2024 was a huge year for AI features in creative software, and I predict 2025 will be even better, with huge benefits for designers and creative folk.

All the AI features announced in creative software throughout 2023 and, more noticeably, within 2024 were an amalgamation of gimmicky, experimental, and sometimes useful AI tools.

Now that most of the experiments have been released to the world, I predict that more AI features coming in 2025 and beyond will be those that are truly helpful in the creative workflow.

While it’s impressive what AI can do, it isn’t always what AI should do. Do we need to turn our cat pictures into regal portraits with a click? Not really. Do we want extra fingers on our AI-generated humans? Definitely not. But do we want more specific results that match our text prompts closer? Certainly, we do.

With companies like Adobe, Midjourney, Microsoft, and a few other big or up-and-coming names that have large funding behind them, I hope to see a true improvement and focus on the capabilities of creative AI tools.

2

The Quality of AI Generations Will Be Scarily High

Similarly to having more useful AI results, we can only assume the quality of AI-generated images—and video—will become much better. Adobe has already improved its AI generation quality with the implementation of Adobe Firefly model 3 in 2024, which I find gives impressive results already. When comparing AI generated images to my smartphone photos, Canva and Firefly came out on top.

Not only will the image results be better, but further research and development into AI video tools, such as Adobe’s integration of video generation in Premiere Pro and the development of audio, graphics, and text-based AI features, will also improve.

While it’s impressive to see how AI has revealed incredible high-quality results already, as a creative person, it is also scary to wonder how these futuristic tools may affect my, and others’, jobs and hobbies in the future. Will AI truly become better than a human’s creative mind and skill? Do we want it to be that way?

3

Adobe Will Be Steadfast in Its AI Implementation

​​​​​​​Adobe spent 2024 implementing plenty of AI features into its entire suite of tools. The AI features in Adobe Express are some of my favorites across the board, and akin to the AI features found within Canva too.

At Adobe Max 2024—Adobe’s annual conference—there were many new AI features announced across Adobe software to be instantly released or to be expected within 2025 and beyond.

Adobe has been at the forefront of creative AI tools. With its longstanding history as being creative software royalty already, it’s not unexpected Adobe would have some of the most successful AI powers too.

2025 will see Adobe implementing AI video generation permanently into Premiere Pro and likely to Adobe Express too, as it was added as a beta feature in 2024. We’ll also see more vector generation tools, including the ability to generate multiple 3D views of a flat vector you create within Illustrator—a crazy concept I’m very excited about as a main feature.

4

Designers Are Approving of AI

​​​​​​​Monotype is one of the world’s largest typeface foundries, and the CEO of Monotype suggests that designers are beginning to approve of the use of AI. This research, made with help from Censuswide, shows there’s a future with AI in the typographic industries—which is the heart of graphic design. 91% of surveyed designers think AI can be useful in their typographic industry.

AI-font detection tools are already available in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Canva has great AI typeface detection tools to help rewrite text embedded in images, even when not using the Latin alphabet. AI is increasingly being used for typographic design, as seen in Kittl, a great Canva alternative, which creates template designs for social media and apparel.

AI isn’t always the enemy. Monotype’s research shows that a majority of designers approve of the use of AI. With a lighter view of AI, 2025 can reveal some fantastic and helpful tools, rather than scaring designers away with tools that might steal their jobs. AI can be a helpful tool in a toolbox with the other tools used.

Introducing AI into every creative tool we use has been scary at times, with many designers and creative folk not knowing what it means for their jobs or hobbies. Now that we’ve seen the most of gimmicky AI features, I believe 2025 will show us how AI tools and features can naturally integrate into our workflows to benefit traditional designers, rather than replace them.