each page, ClickUp has added a hover state to every clickable item that helps indicate to the user what the click action will do. This is extremely useful in giving more guidance to the user and helps with accessibility.

Adding a hover state helps the user get more instructions on every clickable item in real time, which means that interactions with the software are less difficult, helping the user complete their tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In this image, you can see the ClickUp hover interaction for the status update symbol for subtasks. Without the hover, users might not understand what this symbol indicates or what clicking this might do. Additionally, once clicking, the visual updates with a color and percentage filled in, indicating the status of the subtask in real time.

Tips for Implementing Effective Micro-Interactions

Crafting effective micro-interactions can transform user experiences from tedious to actually enjoyable. Here are some helpful tips for designers & developers to consider when crafting an interface:

1. Prioritize User Needs

The primary goal of these micro-interactions is to enhance usability. Each micro-interaction should serve a clear purpose, whether it’s providing feedback, guiding a user through a task, or preventing errors. Always ask yourself: Does this interaction add value to the user experience? If not, the added interaction might not be necessary and could make the user experience more difficult or confusing.

2. When in Doubt, Keep it Simple

While it might be tempting to include elaborate animations or effects, simplicity is often best. Overly complex interactions can overwhelm users and detract from the overall experience. Aim for subtlety and elegance to maintain focus on the task at hand.

3. Provide Feedback

Acknowledge user actions with visual or auditory cues. Whether it’s a button changing color when clicked or a sound confirming a successful action, feedback reassures users that their actions have been recognized and processed. If you have a long form or tedious task, how can interactions encourage the user to keep going? This not only boosts confidence but also keeps users informed throughout their journey.

4. Offer Guidance

When designing the user flow, think about the edge cases where the user might need more guidance than others to complete their task. Whether it’s a progress bar in a multi-step form or a subtle animation showing the next step, clear guidance can prevent confusion and improve task completion rates.

5. Ensure Accessibility

It’s essential to design inclusive micro-interactions that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Consider different input methods, such as screen readers or keyboard navigation, and ensure that all users can perceive and understand the interactions without hindrance. If you aren’t designing for these interactions yourself, include the necessary information that will help these users, such as adding alternative text for images.

The Dark Side of Micro-Interactions

Ethical considerations are important when designing these interactions. Designers should avoid using micro-interactions to manipulate users or hide critical information. Transparency and respect for user autonomy should guide the design process to ensure that interactions enhance the user experience without exploiting it.

I often find that airline websites try to subtly influence you to continue with upgrades or added costs. When visual cues guide the user into unintentionally making purchases instead of easily completing their task, it’s an intentional choice from the product designers to choose profit over usability. This is extremely important to avoid and call out whenever possible.

Powerful Micro-Interactions, Positive User Experience

Micro-interactions might seem like tiny details in the grand scheme of digital design, but they’re pivotal in crafting a great user experience. By focusing on these subtle elements, designers can transform their products from merely functional to genuinely enjoyable. Strategically planning out interfaces to offer immediate feedback, guide users seamlessly through tasks, and even express a brand’s personality is a necessary layer for successful product design.

The post Mastering Micro-Interactions for Better User Experience appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

What is Graphical User Interface (GUI) Design

GUIs use visual elements like icons, buttons, and menus to make digital interactions more intuitive and user-friendly. Some of the most generic examples of GUI design are buttons that you can click on in apps or a dropdown menu on an online store that expands. Designs as simple as an X to close out of a tab, or a triangle play button on a YouTube video are examples of GUI design that has made the act of interacting with digital products much easier. Believe it or not, these micro-interactions didn’t always exist, although they seem so standard in any digital interface now.

From the early days of clunky interfaces to today’s sleek and intuitive designs, GUIs have come a long way. They’ve not only made our interactions with technology more efficient but also more enjoyable. So, whether you’re swiping through your smartphone or clicking through a software application, you have GUIs to thank for making all of these interactions much more seamless and engaging for users.

Early History of GUI Design

Although these icons and symbols are now standard in every interface, they didn’t always exist, and neither did interfaces in general. Ever since the first large-scale mechanical computer was invented in 1931 by Vannevar Bush, computer scientists and engineers have been working diligently to make them easier to use. For the first thirty years, computers didn’t include any windowed interface or mouse. It was not until 1973 when the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) developed the Xerox Star, the first research system to incorporate windows, icons, and a pointing device, laying the groundwork for the future of graphical user interfaces.

After the Xerox Star became available for commercial use in 1981, Apple released the Apple Lisa in 1983 with the goal of making navigation easier for new users. Since computers were just beginning to be available for everyday people, without research or technical computer training, the idea to make computers easier to use was incredibly successful. In their approach, Apple implemented drop-down menus, folder-based directories, and early widgets that could be moved around on a desktop. In other words, Apple was pivotal in popularizing GUIs by making computers more intuitive with recognizable physical references.

From there, it was clear that implementing GUIs in personal computing was here to stay, given the success of Apple. Susan Kare, a fine artist and sculptor was hired at Apple to design icons for the first Mac, released in 1984. This was the first time an artist was brought in to contribute to computer design and innovation and this key integration has shaped the visual landscape in GUI design to come. Kare, relying on her education in mosaic design and needlepoint, created simple icons in a 32×32 pixel grid, such as the first trash bin, save, loading, finder, and file icons, which most are still used today in a variation of the original design.

The Significance of GUIs in Design

Today, GUIs are everywhere. ATMs use them to guide us through financial transactions effortlessly. Smartphones, with their intuitive touchscreens and app icons, allow us to perform a myriad of tasks with just a few taps. Personal computers, whether running Windows, or macOS, rely heavily on GUIs to enable users to navigate the system, manage files, and run applications with ease.

Central to GUI design is the WIMP model, which stands for windows, icons, menus, and pointers. This model has been the cornerstone of GUI design since its creation, providing an organized and familiar way for users to interact with their devices. Windows allows multitasking by letting users open multiple applications simultaneously. Icons serve as visual representations of programs and files, making them easy to identify and access. Menus organize commands and features in a hierarchical structure, and pointers enable precise navigation and selection. These four elements appear in almost every digital interface today and are generally similar from program to program. Without these four elements, users would be interacting with chaotic and confusing interfaces.

However, GUI design hasn’t remained static. With mobile devices and recent advancements in technology, we’ve seen a shift towards post-WIMP interfaces. These interfaces often incorporate gestures, voice commands, and even 3D interactions or retina tracking, providing more natural and immersive ways to interact with our devices. For instance, smartphones now support swipe gestures and voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, and technology like virtual reality (VR) headsets use 3D interfaces to create more engaging user experiences.

App icons and graphics in Apple Vision Pro are seen here to be more accessible compared to the small typeface sizing. Without reading the app name, can you identify what each app stands for?

Best Practices for Seamless GUI Integration

Consistency

Consistency is key to creating intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. It ensures uniform visual elements, layouts, and navigation, making it easier for users to learn and predict how things work. Apple and Google’s design systems are great examples here. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and Google’s Material Design both emphasize consistent use of colors, typography, and spacing, which helps users feel at home across different apps and platforms. Many designers refer to these documents as a baseline of modern UX design.

Simplicity

Simplicity in design isn’t just about making things look clean; it’s about making interfaces easy to understand and navigate. Minimalism and clarity reduce cognitive load, allowing users to focus on what’s important. Think of the clean interface of Google’s homepage or the straightforward layout of a weather app. Buttons and menu items aren’t scattered around, everything is organized in menu bars or drop-downs in the top corners of the window. These designs prioritize essential elements, ensuring a hassle-free user experience.

Feedback

Feedback is crucial for guiding users and keeping them informed. Visual cues, status indicators, and messages let users know their actions have been registered and what they can expect next. Imagine how frustrating it would be to wait for a screen to load without a percentage status indicator. A loading spinner indicates that an action is being processed, while error messages help users realize there are mistakes to be corrected. This kind of feedback enhances user experience by making interactions transparent and predictable.

Design a Graphical User Interface in 5 Steps

1. Take a step back and ask yourself about the target audience for your design. Consider who they are, their main needs, and what they aim to accomplish when using the interface. Often, developing user personas is involved in this process so that designers can understand pain points, skills, goals, and incentives to use the interface. If possible, bring the user into the design process first, and listen to their perspective and goals directly.
2. Lay out the foundation of the visual system with user experience at the forefront. In order to design the best interface, think about different ways to simplify and reduce the steps required to get something done. If you can remove unnecessary windows or buttons, do it! This will make the process less complicated and ornamental. Prioritize accessibility and usability.
3. Create consistency in your design system. Once you understand the user flow, and have the simplest designs, think about ways to standardize each essential element of the design. If there are 3 types of buttons needed in the interface, don’t style them completely differently. Add variation, but design them to feel like they exist within the same system. Perhaps using the same typeface or different colors of the primary palette is enough to differentiate them while creating a consistent layout. Consider spacing as well to create a cohesive experience.
4. Refer to universally recognized symbols and standards for designing interfaces. There is a reason that including symbols is commonplace in most instructions and complicated processes. Symbols are more concise and universally recognized. For example, an arrow in the NYC subway means the same thing as an arrow in subways around the world. The same applies to symbols in GUI design. Symbols and standard interaction patterns like swipe gestures or hover states make the interface familiar even if you are encountering it for the first time. Think about it– if every website or interface had a completely different symbol system or interactions, it would be as if it’s a different language and the user would be lost. Guidelines and design frameworks like Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines or Google’s material guidelines help with design consistency.
5. Prototype and test the user experience and conduct usability testing. This review and testing step is essential in the design process since it allows you to gather feedback from real users identify any pain points and iterate on the design. Testing early and often helps refine the design before development begins, reducing revisions and headaches.

The Future of Graphical User Interface

Looking ahead, speech recognition is set to play a more prominent role in GUI design. As algorithms become more sophisticated, voice-controlled interfaces will become more intuitive and responsive, further simplifying user interactions. Additionally, augmented reality (AR) is becoming increasingly commonplace, and revolutionizing how we interact with both digital and physical worlds.

It’s important to note that inclusive design should be the cornerstone of GUI design. It’s essential to create interfaces accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This means incorporating features like screen readers, voice commands, and adjustable text sizes, which so often take a back seat in the design and development process. Prioritizing inclusivity not only broadens your user base but also aligns with ethical standards and legal requirements your work should be upholding.

Despite these advancements, the core principles of GUI design—usability and user experience—remain crucial. GUIs will continue to evolve, but their primary goal will always be to make technology more accessible and user-friendly. Moving forward, the importance of intuitive, efficient, and inclusive designs will be essential as interfaces and technology evolve.

The post What is Graphical User Interface (GUI) Design? appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

What Is Systems Thinking?

Systems thinking is the approach to analyzing complex problems through all of the variables and root causes that might affect the central issue. In other words, this type of thinking allows you to focus on the context and factors affecting the central issue at hand in addition to the issue itself. The concept of systems thinking was pioneered by Professor Jay W. Forrester, a key figure in the field of systems dynamics. Forrester’s work laid the foundation for understanding how various components of a system interact over time, making it possible to address intricate challenges such as environmental degradation and global hunger.

Systems thinking is more relevant than ever as we face increasingly complex issues. The need for a more nuanced approach to problem-solving has become increasingly important as traditional methods often fall short when dealing with more complicated problems. Additionally, systems thinking typically yields preventative solutions as they force people to think about solving the deeper root issue, instead of putting a band-aid over an issue and creating temporary solutions.

Although it is essential to understand the context of any issue you’re trying to understand or solve, this umbrella understanding is easier said than done. A great example of this is climate change and environmental policy. For instance, a quick solution to pollution might be to pass stricter laws and regulations While this could yield short-term benefits, it doesn’t address the root causes, such as unsustainable production practices and consumer behavior. Systems thinking would involve analyzing the entire ecosystem, from raw material extraction to waste management, to develop comprehensive strategies that promote long-term environmental sustainability at every touchpoint of the process.

The Importance of Systems Thinking in Design

By understanding the interdependencies that affect a central issue, designers can create more effective interventions that address the root causes of the problem, rather than just alleviating its symptoms. Don Norman, a thought leader in design, advocates for moving beyond simple cause-effect relationships. He emphasizes the need to identify and address the root causes of problems to find sustainable solutions. According to Norman, systems thinking is crucial for designers because it enables them to see the bigger picture and consider the long-term impact of their designs.

Systems thinking goes hand-in-hand with the human-centered design process, which puts people at the forefront of the design and development process. In human-centered design processes, designers integrate the community or key stakeholders into their design process at the start, to make sure that diverse voices are being heard, ensuring that the product is specific to the community and people that it will be affecting. Taking a systems thinking approach encourages designers to engage at a deeper level with the people and environment surrounding the central issue. Although this should be the baseline of all design processes, factors such as budget, community engagement, and tight timelines make this process more difficult to implement.

Key Methods in Systems Thinking

Understanding and applying systems thinking in design involves various methods that dig deeper into the root causes of issues and foster collaborative problem-solving. There are three key methods: the 5 Why’s, community collaboration, and causal loops that can easily allow you to dig deeper and think more critically.

The 5 Why’s Method

The 5 Why’s method is a straightforward but powerful technique for identifying the root causes of problems. By repeatedly asking “why” (typically five times), designers can move past superficial symptoms and uncover underlying issues. Although the scale of issues might grow exponentially, that is okay and encouraged, since we need to look at the larger context, no matter the scale.

For example, if a user interface is confusing, asking “why” multiple times might reveal that the problem stems from larger inconsistencies. Perhaps the confusion with the interface is due to not following brand guidelines, which in turn might be due to a lack of proper documentation or training on the design system. This method transcends the actual interface and considers the people and process behind it, ensuring that solutions address the core problem rather than just its symptoms.

Community Collaboration

The process of involving stakeholders and community members in the design process is crucial for effective solutions. Community collaboration brings diverse perspectives and insights, helping to identify real needs and potential pitfalls that designers might overlook.

For instance, when designing an urban park, engaging local residents can reveal specific requirements, such as the need for wheelchair-accessible paths or areas for children’s activities. This collaborative approach not only fosters a sense of ownership among community members but also leads to more sustainable and user-centric designs.

Causal Loops

Causal loops are diagrams that help visualize the variables that affect each other over and over. They illustrate how different elements of a system influence each other, either reinforcing or balancing certain behaviors. By mapping out these relationships, designers can identify barriers and unhealthy patterns that might be hidden beneath the surface.

When looking at a company, a causal loop might reveal that high employee turnover is linked to inadequate training programs, which then affects productivity and morale, affecting high employee turnover again. Addressing these interconnected issues holistically can lead to more effective and sustainable solutions.

Incorporating these methods into your design process not only enhances problem-solving but also promotes a deeper understanding of the complex systems we operate within. By leveraging the 5 Why’s, fostering community collaboration, and utilizing causal loops, designers can create solutions that are both innovative and enduring.

Incorporating Systems Thinking Into the Design Process

Combining systems thinking with design thinking can be a game-changer for designers tackling complex problems. While systems thinking emphasizes the interconnectedness and wholeness of systems, design thinking hones in on the needs and experiences of users. By merging these approaches, designers can create solutions that are both innovative and sustainable.

For graphic designers, who often work to create visuals that are engaging and appropriate to specific audiences, incorporating system thinking in your process will bring you to the next level. For instance, when designing a branding system, instead of picking colors based on personal preference, think about your target audience or the context of the branding. Say you are designing for a hospital, you might first start with a blue color palette since that is common for healthcare brands and hospitals. If you dig deeper and engage with your target audience, you might discover that patients want to feel a sense of comfort in addition to the safety and trustworthiness that the hospital’s blue colors might provide. Lastly, you might also discover that your audience is primarily aged 65+ and shift the color palette around for higher contrast, helping visibility for older audiences. Generally, before coming to any conclusions, ask questions and consider the context of a design request in your process.

For UX designers, who design digital interfaces, try to incorporate systems thinking early in your design process. In all great UX design processes, there is typically a time for usability testing like AB testing after a prototype has been completed. However, a better way to solve deeper problems is to ask the user what could be improved before you even start designing. What if they share valuable insight that changes your entire prototype before you make it? What if there is a bigger need to solve this entirely?

For experiential designers who design physical processes that we interact with daily, human-centered design should be an important step of your process already, but consider what other factors might interact with the challenge you are designing for. Does policy, environmental issues, accessibility, or even bias affect the process you are designing? What else can you consider as a factor in your process?

If you’re a designer, consider integrating systems thinking into your practice. It’s about more than just solving immediate issues; it’s about creating solutions that stand the test of time and make a real difference. Instead of prioritizing creating, shift your mindset to understanding and solving on a deeper level.

The post Beyond Components: A Holistic Approach to Design Systems Thinking appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Here are 11 tools I’m incorporating into my process to supercharge my design workflow and stay competitive in today’s era of new creativity.

Top 10 AI Design Tools

1. Photoshop Generative AI

One of the most successful AI integrations is Adobe’s generative AI tools in Photoshop, simply because they focus on what designers do most in the platform: removing items or expanding imagery. In my creative process, Photoshop AI takes the cake in terms of ease and quality of the results.

Using Photoshop’s all-too-familiar lasso tool, you can generate content-aware designs in specific sections of your working file. Since most designers are very familiar with the Adobe Creative Suite, this AI integration is a game changer to speed up and optimize the designer’s workflow in a platform that creatives are already working in.

Key Features

• Content-aware fill
• Object-aware refine edge
• Generative expand fill

Pricing

• Included for free in Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription ($60/month per person)

2. Magic Design in Canva

Canva, a design tool with a low barrier of entry, has launched “Magic Design” as its AI design integration. This enhancement interacts with every function of the platform, meaning that Canva just became an easier and more creative option for any graphic design project.

Although Canva isn’t most designers’ creative platform of choice, it tends to be the first choice for non-designers or clients because of its intuitive interface. This means that designers might need to work within this platform to build out design templates that can be handed off for later customization.

What’s exciting to me is this feature’s ability to automate and uncomplicate the design process and editing tools making it incredibly user-friendly for both beginners and professionals. With features like background removal and Magic Resize, Canva simplifies any design idea and speeds up your design process.

Key Features

• Background removal
• Magic Resize
• AI-powered design suggestions
• Extensive template library

Pricing

• Free (premium plans give 20+ additional AI tools)

3. Midjourney

Of all the text-to-image AI platforms, Midjourney is leading the way in terms of creating specific and hyper-customizable image outputs in any style. If you’re unfamiliar with Midjourney, know that their AI software is so robust that it generates four image variations from a single prompt. The user can then hone in and get more variations of one of the outputs or upscale their selected file to be used in any creative asset. This allows you to keep refining your output until it’s exactly what you’re looking for.

Using Midjourney, the output is often better or more creative than what I asked for, making it a great source of inspiration and an invaluable tool for asset creation.

Even if you can’t prompt Midjourney to create exactly what you’re looking for, the outputs are high-resolution enough that designers can utilize small elements of the image in other design assets, too.

Need mockups of a billboard on the side of a highway, or a grainy paper texture to use in other design platforms? Midjourney can do all that and more. This platform also allows you to zoom in and out of the output and create variations of specific regions, making it one of the most versatile prompt-to-image AI tools available.

Key Features

• Text-to image generation
• Iterative refinement
• High-resolution outputs

Pricing

• $10/month for the basic plan

4. Chat AI (Previously Playground.ai)

Chat AI (previously Playground AI) is a great alternative to Midjourney, specializing in text-to-image AI features. Accessible both on their website as well as through the Chat AI app, users can generate images based on descriptions.

What’s great about Chat AI is that input isn’t limited to one prompt, like Midjourney. Instead, Chat AI offers more specific input prompts, optimized for creatives where you can differentiate between options like “stock imagery” and “wallpapers” as well as the ability to add image dimensions or style filters. This format of prompting allows for more specific inputs with options to adjust certain aspects of the prompt without having to start over.

Key Features

• Text-to-image based prompting
• Customizable art styles
• Visual aids to prompt options

Pricing

• Free Plan with ten images/month

5. Khroma

Gone are the days of color-picking from images or randomly selecting from the color wheel. Khroma is an AI tool for designers to create unlimited color palettes based on your personal preferences. Since color can be so personal – either for you or for your design client – Khroma is a great free AI tool that can be integrated into any branding project.

Specifically, this could be a great initial design activity for your client to work through to get the ball rolling on what colors to work with. From start to finish, this tool is easy to use and, honestly, pretty fun. After choosing 50 colors from an endless list, you’ll get custom color palettes with specific HEX codes that you’ll love.

Key Features

• Infinite color combinations
• View as 2-color or 4-color palette
• Generate color combinations endlessly until you get the perfect one

Pricing

• Free

6. Adobe Firefly

This web-based image generation tool from Adobe is getting a lot of attention within the design world. What sets this generator apart is the structure reference ability, which allows you to upload an image of the exact form that you want your image to take on. 

For example, if you wanted to generate an image of a house with a large tree in the front yard, you can draw that exact form in a low-fidelity style and pair it with any reference style. These two inputs allow you to curate the exact form and design of the image Firefly puts out. In addition to the text-to-image conversion, Firefly has great customization abilities like adding effects or adjusting lighting to be golden hour, backlighting, or studio light, for example.

Key Features

• Image style examples
• Creative customization
• Web-based

Pricing

• Free or premium plan options

7. Runway

Runway makes tools for human imagination, as they claim on their website. Of these tools, they specialize in video offerings, with robust text-to-video or video-to-video AI tools. Like most other AI tools listed here, this tool is prompt-based, creating hyper-realistic footage in just about any style you can think of.

Although this tool produces videos that have limitless creative potential, some of the prompts render unrealistic footage. This means that the tool might be best suited for storyboarding or concepting and not for footage that’s interchangeable with that of professional filmmakers.

Key Features

• Artistic filters for videos and photos
• Continuous iteration of prompt
• High-resolution outputs

Pricing

• Free

8. Remove.bg

Plain and simple, Remove.bg specializes in automatic background removal. And I hate to break it to you designers, but removing the background of images will always be a part of the job, wherever you go.

Although Photoshop’s new AI tools have improved the background removal process, Remove.bg specializes in this task and excels at it. With its AI-driven technology, you can quickly and accurately remove backgrounds from images, which makes it an especially useful tool to streamline the creative process and allow you to spend more time designing – instead of editing imagery.

Key Features

• Automatic background removal
• High-resolution outputs
• Integration with popular design tools

Pricing

• Free

9. Genie

Ever wondered what an elephant dressed as a detective looks like? A kangaroo with a top hat on? A pirate with lizard scales? Look no further than Genie by Luma Labs to create a high-resolution 3D model of anything you can think of.

While Luma is focussing on creating “Dream Machine,” an AI model that makes high-quality, realistic videos from text and image, I recommend playing around with Genie, their free AI tool to create these hi-res models. Iterate quickly before choosing a direction to render in higher quality, and don’t worry, you don’t only have 3 wishes with this Genie.

Key Features

• Text-to-3D Model
• Rapid prototyping
• Shadow and reflection effects
• Batch processing

Pricing

• Free

10. Vizcom

Vizcom is the one to watch in the field of product design and 3D rendering. This tool is a secret weapon for rapid prototyping, where you can upload a sketch and render that into a 3D model. Using an image as the basis for the prompt, a written prompt allows the AI engine to refine the rendering and take styles or visual direction into account.

What’s great about this process is that it positions human-made creative work at the forefront and allows AI to enhance and elevate your work. This process – paired with their collaborative whiteboard feature – makes this tool a no-brainer for design teams to incorporate in their process.

Key Features

• Creative-first process
• Collaborative workspaces
• Design tools like texture control, editable layers, and drawing tools

Pricing

• Free starter plan with unlimited files and exports

11. Uizard by Miro Labs

Miro has been a leading innovator in live digital collaboration since the days of Covid and is still leading the way in online whiteboard tools for organizations and educational groups worldwide. Focusing on providing the tools that teams need to move their work forward and stay organized, it makes sense that they’re incorporating AI technology into their offerings. More specifically, they’ve debuted a new product, Uizard, that brings UI prototyping to their online whiteboard technology.

With Uizard, Miro says that “Ideation and iteration has never been so simple.” Uizard allows users to create UI designs from text prompts that can generate a multi-screen, editable mockup in a matter of seconds. In addition, you can upload a screenshot of another interface, or even a sketch, and the program will generate an editable design based on this reference. From there, you can make any customizations or edits.

Key Features

• Collaborative workspaces
• Text-to-design prompting
• Screenshot-to-design upload
• Editable UI prototype in real time

Pricing

• Free for 3 AI generations per month with Autodesigner 1.5
• $12 per member, per month for AI Engine Autodesigner 2.0, which allows for 500 AI generations per month

Invest in the Right AI Tools for Your Design Needs

AI design tools are revolutionizing the creative industry, making it easier to produce high-quality designs efficiently. By incorporating these tools into your workflow, you can enhance your creativity, streamline your creative process, and stay ahead in the competitive design world.

While each of these tools offers unique specialties and specific use cases, they all serve to augment and enhance the creative process. Yes, AI is an amazing tool for the creative process, but it’s not a magic bullet to bypass your creative process and produce the finalized design. Embracing AI tools and integrating them in your design process will help speed up your workflow, but won’t replace it in full, no matter how many tools you integrate.

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