5 Best AI Design Software Tools for Product Designers in 2024

Product design is a dynamic field with ever-evolving concepts. One of the transformative forces shaping product design today is AI and generative AI. Product designers play a critical role in integrating technology and design solutions to bring out improvements in products we interact with daily.

AI tools help product designers test different design iterations allowing them to focus on creative aspects. While AI handles the grunt work, product designers can focus on collaborating with cross-functional teams and solving complex design challenges. Their skillset armour is packed with visual design tools, UX/UI understanding, user research training tools, collaborative skills with behavioural analytics, psychologists, and an overall solutions-oriented approach.

What are the Uses of AI and Generative AI in Product Design?

As technology advances, there are many tools available to product designers to enhance their work and offer them increased creative output using technology. AI tools and generative AI are actively revolutionizing the product design process:

i. It is helping product designers to automate repetitive tasks like generating wireframes, and mock-ups, testing different designs, accessibility testing, and more.
ii. Helping to analyse customer preferences and market trends, suggesting design directions, and generating design variations.
iii. Assisting in the creation of complex 3D models and high-quality visual generation of 3D models.

Global Brands Using AI Design Tools

Some common global brands using the power of AI design tools in their digital product and services are:

i. Spotify – to design personalized playlists by analysing a user’s habits and taste in music.

ii. Adidas – makes use of AI in product design for its shoe design process.

iii. Autodesk – uses generative AI design software to help a collaborative team of designers and engineers in creating more efficient and lightweight structures.

This article explores some of the leading AI-based tools available to product designers. One’s that are becoming an integral part of a designer’s toolkit.

What are the Best AI Tools for Product Designers?

1. Framer AI

Useful for: Digital product designers

What can it do: Generate ready to use UI designs for websites.

If you are a product designer with a specialization and focus on digital products – Framer AI is your go-to tool. It helps you to generate and publish a new website using AI within seconds. How? All you need to do is carefully explain in text prompts what you are seeking and allow the Framer AI to create a website for you. It allows you to then shuffle across the various colours palette, fonts and offers AI tools to generate content for your web layout.

Framer AI is known for:

i. a user-friendly interface to help product designer streamline design processes.
ii. importing designs and ease of ability to add effects.
iii. instant website development and a ready to use visual navigation setup.

2. Uizard Autodesigner

Useful for: Digital Product Designers

What can it do: Create ready to use UI interface for mobile apps and websites.

Are you working in digital product and service design? Uizard Autodesigner will be a useful AI tool for you. It allows designers to generate editable UI designs from written/ text prompts. This Autodesigner generates multi-screen designers for both mobile applications and web design. Designers can select their choice of visual style like dark or neutral app themes, formal or informal style.

Uizard is known for:

i. converting screenshots into editable designs and mock-ups.
ii. a click away to go from low to high fidelity, simplifying designer’s workflow.
iii. simplifying working as a team with its user-friendly interface and smart sharing options. Allowing multiple design team members to work together in real-time.

3. NVIDIA Omniverse

Useful for: Both tangible product designers and digital product designers

What can it do: Enhance digital design and development of 3D design.

NVIDIA Omniverse is a real-time 3D graphics and computing platform. It integrates 3D design, spatial computing, and physics-based workflows across third-party apps and AI services. Product and industrial designers rely heavily on 3D rendering models. This is where NVIDIA Omniverse comes in handy to help them visualize the product design with ease. It delivers stunning visuals bringing ideas to life.

NVIDIA Omniverse is known for:

i. real-time rendering capabilities powered by AI.
ii. advanced graphics processing technology that delivers extraordinary visual fidelity and real-time ray tracing.
iii. bringing the virtual world to life with impeccable realism, allowing product designer to finely visualize each element of their product design.

4. Clara.io

Useful for: Mostly apt for physical product designers, however, can come in handy for digital product designers.

What can it do: Create, render, and share 3D designs.

Clara makes 3D creation easy with its UI modelled on traditional desktop tools to help designers be more productive. Offering designers AI-powered 3D modelling tools, rendering, and animation. This also includes powerful modelling tools like subdivision surfaces, UV editing, and AI-based texture generation. Clara has a modern interface with responsive workflows and offers easy sharing.

Clara.io is known for:

i. multi-user editing in real-time.
ii. vRay Cloud Rendering that brings easily advanced materials, flexible lighting setups, and blazing speed.

5. Fotor AI

Useful for: Useful for both physical and digital product designers.

What can it do: Transform product design creations from sketch to real life with Fotor AI.

Fotor AI helps product designers to make digital product designs with AI from text. Designers can describe to Fotor AI their design concepts to generate a new product design in seconds. The software powered by AI generate 3D product designs in short period. From industrial product design to fashion design, its AI-generated product images meet all designer needs. The website has examples of AI in Car Design, Jewellery Design, Shoe Design, Bottle Design, and more.

Fotor AI is known for:

i. Professional product design packaging design – its AI design tool helps designer to generate their products packaging design once the product design is generated.
ii. Its AI product design features like NFT creator, 3D Face Makers, AI posters, AI Painter, etc.

Other AI based software tools to explore are Adobe Sensie, Pixyz Studio, Freeform by Autodesk amongst others. These technological innovations are a revolutionizing the product design sector. It is reducing time and effort required to generate new designs. Allowing designers to innovate, visualize, test new ideas and generate new prototypes in just a few clicks. In the digital-first era, these tools are handy for designers to explore, experiment and work with to transform their design practises.

Want to learn more about latest tools in design sector, stay tuned to the Strate Blog.