AI image generation tools: from a clear brief to a usable asset
A striking image can still be wrong for the job. It may crop badly, misrepresent a product or fall apart when you request a small change. Use this guide to define the asset you actually need, choose sensible evaluation criteria and decide where generated imagery belongs in your creative process.
Choose the job before the generator
- Visual exploration: compare ideas, compositions and colour directions before committing to a design.
- Editorial illustration: communicate a theme without suggesting that an invented scene documents a real event.
- Campaign imagery: plan a related set that works across different placements and formats.
- Product content: keep the product itself accurate and distinguish conceptual imagery from what customers will receive.
Write down what success looks like. A mood board can tolerate ambiguity that would be unacceptable in a product listing or an instructional diagram.
Build a brief that makes comparison possible
Specify the audience, placement, aspect ratio, subject, visual style and elements that must remain unchanged. Include any space needed for a heading or call to action. Separate essential details from creative preferences so you can judge results consistently.
For a series, define a small visual system: palette, lighting, background treatment and subject scale. Keep approved references together and check that you have permission to use them. More reference material is not automatically better if it sends conflicting signals.
An illustrative project: a seasonal website banner
Imagine a homewares shop preparing a seasonal campaign. A generated background might help explore a warm, uncluttered setting. The actual product photograph, dimensions and offer should remain under deliberate control.
Test a wide banner and a mobile crop before approving the direction. Check that the product remains recognisable and the heading has readable space. If the generated version changes a handle, label or included accessory, reject that version rather than hoping customers will overlook it. This is an illustrative scenario, not a case study.
Compare control, not just visual appeal
- Brief accuracy: does the image include the essential details and exclude unwanted elements?
- Targeted changes: can you revise the background or composition without losing approved parts?
- Series consistency: do related outputs look intentional when placed together?
- Delivery: can you obtain the dimensions and file format your publishing workflow needs?
- Finishing effort: how much correction, layout work or external editing remains?
A compelling first image is a useful starting point. The repeatable path to a finished asset is the more important buying decision.
Run a practical image trial
- Use one brief for every candidate rather than selecting each tool’s most flattering example.
- Create a straightforward scene and a second scene with several required details.
- Request a specific change to an otherwise acceptable output.
- Build a small related set, then inspect it side by side.
- Place the images in their intended layout and check desktop and mobile crops.
- Record rejected outputs, correction work and the resources needed to finish.
Inspect at the size the audience will see and at a closer view. Check faces, hands, repeated objects, edges, text and any detail that affects the meaning.
Know when another approach is better
Use real photography when customers need to see the actual product, venue or team. Consider a conventional design or illustration workflow when precise labels, diagrams or repeatable geometry are central to the work. Generated ideas can still support planning without becoming the published asset.
Before commercial use, check the terms for the provider, plan and model you will actually use. Review reference-image permissions and any identifiable people or brand elements. A broad marketing claim is not a substitute for checking your specific use.
Questions about image generation
Can a generated image replace a product photograph?
Only if the final asset accurately represents the product and is suitable for its context. When accuracy is difficult to verify, use the real photograph and keep generated elements separate.
Should I generate the headline inside the image?
For editable marketing assets, adding important text in your design tool gives you direct control over spelling, layout and later changes. Check readability at the final display size.
How do I compare costs fairly?
Count the work required to produce approved assets, including retries and finishing. A large generation allowance is less useful if few outputs meet your brief.
Choose your next step
Our image generator buying guide helps you build a shortlist around your priorities. If you are considering those two workflows, use the Midjourney versus Adobe Firefly comparison, then evaluate the options with your own brief.
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