A large cohort of creative professionals are sick and tired of AI generators, and I totally get it. If you’re looking for a breath of fresh air in the design software space, then Distinct AI’s brand-new tool, VectorFX, could be exactly what you need. It’s a standalone PC-based application (not a plugin) that runs generative AI locally using your device's CPU, and can generate quality text-to-SVG outputs in a matter of seconds.
I’ve been using VectorFX, among other editing applications, for a few weeks to design and create a new photography logo for my business, and I’m impressed with the results. It’s important to note that VectorFX is not intended to be a one-stop-shop for creating your final output, but is an excellent tool for graphic designers that plays nicely with software such as Corel Draw, Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Affinity – where you can further edit and tweak your design in a scalable SVG format.
This means that you can expand your creativity with endless prompts (no credits or subscriptions necessary) to get the desired results with VectorFX, and apply these to your existing projects or use them as a starting point to build upon. If you’re a graphic designer looking to speed up your workflow and accelerate your productivity, then VectorFX could be the perfect asset.
(Image credit: Future)
How to use Vector FX
I haven’t updated my photography logo in over 10 years (yikes, I know), and I’m not a graphic designer by any means. So I welcomed the opportunity to give VectorFX a spin and see how it could be used to help me get the ball rolling with my logo creation from scratch. I combined this with help from Photoshop and used my Honor tablet with a stylus pen for the final touch-ups.
What I ended up with was a newfound appreciation for graphic design, and a fun logo I wouldn't have been able to make alone, and that does the job for now until I can get a professional to take the reins by finessing my design. I've put together a video below of my first impressions of VectorFX, plus an honest account of what it was like to use, and the final output that I was able to get from tinkering around with this software.
Watch me use VectorFX below
With VectorFX, you’re starting with a completely blank canvas (unlike with Distinct AI’s other application, Vision FX, which I also tested out last year), so you really need to get creative and descriptive with your prompts for the best results.
I found sometimes that the less descriptive I was, the better the outcome when creating my photography logo. The lack of negative prompt options meant that the application would often interpret a prompt with more flair than I had originally hoped for. Adding things like “black and white only” and “no text” to the prompt really helped fine-tune the results to what I had in mind.
I love that VectorFX is super accessible to any creative, no matter what kind of hardware they’re working with, and this is because the compatibility model that the application ships with operates using your device CPU, offering smooth performance even if your hardware lacks a more advanced GPU with a lot of VRAM.
This does come with some limitations, however, since the compatibility model only offers an output resolution of 512 x 512. This won’t make a huge impact if you intend to create more simplified vectors, and is still a great option for those that require scalable-based output.
Who is Vector FX for?
(Image credit: Future)
For designers working on more complex projects, there is the option to upgrade (for free) to VectorFX’s quality model which you can download from the company’s website. This model will produce better quality outputs, at 1024 resolution, though will require that your device has a capable CUDA, NVIDIA, or Intel GPU to run the application smoothly.
The results produced are of much higher quality from an artistic perspective, but not everybody will be able to use this model with ease, compared with the VectorFX compatibility model. Both options are great, but there’s definitely a notable difference in quality once you get into the more complex projects, but that’s down to you to experiment with.
No matter which model of VectorFX you’re running, you get the peace of mind that whatever you produce is commercially covered and safe to use, with no hidden costs, no cloud data, no limited credits, and no hidden subscription fees. VectorFX requires a one-off payment of just $129.99 and is geared specifically to help users produce a fully editable SVG file for logo design, apparel merchandise, and other creative outlets.
Is Vector FX replacing artists?
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(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
There’s no denying that generative AI software and the creative industries are at a bit of a crossroads, but Distinct AI assures that its applications in no way aim to replace the designer or design software, but only intend to help augment the workflow and accelerate the productivity of the designer.
As Chris Pierce from Distinct AI tells me “a lot of these companies that are building AI do it purely to join the AI bandwagon, and are trying to build AI for the sake of building AI, while jamming it into the creative professional’s face. We are not doing that, we are building AI to legitimately help other creatives because AI is here, and we want to enable creators to create better, faster, and more truthfully”.
Head to Distinct Plugins.io to find out more about VectorFX, and VisionFX 2.0, the company's advanced image-to-image AI generator.
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Beth is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer and has the fun job of finding you the very best prices and deals on creative tech. Beth kicked off her journalistic career writing for Digital Camera World, and has since earned bylines on TechRadar too. With a Masters degree in Photography, Beth loves getting to tinker with new cameras, especially camera phones, as the resident Samsung fan on the team. Her background working as a tester for CeX let her play around with all kinds of weird and wonderful products, including robots, and she’s recently gotten into 3D printing too. Outside of CB, you’ll find her gaming on her PS5, photographing local shows under the alias Bethshootsbands, and making TikToks of her dog, Tilly.
