Adobe vs Canva—Who’s Shaping the Future of Creative AI in India?
What used to take a team of designers and hours of effort can now be done with a prompt and a click. AI image generation tools are quietly becoming essential for professionals by streamlining workflows, unlocking new possibilities, and changing how we think about visual creation from the ground up. Adobe Firefly is one such AI image generation tool, integrated with the Creative Cloud system. According to the company, Adobe enables you to create images using tools like Generative Fill and also promotes ethical content creation through its Content Authenticity Initiative. Adobe’s generative tool integrates with Photoshop and Illustrator, enabling the creation of high-quality images. Apart from Adobe’s AI tools, which are made available, it also integrates with easy access to Adobe assets, such as music and sound libraries, used in various apps. Its ethical AI labelling makes Adobe a differentiator in the market, making it a commercially safe tool with no “copyright and IP violations,” said Prativa Mohapatra, vice president and managing director of Adobe India. Mohapatra added that while many AI models are as good as the prompts used for image generation, “Firefly has been trained on the images and content which belongs to Adobe, either [through] direct copyrights on it, or [content] which is free” for Adobe. Yesterday, Adobe launched two versions of its text-to-image generative AI model, along with a range of new Firefly features and Creative Cloud app updates. The fourth-generation Firefly model also offers its customers two choices, one optimised for speed and efficiency, and the other for those requiring more tasks. The company stated in an email that creators have utilised Adobe’s family of Firefly models to generate over 22 billion assets globally, encompassing images and videos. Limitations of Generative AI Tools in Creating Images To build a great model, you also need to consider its limitations. According to reports, Firefly lacks native vector generation, which is primarily focused on still images. Although it processes high-quality photos, the tool is also more expensive compared to other open-source or budget-friendly alternatives that professionals use. While acknowledging the “ease of use” tools, Mohapatra argues that Adobe does consider its limitations, specifically the lack of templates. However, she said that “it’s about timing,” and added that Adobe Express products are getting enhancements every day. Adobe also argues that the Firefly tool provides non-creatives a starting point, as “you can take an image from your photo library [to] start with something,” Mohapatra highlighted. Similarly, Canva’s AI tool generates images based on how well thought-out your prompts are, which could result in the creation of generic images. It also does not support image-to-video prompts, but Adobe’s AI tools are not just restricted to Firefly. “We started with images and augmented vectors. Video has already been launched. So I think it is a natural progression,” Mohapatra said. However, it is well known that Adobe is used by professionals who already have an extensive understanding of how the tool works and are clear about their results. As for Canva, it is very beginner-friendly and provides a more versatile and budget-friendly tool. Some of Canva’s AI features are also open source, but their usage comes with limitations. Should You Choose Canva? Canva has been eyeing investments in AI for over seven years, much before the recent surge in AI design startups and tools. “AI is now integrated at every touch point that you have within Canva, from the home page where you might be suggested different designs…through to every step in designing, whether that’s removing a background or getting suggestions on copy,” Cameron Adams, co-founder of Canva, told AIM in an interview previously. While Canva is known for its templates and drag-and-drop design, the platform now offers the use of prompts for image generation, powered by Stable Diffusion and DALL-E models. Canva’s Magic Media tool uses third-party AI models to generate images. Canva is also known for its user-friendly interface, simple video editing and a marketplace for plugins. Canva features numerous AI tools powered by OpenAI’s algorithms, including DALL-E for image generation and GPT-like models for text generation. Canva has used these algorithms to integrate text-to-image capabilities, a text copy generator and a GenAI-powered design tool called Magic Design. Market in India Canva’s widespread use across India as a people’s favourite image generation and editing tool has brought considerable success for the company. AIM reported that India has become Canva’s fourth-largest market, and Adams sees India as a powerhouse that has redefined digital design at a larger scale. Canva has also launched a Hindi website, which enables millions of users to communicate and engage with the tool in a language they are comfortable with. “It’s really important for us to bring a truly local product here. The team does an amazing job making sure we have the right content, the right product features, and the right languages that we’re speaking to people,” Adams said. Adams sees a huge potential for Canva in India, suggesting that it could become the number one market. “I think, given the current growth trajectory, being number one is just a question of time. India is a huge market,” said the co-founder. Interestingly, even Adobe views India as a significant market that regularly utilises AI generative tools. “In India, we are seeing a good optic for Firefly. So, more and more creative business houses are starting to use this,” Mohapatra added. Meanwhile, Adobe Express has seen a threefold increase in adoption in India over the past year, driven by mobile-first access, support for local languages, and culturally relevant templates. Besides, Adobe Express is also availability in eight Indian languages, enabling more users to work with it in their preferred language and lowering barriers for regional content creators. However, she added that AI solutions “inherently build on a large hyperscaler environment. Scale at that base, it’s not an India-specific thing, and most of them are in the cloud, which is not constrained by the country.”
While Adobe Firefly generates high-quality images, users argue that the simple interface and more open-source tools give Canva a slight edge.
While Adobe Firefly generates high-quality images, users argue that the simple interface and more open-source tools give Canva a slight edge.
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["AI", "ML", "generative AI", "GenAI", "OpenAI", "Aim", "RAG", "R", "Go", "Git"]
Smruthi brings over two years of experience in reporting on the global energy industry. They hold a Master's Degree from the University of Leeds in International Journalism and a Bachelor's Degree from Christ University in Media Studies, Economics and Political Science.