
The SL Directory: Creative AI Tools
Lovart AI
If you’re looking to get a brand off the ground quickly, Lovart is one of the most comprehensive AI design platforms out there. From a single prompt, it can generate an entire brand kit – think logo, colour palette, typography, landing page, product visuals and even marketing videos – making it an all-in-one solution for founders and small businesses. What sets it apart is its focus on consistency: assets produced by Lovart look like they belong together, rather than a collection of one-off designs. For entrepreneurs who don’t have a design background or the budget to hire an agency, this can be a game-changer. It’s also useful if you want to experiment with different looks before settling on a brand identity, as you can regenerate assets with new prompts until you land on something that feels right.
Prices start from $29 per month.
Visit Lovart.AI
Adobe Express
Adobe’s Express app has quickly become a go-to for those who want Adobe-quality visuals without needing to master Photoshop or Illustrator. The addition of Firefly AI has supercharged the platform, allowing users to generate images, apply generative fill and transform text prompts into polished creative assets. It’s a strong choice for businesses that already use Adobe products, since Express fits neatly into the Creative Cloud ecosystem. Whether you’re designing a logo, creating social media graphics or cutting a quick promo video, Express offers a polished, professional output.
A free version is available. Premium plans start from £10 a month.
Visit Adobe.com
Canva
Canva has been a favourite for non-designers for years, and its Magic Studio AI tools make it even more powerful. Features like ‘Magic Design’ can turn a rough draft into a presentation, while ‘Magic Media’ can generate AI images and videos. There’s also AI copywriting, which makes it easy to create brand-consistent messaging alongside your visuals. The platform is particularly useful for small teams who need to produce lots of content quickly – think social posts, pitch decks, product mock-ups – without spending hours on design. With thousands of templates and drag-and-drop functionality, Canva lowers the barrier to polished, branded content.
A free version is available. Premium plans start from £90-£100 a month.
Visit Canva.com
Figma
Figma is already a staple for UI and digital product designers, but its suite of AI features takes things up a level. Figma Sites can build entire websites from a text description, while Buzz generates marketing copy. Draw can sketch out vector illustrations, and Make, powered by Anthropic’s Claude 3.7, helps teams prototype apps and interfaces faster. For UK start-ups in the tech or SaaS space, Figma’s AI features are particularly compelling. They speed up the design process, making it easier to test and iterate on ideas before investing in development. While Figma is best suited to teams with some design know-how, its AI tools reduce the friction of starting from scratch.
A free version is available. Premium plans start from £3 a month.
Visit Figma.com
Kittl
Positioned as a browser-based alternative to Adobe and Canva, Kittl has carved out a niche by combining professional-grade design tools with beginner-friendly AI. The platform includes a logo generator, AI vectoriser, background remover and even AI writing for taglines and ad copy. Add in a library of fonts and design assets, and you’ve got a flexible toolkit for building a visual identity.
For small businesses, the significant advantage of Kittl is that it feels like a professional design suite but doesn’t require the learning curve of Adobe Illustrator. It’s a great middle ground – powerful enough for designers, but still accessible for non-specialists.
A free version is available. Premium plans start from £12 a month.
Visit Kittl.com
Recraft
London-based Recraft is one of the most interesting entrants in the AI design space because it’s built with brand consistency in mind. Unlike more generalist AI image generators, Recraft focuses on producing visuals that can align with an existing style guide. Its outputs are sharp, versatile, and particularly well-suited to digital marketing campaigns, web visuals and branded illustrations.
For UK businesses, the fact that Recraft is homegrown may also appeal – its development team is actively focused on creative industry workflows. If you want to maintain a professional look across multiple assets, Recraft offers more control than many of its rivals.
A free version is available. Premium plans start from $12 a month.
Visit Recraft.AI
Zoviz
Zoviz specialises in one thing: logos – and does it well. By entering your company name and industry, it generates multiple logo concepts along with suggested fonts and colour palettes. For a small monthly fee, you can also unlock a complete brand kit, making it a wise choice for early-stage businesses that want a clean, ready-to-use identity without paying for a designer. A budget-friendly way to test branding ideas or create a temporary look while you grow.
Prices start from £10 per month.
Visit Zoviz.com
Looka
Like Zoviz, Looka focuses on logo creation but adds more customisation and optional extras. Once you generate a logo, you can expand it into a brand kit that includes business cards, social media assets and even website mock-ups. The one-off cost for a logo starts at about $20, while the brand kit subscription is around £76 per year – making it an affordable, professional-grade option for small businesses. It’s particularly good for entrepreneurs who want a polished look quickly without ongoing subscription costs.
A one-off logo costs about $20, while the brand kit subscription is $96 a year.
Visit Looka.com
Motiff
Motiff takes a slightly different angle, targeting UI and digital product designers. Its AI features help generate design systems, screen layouts and interface components with minimal effort. Think of it as a lightweight Figma alternative. For businesses developing apps, websites or SaaS platforms, Motiff is a cost-effective way to accelerate design workflows and bring ideas to life quickly. While it’s less useful for logos or brand kits, it’s excellent for businesses that live in the digital product space.
Prices start from $4 a month.
Visit Motiff.com
Midjourney, DALL-E 2 & Bing Image Creator
For creative ideation, these tools remain some of the best in the business. Midjourney produces some of the most striking, artistic AI imagery, which is often used to explore brand aesthetics or campaign visuals. DALL-E 2 from OpenAI is better for more literal, brand-aligned image generation, while Microsoft’s Bing Image Creator offers a free entry point for businesses that just need quick visuals on the fly. These tools aren’t brand platforms in themselves – hence why we’ve grouped them together – but they can be invaluable for concepting, moodboards and one-off creative assets that help inspire bigger branding decisions.
Free versions available.
Visit Midjourney.com, OpenAI.com & Bing.com
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