Reading time: 8 minutes
Published: December 17 2022
Monika Buchelt
Since the AI craze started in late 2022, I've been taking up the challenges of testing various AI tools and trying to find the answers if they apply to web design. I've already checked out ChatGPT for creating a website, and now it's time for Midjourney.
As a reminder, Midjourney is an AI text-to-image generator. You access this tool via Discord, where you type in prompts to generate images. Recently version 5 of Midjourney has been released. Currently, it's one of the most popular AI tools.
My goal was to find answers to the following questions:
I gathered all my conclusions and observations in this article. If you're interested, you can also watch a video of me using Midjourney to create a website.
At first, I decided to create a website for a yoga studio/yoga trainer. I picked this theme for one main reason - to find out how helpful Midjourney can be for a realistic, down-to-earth project and not just a conceptual mind riddle.
The way I approached this challenge was to first use Midjourney as a source of inspiration for a website layout and aesthetic. Then, based on the results I got, I created a website outline for my project. It helped me to figure out what images I would need for each site section and understand better what images I was looking for.
Once I had the website planned, I started generating images and building the website using WebWave drag and drop website builder.
As planned, I hopped onto the Midjourney to get some inspiration on how my website should look.
The first results that I got were a bit disappointing.
Even though the newest version of Midjourney was supposed to generate more modern images compared to the previous version, the results I got didn't meet the bar.
I polished my prompt to thankfully generated more satisfying results.
Generated websites looked like something that could have been a yoga-related page. I liked the color palette and the idea of a hero section consisting of one big image and some adequate text. I also enjoyed the concept of a minimalistic navigation bar with the logo in the middle separating the menu in two.
Midjourney didn't manage to generate the full website. As much as I was able to get was 2 sections. It didn't bother me that much, though. The layout of the second section was clean and grid-based. I thought that it will suit a yoga project as it should reflect calmness, mindfulness, and harmony.
After brainstorming with Artificial Intelligence, I managed to come up with a website outline for my ai-generated design. I was ready to replicate it with images.
For the hero section, I took direct inspiration from the Midjourney images. I needed to generate two images - a big landscape picture and the logo for the navigation bar.
I started with the background image. In my head, it was a landscape at sunrise, looking very peaceful and inspirational. Once I got the one I wanted I also used it as a resource of a color scheme for this project.
The design process of a logo icon was very quick. I already knew I wanted it to be minimalist and elegant and that's what I got on a first try.
For this section, I needed a big image depicting the yoga instructor. I wanted her to look professional and inviting. Unfortunately, Midjoureny struggled a bit with making people with correctly looking hands, but I eventually made it work.
I must admit that I'm really impressed that so far I managed to generate images that have stylistic harmony.
For this one, I needed three images reflecting three different types of classes offered by this yoga studio. Remembering that AI sometimes scrambles with human bodies, I was a bit nervous. As it turned out, it was completely unnecessary and in no time I got what I want.
Here I imagined two pictures showing previous editions of the retreat. So once again I needed detailed photos of people doing yoga in stunning natural environments.
I decided that my yoga studio also offers an online store. I wanted to display three main product categories on the homepages and needed the right images to serve as illustrations.
Yoga mats, reusable water bottles, and aromatherapy and skincare products were the categories I was looking for and once again, Midjourney didn't disappoint me.
The last section on this website was an invitation to the newsletter. I wanted to close it all off with once again a picture of a yoga instructor but this time in a yoga pose.
I expected it to be a challenge for Midjourney. And I was right. I needed to spend a bit more time on this, but eventually got what I wanted and was ready to create my website.
Is AI web design useful? Can you create an entire website with Midjourney? In my opinion, of course, you can. I want you to be able to judge the result by yourself, so here's the link to the finished site.
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I think Midjourney, especially version 5, can provide very convincing images that can be successfully used in web design. The final page looks very cohesive. All images match in their tone and style. It is also very suitable for the theme of the website.
To be honest with you, I doubted if Midjourney will be able to generate people in yoga poses that will not have completely discombobulated bodies. It needed some time to get it right, but it wasn't too long and for me, the results are amazing.
From the top to the bottom, each image I used in this project is AI-generated and I can wholeheartedly say that the outcome doesn't shy away from the real photographs.
It's important to remember that the key to getting such results is writing the right prompt. Here are some tips:
At the bottom of every Midjourney image in this article, I put the exact prompt that I used to get those results. Feel free to check them out for some inspiration.
I think that Midjourney web design has a lot of potential and there are many ways how you can make a use out of it. The tool itself is working better and better providing even more impressive results than.
When you have an idea in mind and you know what you want to achieve, it's a great solution to do it efficiently. Even though you have to wait a few minutes to get your results, it's still nothing compared to how long it would take to draw or photograph what you want.
AI art is a great alternative to stock photography. You don't have to use the same images as everyone else and adjust your ideas to what is available. You can in fact generate the image you want and be sure that it is truly unique. No more bending your vision because of the lack of accessibility.
However, without you, the designer, taking the role of a creative director, Midjourney is useless. Speaking from my experience, I also think that using it as inspiration, as I did with a website layout, is not the best idea. You still need to write the prompt to get the result and if you don't know what you want to make, you will not be able to write anything reasonable.
Give Midjoureny a try and find out by yourself if you would like to include a tool like this in your creative process.
Midjourney is an AI program created by an independent research lab Midjoureny, Inc. Midjoureny is an example of generative artificial intelligence. It means that it's able to generate images from prompts - descriptions of what you want to generate. The first version of Midjoureny was launched in February 2022. Version 4 was released in November of the same year and brought spectacular attention and popularity to the tool. Currently, users can use the alpha iteration of version 5.
Users can access Midjourney via their Discord server, but apparently, the work on the web interface is in progress. To generate images, you have to type the \imagine command and then the prompt.
Midjourney does offer a free plan with very limited features. You get only 0.4hr/Lifetime of a fast GPU Time and you don't have the right for a commercial use of images. Premium Plans start from $10 a month (or $8 if billed annually). You get more GPU Time and the right for commercial use. You can also access the bot via Discord DM.
Yes, Midjourney can design a website. However, it's a website builder or AI web developer so the website will not be functional. It can design a project that then you can recreate and enhance with your knowledge and skills using the right tool like WebWave drag and drop website builder.
The designs created by Midjoureny at least to some extent follow UI rules. The AI designs should be controlled by skilled UI designers so that they will be fully functional. AI tools can be useful in accelerating the design process by automating some processes.
The most popular alternative to Midjoureny is DALL-E made by OpenAI the same company that created ChatGPT. Other alternatives include Craiyon, Stable Diffusion, Jasper, Writesonic, and Lensa.
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