AI tools for designers
Tools worth integrating into a design workflow — what each does and how to use it. Pricing notes are indicative; always confirm current terms (especially licensing and training-data provenance for client work).
Adobe Firefly
Image & VisualCommercially-safe generative image & vector tooling, native to Adobe.
Text-to-image, generative fill/expand, text effects and (increasingly) vector and video generation, trained on licensed/Adobe Stock content marketed as commercially safe.
Generate or extend imagery directly inside Photoshop/Illustrator; produce on-brand visuals and backgrounds without leaving the Adobe stack. Strong choice for client work where training-data provenance matters.
💸 Free tier with limited credits; included with Creative Cloud plans.
Midjourney
Image & VisualHigh-aesthetic text-to-image generation.
Produces strikingly stylised, art-directed images from text prompts; strong for moodboards, concept art and visual exploration.
Rapid concepting and moodboarding early in a project. Check licensing/usage terms before using output in commercial deliverables.
💸 Subscription tiers (no permanent free tier).
ElevenLabs
Voice & AudioRealistic AI text-to-speech and voice cloning.
Generates natural-sounding speech in many languages and voices, plus voice cloning, dubbing and audio for products and prototypes.
Add realistic voiceover to prototype demos, generate UX voice/IVR content, or test voice-interface flows without a studio. Get consent before cloning any real voice.
💸 Free tier with monthly character limit; paid tiers scale usage.
Cleanvoice.io
Voice & AudioAI audio cleanup — removes filler words, stutters and mouth sounds.
Automatically detects and removes 'um/uh', stutters, dead air and background noise from podcasts and recorded audio.
Polish recorded user-research sessions, voiceovers or design-process walkthroughs before sharing with stakeholders. Speeds up post-production on any spoken content.
💸 Free trial; usage-based / subscription pricing thereafter.
Descript
Voice & AudioEdit audio & video by editing the transcript.
Transcribes recordings and lets you edit media like a doc; includes filler-word removal, AI voices and screen recording.
Turn research calls and demo recordings into clips and highlight reels fast; create narrated walkthroughs of prototypes.
💸 Free tier; paid plans for more transcription hours and features.
Runway
Video & MotionGenerative video and AI motion tools.
Text/image-to-video generation, video editing, background removal and motion effects powered by generative models.
Create short motion concepts, animated explainers and dynamic backgrounds for pitches and prototypes without a full motion-design pipeline.
💸 Free credits to start; subscription tiers for more generation.
Figma AI / Make
Design & PrototypingAI features inside Figma — generation, rename, and prompt-to-design.
Assists with first drafts, layer renaming, content generation, search and (via Figma Make) turning prompts into working designs/prototypes.
Speed up boilerplate (placeholder content, renaming), kickstart layouts, and prototype ideas. Keep a critical eye — AI drafts are starting points, not final design.
💸 Included in Figma plans (availability varies by plan/seat).
Uizard
Design & PrototypingPrompt- and sketch-to-UI prototyping.
Turns text prompts, screenshots or hand sketches into editable UI mockups and multi-screen prototypes.
Very early ideation and stakeholder alignment — get a clickable concept in minutes before investing in high-fidelity Figma work.
💸 Free tier; paid plans for more projects and features.
v0 (Vercel)
Design & PrototypingPrompt-to-UI that outputs real React/Tailwind code.
Generates production-leaning UI components and pages from prompts or images, exporting React + Tailwind (shadcn/ui) code.
Bridge design and dev: hand engineers a working component, or build functional prototypes that use real code rather than throwaway mockups.
💸 Free tier with credits; paid plans for heavier use.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
Research & ProductivityGeneral-purpose assistant for writing, analysis and ideation.
Drafting, summarising, brainstorming, code help, image generation and data analysis through a multimodal assistant.
Synthesise research notes, draft UX copy variations, generate personas/test scripts, and rubber-duck design decisions. Verify factual output.
💸 Free tier; Plus/Team/Enterprise tiers for more capability and privacy.
Claude (Anthropic)
Research & ProductivityAssistant strong at long-form writing, reasoning and documents.
Long-context reasoning, writing, analysis, coding and document understanding with a focus on safety and helpfulness.
Analyse long research transcripts or specs, draft and critique UX writing, and reason through complex flows. Large context handles big documents well.
💸 Free tier; Pro/Team/Enterprise for more usage and features.
Perplexity
Research & ProductivityAI answer engine with cited sources.
Answers questions by searching the web and returning a synthesised response with inline citations.
Faster, source-backed desk research for competitive analysis and domain learning. The citations make it easier to verify before trusting.
💸 Free tier; Pro plan for advanced models and more searches.
NotebookLM (Google)
Research & ProductivityGrounded research assistant over your own documents.
Upload sources (docs, PDFs, slides) and ask questions answered *only* from those sources, with citations and audio overviews.
Build a grounded knowledge base from research, specs and reports; query it reliably without the model wandering off-source — a practical example of RAG.
💸 Free; higher limits via paid Google plans.
Krea
Image & VisualReal-time generative image canvas and upscaling.
Real-time image generation, enhancement and upscaling with a canvas-style, designer-friendly interface.
Iterate visuals live, upscale assets, and explore variations quickly during concepting.
💸 Free tier with credits; paid plans for more generation.