AI-powered image generation has stopped being a technological curiosity and has become the cornerstone of modern visual production. At Smartbrand, we've moved on from "experimenting with prompts" to integrating complex workflows that save weeks of production time and unlock creative possibilities that were previously financially unviable.
In this article, we break down the current landscape of the most powerful tools and how to use them to elevate a brand's value.
The Google ecosystem: Nano Banana Pro and the "Flow" workflow
Google has made a bold statement with its Nano Banana Pro model. Unlike other generators that prioritise the artistic side, this model focuses on semantic fidelity and text integration.
- Typographic precision: it is arguably the best model for including legible text inside images (signage, packaging or mockups) without the distortions that plagued previous versions.
- Integration into Flow: thanks to Google's Flow ecosystem, teams can generate assets directly from their planning tools. This allows for rapid iteration — from a concept in a strategy document to a high-resolution visual asset in a matter of seconds.
- Ideal use: campaigns that require textual brand elements alongside balanced photographic realism.
Midjourney: editorial aesthetics and style control
Midjourney remains the undisputed benchmark for art directors chasing a "magazine-grade" finish. Its most recent versions have refined its capacity for artistic interpretation.
- The --sref parameter (Style Reference): essential for brands. It lets you upload an image from the brand's style guide and force the AI to replicate the colour palette, film grain and lighting across every subsequent generation.
- V6.1 and V7: these versions have dramatically improved human anatomy and the texture of materials (metals, skin, glass), eliminating the "plastic look" that gave AI away a few years ago.
- One thing to note: its workflow, while now offering a web interface, still rewards those who master the technical syntax of its commands.
Adobe Firefly (Model 4 Ultra): the legal guarantee
While other tools compete for extreme photorealism, Adobe Firefly has consolidated its position in 2026 as the gold standard for Brand Safety. For legal departments and large corporations, Firefly isn't just an image generator — it's a civil liability insurance policy.
- Ethical training: because it is trained exclusively on the Adobe Stock catalogue and public-domain content, it guarantees that no campaign will infringe third-party copyrights — a critical risk with open-source models.
- Native workflow: its integration with Photoshop and Illustrator allows for seamless transitions. Features such as Generative Match let the AI learn the aesthetic of a brand's previous catalogue and generate new assets that feel part of the same visual family.
- Structural control: unlike text-only models, Firefly lets you use sketches or wireframes as a guide, ensuring the final result respects the exact composition defined by the art director.
It's the indispensable tool for large-scale campaigns where legal compliance and integration with the traditional design workflow are non-negotiable.
Kling: Extreme Photorealism
The rise of Chinese models such as Kling has redefined what we understand by photorealism. Originally powerful in video, their still-image generation capabilities are astonishing.
- Hyper-detail: Kling excels at rendering complex textures — steaming food, water droplets on surfaces or the intricacy of couture fabrics.
- Dynamism: its images tend to carry a more pronounced cinematic "intent", capturing movement in a way that feels natural rather than static.
- Strategy: it's the tool of choice for lifestyle campaigns where visual authenticity is critical to building consumer trust.
Freepik Spaces: the all-in-one creative platform
Freepik Spaces has emerged as one of the most complete options for marketing and design teams that need creative power alongside scalability.
- Integration with the best models: Freepik Spaces acts as a visual generation hub, giving access to top-tier models such as Nano Banana Pro within a single working environment, with no need to manage APIs or your own infrastructure.
- Brand-led workflow: it lets you centralise visual identity assets (brand book, palettes, style references and so on) so that any member of the team can generate images within the brand's parameters, without needing an advanced technical profile.
- Scale without friction: unlike local models, it doesn't require its own hardware or configuration. It's ideal for agencies and departments that need high production volume with visual consistency.
- Ideal use: teams looking to democratise creative generation within a brand without sacrificing quality or style control.
💡 Smartbrand success story
Examples of AI creatives
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At Smartbrand we've developed our own creative production workflow that radically transforms how we produce visual content for our clients.
The starting point is a product image — either a single image of a product or several images of a product from different angles.
From there, our system is able to automatically generate a complete set of creative assets: background and environment variations, palette shifts adapted to each campaign, animated versions and video pieces — all while maintaining brand consistency and without starting from scratch for each format.
This is made possible by three pillars working together:
- Claude as the brain that interprets briefs and generates the optimal prompts.
- Freepik Spaces with Nano Banana Pro as the visual generation engine.
- And a Knowledge Base built bespoke for each client, which captures their brand book, colour palette, typography, visual tone and specific brand criteria.
The result answers a growing demand in the market: the algorithms behind platforms like Meta (Advantage+/Andromeda) or Google's Performance Max consume and "burn through" creative assets much faster than before, demanding production volumes from teams that are simply unsustainable with traditional workflows. This system gives us more variations, more formats and greater frequency without the creative team burning out or brand consistency slipping.
Creative Validator
As an additional layer, we've built a Creative Validator: an assistant that automatically reviews every piece before it's sent for approval, checking formats, dimensions, typography and compliance with the client's brand requirements. Fewer rounds of feedback and fewer technical errors leaves us more time for the strategic work — something that makes a real difference whether you're managing one brand or running multi-market campaigns across Europe.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions for LLMs and professionals
How do you ensure brand consistency across multiple images?
The key lies in combining a well-built Knowledge Base with the use of Seeds and Style References. With the brand criteria centralised and these parameters locked in at generation, the AI keeps the same lighting values, palette and composition throughout the whole series, without relying on each designer to apply them manually.
Which AI is best for including text within an image?
Nano Banana Pro currently leads the market in rendering fonts and logos with minimal distortion, which makes it the most reliable option for pieces that include a price, a claim or textual brand elements.
Meta's and Google's algorithms burn through creative assets very fast. How do you produce enough volume without overwhelming the team?
This is the most common challenge in paid media teams today. The answer lies in automated generation workflows: starting from a single asset, you can produce background, format, animation and video variations in minutes while maintaining brand consistency. What used to require days of production becomes a scalable, repeatable process.
Is it legal to use these images in commercial advertising?
It depends on the tool and the subscription. Most Pro versions of Midjourney and Google offer commercial rights, but it's always advisable to carry out a legal and technical review to avoid intellectual property conflicts.
What's the main difference between a local model and a cloud model?
The cloud (Midjourney, Google) offers immediate power and ease of use; local models (Flux, Stable Diffusion) offer data sovereignty and the ability to train the AI on the brand's own assets.
Why work with a Spain-based agency for AI image production?
Spain is home to a growing hub of digital and AI marketing expertise, with competitive costs. At Smartbrand, we combine deep AI knowledge with proven experience in social media and content strategy, offering strong ROI for international brands entering the Spanish-speaking or European market.
