Canva, Adobe and other big moves in AI design

Australian design platform Canva has announced the launch of new generative AI tools for its Visual Worksuite. These tools will allow for custom image templates and presentations, the synchronization of video footage to music, and translation of words in designs into more than 100 languages.

Canva also rolled out new tools for marketing and creative organizations through a “Brand Hub,” enabling companies to store style guides, scale marketing materials, and easily replace logos and images across a company's designs.

Canva's generative AI tools include a “Magic Write” feature for generating text and a text-to-image feature, which the company says has already been tested by 60 million users. These new tools have been added as part of a recent ad campaign that debuted earlier this month.

Canva's Chief Marketing Officer, Zach Kitsche, has said he believes that this moment marks a significant shift in the design process, and the company's focus is on unlocking the next wave of design through emerging technologies.

Adobe unveils Firefly

Adobe also recently unveiled its Firefly platform, which features a number of generative AI tools for creators. It includes context-aware image generation, tools for generative vector images, natural language video edits, the ability to create social media content from uploading a mood board, 3D modeling and more.

Immediately following the release of the Firefly beta came a joint announcement by Adobe and NVIDIA, a computing company with significant emphasis on AI, to partner of further generative AI to advance creative workflows. Adobe and NVIDIA said they will co-develop a new generation of advanced generative AI models with a focus on deep integration into applications the world’s leading creators and marketers use.

“Generative AI provides powerful new tools to empower unprecedented creativity,” said Greg Estes, VP, Corporate Marketing and Developer Programs, NVIDIA. “With NVIDIA Picasso and Adobe tools like Creative Cloud, we’ll be able to bring the transformational capabilities of generative AI to enterprises to help them explore more ideas to efficiently produce and scale incredible creative content and digital experiences.”

A big week in design and AI

Canva and Adobe are among several major design and visual platforms rapidly developing new generative AI capabilities.

• Adobe recently unveiled its Firefly platform, which features a number of generative AI tools

• Unity announced plans to add a new marketplace for generative AI tools

• Midjourney last week introduced version five of its generative image platform

• Runway last week announced a new text-to-video model in its Gen-2 update

• Microsoft added a text-to-image generator for Bing and Edge

The space for generative AI design has been largely made up of point solutions, and these releases are a signal that more comprehensive and integrated tools are on the way, with acquisitions and consolidation surely not far behind.

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The future of generative design

The global market for AI is expected to reach $42.6 billion this year, according to a recent report by Pitchbook.

While generative AI tools hold great promise for the future, there are also concerns about copyright and misinformation. Gartner research released in December found that 70% of marketers surveyed said ethical AI will be a top concern by 2025, and 80% expect to create efforts focused on content authenticity, combatting misinformation, and dealing with fake material by 2027. Despite these concerns, the use of generative AI tools is expected to become normalized in the industry, with many believing that it will soon become an essential part of the design process.

This post was written by a human working together with AI. The image was generated in Midjourney. As part of our commitment to transparency, we will always disclose how content is produced.