Can AI tools really compete with traditional design tools?

Design tools and software have allowed people to create and edit creative images for decades without AI, so is the introduction of AI tools useful? Can AI compete with traditional design tools? And when is the best time to use them?

Table of Contents

• Create logos and vectors
• Copy and replace patterns
• Social media layout
• Create and edit images
• Platform quality and access
• Price
• AI tools cannot compete with traditional design tools

Create logos and vectors

Using AI to design logos is a popular alternative to creating them from scratch. But even if you use the best logo design tips, AI still can't compare to traditional design tools.

With tools like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, and Coral Draw, you can create vectors for perfectly customized logos. The benefits of using traditional tools are complete flexibility, unlimited editability, and scalability.

AI vector logo generators found in programs like Kittl, Canva, and Adobe Illustrator offer interesting logo designs; however, they have a lot of drawbacks. While they are quick to create and produce decent results, they often miss details.

Logos are a key part of your brand identity and they need to be flexible for a variety of uses. AI can't replicate that flexibility. When the "vector type" generator isn't a true vector format, you lose the ability to scale and edit your logo, rendering it pretty much useless.

AI tools cannot be compared to traditional design tools created for creating logos and vector graphics.

Copy and replace patterns

Adobe Photoshop has had clone and texture replacement tools built into its interface for years. Longtime photo editors and designers alike have experienced the pain of carefully selecting an area, sizing the clone tool, and meticulously clicking to make ugly elements disappear as if they never existed.

These tools have been used to remove stains and blemishes, unwanted clutter or even clean up trash on floors or replace ugly clouds in an otherwise beautiful sky.

With AI, all of this hard work can often be done with just a few clicks. Programs like Luminar Neo offer AI sky replacement with picture-perfect results. Even Photoshop and Lightroom offer AI Generative Fill tools that quickly erase and patch areas that are barely recognizable or have any remnants. Fotor also has a great Magic Erase tool, and Canva’s Magic Media tool is great too.

Traditional copy tools can still be used sometimes, but overall, AI wins this round.

Social media layout

Traditionally, Adobe InDesign was used to create social media layouts before Canva, Adobe Express, Kittl, or Microsoft Designer entered the scene. All of these tools offer quick ways to create layouts without using AI, including pre-made templates. While pre-made templates are more of a hybrid of traditional and AI tools, many of these software also offer tools to convert text into AI templates.

Adobe Express’s text-to-template tool lets you specify the type of template you want to create — a square Instagram post — along with the information you want to display. While colors and fonts aren’t specified, all elements are fully editable and easy to edit in the main editor.

Creating this layout from scratch using Adobe Express, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe InDesign—or any of the myriad of other tools available—would take more than 10 minutes for a basic design. If you’re creating a post for a specific brand, with guidelines to follow, create your social media layout using traditional tools.

Using AI when following brand guidelines is more time-consuming and frustrating, but if the design is just for fun and not for an established brand style, AI tools that convert text to templates may be a better option. For serious graphic designers, using traditional tools will provide a more streamlined experience.

Create and edit images

AI image generators are the most fascinating aspect of creative AI tools. They allow you to instantly turn an idea in your head into a visual work of art. There are countless AI tools, such as Hamster AI, a free generator and creative tool, DALL-E, Midjourney, and built-in tools in Canva and Adobe for creating images.

Photoshop is often the go-to choice for image editing. While it’s not necessarily the best choice for creating images from scratch, you can create some amazingly edited scenes with this software – provided you have the skills and time to do so.

Comparing Photoshop to an AI image generator is difficult. Not only do you have to consider why you are creating the image, but you also have to realize that spending hours creating an image in Photoshop can take hours (but it will be 100% customized to your liking).

AI tools can deliver incredible images in seconds, satisfying any wild imagination you may have, but you’ll be giving up most of the customization options. The lack of thoughtful choice in the image creation process takes away much of the wow factor. Yes, the image may look amazing, amazing, or even like a masterpiece – but it lacks the imagination, creativity, and authenticity of art.

If you’re creating images out of a genuine interest in art as a medium, then traditional tools will trump AI. However, AI image generators have their uses. Sometimes, you need an image that doesn’t take hours to create — in those cases, AI tools are the way to go.

Platform quality and access

Using Adobe, Affinity, or even Canva will produce high-quality creative work. However, most of these tools are locked behind expensive subscription prices or large one-off payments, meaning high-quality results aren’t always accessible to everyone.

I find that most free creative AI tools don’t produce high-quality results, often requiring payment for high-quality formats. For example, Canva and Kittl’s AI features are largely locked behind the platform’s Pro subscription. Free users are limited by the output quality even when the tools themselves produce high-quality results.

Additionally, few creative AI tools offer a wide range of features; typically each tool focuses on just one or two tasks, such as image creation or photo editing.

With most traditional design tools, you get access to a wealth of creative tools once you pay up. For example, Adobe users can edit and manipulate images in Photoshop, create social media post layouts in Illustrator, InDesign, or Adobe Express, draw custom vector logos in Illustrator, and animate or create videos in Premiere Pro or After Effects.

Traditional design tools can offer more, but not everyone can access high-quality results regardless of AI integration.

Price

While Adobe is expensive, the price includes a lot of software. The Adobe All Apps package costs about $60/month for an annual subscription. This price includes all software and features, including AI features.​​​​

Hamster AI is free or $3/month for full access. Canva's Pro subscription—which houses most of Canva's AI tools—starts at $12.99/month. Midjourney costs between $10 and $120/month, depending on your plan.

While the price of creative AI tools may seem cheaper than Adobe or Affinity packages, you get less. You may end up subscribing to multiple AI tools to create the variety you can do with traditional tools.

In terms of price, traditional tools come out on top. Chances are a traditional design tool can offer more than an AI tool.

AI tools cannot compete with traditional design tools

With AI tools, you can create designs quickly and with good quality. However, nothing can compare to the capabilities of traditional design tools. If you think of creative design as art, it is the process, not just the result.

When you want to create an eye-catching Instagram post or a cool logo for something trivial, you can turn to AI to save time. But if you want a design that has meaning and context, there is no choice but to use traditional tools.

You can tweak small aspects to perfect an entire design piece. With AI tools, it’s hard to tweak anything to your liking. AI has come a long way, but it really can’t compete with traditional design tools.