Midjourney vs Adobe Firefly vs ChatGPT Image Gen - Which AI Tool for Design Work?

Design Resources & AI Tools
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Since most of us are using at least one AI image tool at this point, lets have an actual comparison based on real design work not just “look at this cool image i made”

ive used all three extensively for design concepting, mood boards, and texture generation. heres my honest breakdown:

MIDJOURNEY: best overall image quality. the v6 photorealistic output is stunning. great for mood boards, concept visualization, editorial imagery. downsides: discord-based workflow is clunky, no direct editing/inpainting, commercial licensing exists but has limits, and the “midjourney look” is becoming recognizable

ADOBE FIREFLY: best for production workflows because it integrates with photoshop. generative fill is genuinely revolutionary for extending backgrounds and removing objects. commercial licensing is clearest since adobe trained on licensed content. downsides: standalone image generation quality is noticeably behind midjourney, and the “creative” output feels safe/corporate

CHATGPT (DALL-E): best for quick concepting and iteration because you can have a conversation about changes. “make it warmer” “add more space on the left” “now make it sunset instead of noon” - this back-and-forth workflow is uniquely powerful. downsides: image quality is the weakest of the three, inconsistent with details, and the style range feels limited

for my actual design work: midjourney for mood boards and hero concepts, firefly (via photoshop) for production editing, dall-e for quick sketching conversations with clients

which AI image tool are you using for design work and for what specifically?

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For motion graphics work specifically: midjourney for style frames and mood boards, firefly for background extensions and compositing in after effects, dall-e for quick storyboard concepts when im on calls with clients

the conversational aspect of dall-e is underrated for client presentations honestly. being able to say ‘lets try it more minimal’ in real-time during a meeting is a superpower

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One tool youre missing: stable diffusion (local install). yeah the setup is technical but if you have a decent GPU the control you get is unmatched. controlnet for pose/composition matching, inpainting thats better than firefly, and you own everything locally. no subscription, no usage limits

for web design mockups specifically i use comfyui with a custom workflow that generates hero images, textures, and icon concepts. saves me hours