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March 13, 2025

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As AI increasingly makes its way into the UI designer’s toolkit, Midjourney is fast becoming one of the most popular image generators. 

With a simple text prompt, you can use Midjourney AI to create custom digital artworks, whip up an app screen, design individual UI elements, and generate colour palettes—all in a matter of seconds.

For UI designers, this can really accelerate the ideation process and help you expand your own creativity. 

So how does Midjourney AI work? And how can you leverage it in the UI design process? Let’s take a look. 

What is Midjourney AI and how does it work?

Midjourney is a generative AI tool created by Midjourney, Inc.—an independent research lab based in San Francisco.

Midjourney AI generates images and digital artworks based on text prompts. If you enter a prompt asking for an image of a mermaid swimming underwater surrounded by marine life, Midjourney will generate four versions for you to choose from. The more specific your prompts, the better—but we’ll get to the art of prompt-writing for Midjourney in a later section. 

Midjourney works within the Discord platform. Discord is an instant messaging app, commonly used to create communities where users can chat via text, voice, and video. Discord essentially facilitates communication between the user and the Midjourney bot.

Midjourney uses two key machine learning technologies:

  • Large Language Models (LLM): this is how Midjourney understands and interprets the text prompts provided by the user.
  • Diffusion Models (DM): in very simple terms, this technology converts random visual noise into a meaningful image. You enter a text prompt, which sparks a field of visual noise. The AI then progressively removes that noise in incremental steps, eventually resulting in an image that resembles what you’ve asked for. 

Now we know what Midjourney is and how it works, let’s drill down to some key functions and features. 

What can Midjourney AI do? Key features

Midjourney’s core function is to convert text prompts into images. This allows you to generate unique digital artworks and graphics in a range of styles. 

You can guide the image generation process by applying custom parameters to your prompts. You might specify a certain aspect ratio, for example, or a particular style such as ‘watercolour’ or ‘flat design’. 

You can also customise the quality of your images by specifying, within your prompt, a value for the rendering quality. You might specify ‘q 1’ (that’s the default quality level) or request that images be rendered to a higher quality by specifying ‘q 2’ in your prompt. 

Once you’ve entered your prompt, Midjourney will give you four different image versions. You can choose to upscale a particular version, which will increase the size/dimensions of the image and also improve the quality. 

Beyond image generation, Midjourney serves as a great source of community and inspiration. You can share your creations and browse images created by others, allowing you to see what’s possible with Midjourney and sparking ideas for your own work. 

How to get set up on Midjourney AI

To use Midjourney AI, you’ll need to create both a Discord account and a Midjourney account. 

If you’re not already a member, first head over to the Discord platform and follow the instructions to create your account. Once you’re signed up, join the official Midjourney Discord server by clicking the ‘Accept invite’ button. 

You’ll then find yourself in the “Getting started” channel, where you can create your Midjourney account (if you haven’t already done so) by clicking “Get your Midjourney membership” (visible in the chat):

This will take you to a separate page, the Midjourney showcase, where you can click “Sign up” in the bottom left corner to create your Midjourney account. 

Once you’re signed up and logged in to Midjourney, you can navigate back to the Midjourney Discord server and enter one of the so-called “newbie” bot channels. You’ll find available newbie channels on the left-hand side.

You can then enter your own prompts into the chat box to start generating images. 

At the time of writing, Midjourney is no longer offering a free trial for new users. If you want to start prompting, you’ll need to sign up for a paid subscription. 

How much does Midjourney AI cost?

Midjourney offers four price tiers:

  • Basic Plan for $10 per month or $96 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €9 per month / €89 per year)
  • Standard Plan for $30 per month or $288 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €28 per month / €267 per year)
  • Pro Plan for $60 per month or $576 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €55 per month / €533 per year)
  • Mega Plan for $120 per month or $1,152 per year with an annual subscription (that’s around €111 per month / €1,066 per year). 

For more information about each price tier and what’s included, visit the official Midjourney pricing page.

How to use Midjourney AI in UI design (with example prompts)

Midjourney can generate custom visuals in a matter of seconds—making it an incredibly interesting tool for UI designers. You can use Midjourney to quickly create screens and individual UI components, come up with themes, styles, and colour palettes, and generate unique digital artwork. 

Note, however, that the graphics you create with Midjourney won’t necessarily be directly usable—and working with Midjourney doesn’t eliminate the need to create your own screens and elements using the usual UI tools like Sketch and Figma. If you generate an app screen with Midjourney, for example, you’ll still need to actually create that screen from scratch yourself. 

Where Midjourney really comes in useful is helping you to explore different ideas and concepts and gather inspiration. You might use your AI-generated artwork to inspire mood boards, kick-start an ideation session, or serve as a guide for certain layouts or colour schemes. 

With that, let’s consider some examples of how to use Midjourney for UI design. 

Use Midjourney AI to generate app screens 

If you’re designing for mobile, Midjourney can help you ideate layouts and designs for various app screens. If you’re designing a dating app, for example, you might try the following Midjourney prompts:

  • /imagine a vibrant and fun login screen for a dating app, with an eye-catching background, username and password fields, and buttons for login and social media sign-ins
  • /imagine a user profile screen for a dating app, featuring a large profile picture at the top, user bio, interests, and match percentage displayed in a clean layout
  • /imagine a match screen for a dating app, showing potential matches with profile pictures, a brief bio, and buttons to like, dislike, or super like
  • /imagine a chat screen for a dating app with a clean interface, message bubbles, timestamps, and an input field at the bottom

Create UI components such as icons, buttons, and logos 

Perhaps you want inspiration for the finer details of your app or website. In that case, try using Midjourney AI to create individual UI components such as icons, buttons, and logos. Here are some prompt examples to guide you:

  • /imagine a set of modern buttons for a mobile app, including primary, secondary, and disabled states, using a black and white colour scheme
  • /imagine a collection of minimalist icons for a mobile app, including icons for home, search, messages, settings, and notifications
  • /imagine a sleek and modern logo for a dating app, incorporating elements of connection and love, with a vibrant colour scheme

Generate theme and style concepts 

In the early stages of the design process, you might focus on coming up with an overall visual style for your website or app—and Midjourney can help with this, too. Specify your vision or initial ideas and let Midjourney bring them to life. 

Consider the following prompt examples:

  • /imagine a light mode theme for a productivity app, featuring white backgrounds, soft grey UI elements, and navy blue highlights
  • /imagine a dark mode theme for a music app, with black backgrounds, dark grey UI elements, and neon pink highlights
  • /imagine a vibrant and colourful theme for a creative design app, with bold colours like orange, pink, and teal, playful typography, and dynamic UI elements

Create custom website imagery 

Imagery plays an important role in UI design, helping to reinforce brand identity and enhance the visual appeal of your website or app. 

Whether you want to create cartoon-style illustrations, abstract artwork, or realistic images of products, places, or people, Midjourney can generate custom imagery that reflects your brand and vision. 

Here are some examples of how you might prompt Midjourney to generate images for different use cases:

  • /imagine a stunning hero image for a tech startup website, featuring abstract technology elements and a modern cityscape in the background
  • /imagine a set of custom illustrations for a health and wellness website, featuring people doing yoga, eating healthy, and meditating
  • /imagine a unique background image for a creative agency website, with abstract shapes and vibrant colours

Generate colour palettes 

Perhaps you want help coming up with the perfect colour palette, or you’ve already got a colour scheme in mind and want to see how it looks in practice. Again, Midjourney is an excellent source of inspiration here. Simply specify the kind of look and feel you’re aiming for and Midjourney can generate multiple colour palettes accordingly.

Consider the following prompt examples to guide you:

  • /imagine a pastel colour palette for a wellness app, featuring soft shades of mint green, blush pink, lavender, and light grey
  • /imagine a bold, split-complementary colour palette for a fitness app, comprising three colours
  • /imagine a monochromatic colour palette for a finance app

How to write effective prompts for Midjourney AI

As with all generative AI tools, the quality of the output depends on the quality of the input. In other words, it’s up to you to tell the AI what you want—and to master the art of prompt-writing for the specific tool you’re using. 

Here are some tips to help you write effective prompts for Midjourney AI:

  • Start each prompt with the /imagine command, followed by a description of what you want the AI to create.
  • Keep it simple and specific. To quote the official Midjourney guidelines for prompt-writing: “The Midjourney Bot works best with simple short phrases that describe what you want to see. Avoid long lists of requests and instructions.”
  • Specify what you want the image to include, rather than what you don’t want it to include. Even if you specify “no flowers” in your prompt, the AI will likely only focus on the word “flowers” and therefore create an image that does indeed contain flowers. If you absolutely want to exclude something from the image, use the “no” parameter. For example: – – no flowers.
  • If necessary, specify your desired aspect ratio using the following parameter: – – ar [value]. If you wanted to generate an app screen, you could specify – – ar 16:9.
  • Use the stylize parameter to control the level of artistic flair that Midjourney injects into each image. If you imagine that the default level, 2500, gives you a medium level of stylization, you can dial it up or down by specifying values higher or lower than 2500. If you wanted to generate an image of a garden that’s more realistic than artistic, you might specify – – stylize 500. If you wanted to create an image of a garden that looks magical and fantastical, you might specify – – stylize 3500.
  • Use the quality parameter to adjust the level of quality and detail in the image. – – q 1 is the default, so work from that value to dial the quality up or down. 

Most importantly, be prepared to experiment. The more you use Midjourney, the more intuitive the art of prompt-writing will become. You’ll start to get a feel for what works and see how different words, phrases, and parameters influence the output. 

Ethical considerations when using Midjourney AI

If you’re using Midjourney AI (or indeed any AI tools) throughout the design process, you must take care to use it responsibly. Here are some of the most important ethical considerations to bear in mind.

Intellectual property and copyright

When generating images with AI, be careful about replicating existing images or artworks created by other artists or designers. You might use a famous logo for inspiration, for example, but you wouldn’t want to emulate the style too closely to the point of copying. 

Deceptive and misleading content

This is like the visual equivalent of fake news—creating image-based content that deliberately deceives, misleads, manipulates, or spreads misinformation. Don’t do it!

Stereotypes and bias

It’s well-documented that AI can and does perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. As a human user, you must be diligent about actively looking out for such biases and taking steps to mitigate them.

Strive to generate images that are inclusive and representative of diverse groups. If you generate an image that doesn’t feel inclusive or could potentially exclude or harm certain people, don’t use it. You can learn more about the importance of designing inclusive content in this guide. 

As a general rule: always review AI-generated content with a critical eye, and use your better judgement. As a human user, it’s your responsibility to consider the impact of any content you create—and to ultimately decide what makes it into the public domain. 

The takeaway

Midjourney AI can generate custom images in seconds, making it an excellent tool for gathering inspiration, sparking your own creativity, and ideating and exploring different design concepts, layouts, and styles. 

Whether you use it to generate fully-fledged app screens, individual UI elements, impressive artworks, or colour palettes: Midjourney AI is a powerful addition to your UI design toolkit. 

Ready to get started with Midjourney AI? Experiment with different prompts and use cases, explore other Midjourney users’ creations, and be mindful of the ethical considerations we’ve laid out in this guide. You’ll soon be generating images like a pro! 

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From Prison to Purpose: How Tuan Huynh Brewed Redemption Into VietFive Coffee

When you walk into VietFive Coffee in Chicago’s West Loop, the first thing you notice isn’t the rich aroma of Vietnamese Robusta beans. It’s the energy. Strangers sit shoulder-to-shoulder, conversations spark, and a sense of belonging fills the air. For founder Tuan Huynh, this space is far more than a café. It’s proof that redemption is real.

Tuan didn’t set out to build a coffee brand. He set out to rewrite a life story that once seemed destined to end behind prison walls. Today, he’s not just serving bold coffee; he’s serving hope, heritage, opportunity, and community.

The Darkest Chapter

Tuan’s early life was marked by conflict. Born in Vietnam, his family fled to the U.S. when he was just three years old, carrying little more than hope for a better future. They settled in government housing, where poverty pressed down on daily life. Like so many kids searching for belonging, Tuan got swept into the culture of gangs and drugs. At just 18 years old, barely an adult, his life took a devastating turn.

Convicted of first-degree murder, Tuan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. He spent the next decade and a half in Lansing Correctional Facility, one of the country’s maximum-security prisons.

Prison has a way of stripping people of their identity. For many, it cements a cycle of despair. But for Tuan, it became the crucible where transformation began. “Even in the darkest places,” he says, “I knew my story wasn’t finished.”

Choosing Creativity Over Despair

Inside those walls, during the latter half of his prison experience, Tuan chose to reimagine his life. He leaned into art and design, creative outlets that gave him purpose and revealed a talent for visual storytelling. Every sketch, every concept was an act of defiance against the idea that his future had already been written.

When he was finally paroled on June 21st, 2011, a date and time he still recalls with reverence, Tuan stepped into a world that had changed beyond recognition. He was a free man, but freedom didn’t come with an instruction manual. He carried the stigma of incarceration, the weight of lost time, and the daunting task of rebuilding from scratch.

A Door Opens in the Most Unexpected Place

Determined not to waste his second chance, Tuan pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Conceptual Design. His portfolio caught the attention of the world’s largest advertising agency, which offered him a role in Chicago. For a refugee kid who had once been told he would never amount to anything, it was validation.

But something was still missing. After eight years in advertising, Tuan felt the pull of something deeper, something personal. On a trip back to Vietnam, the first since leaving as a child, he discovered his family’s legacy: generations of farmers cultivating Robusta coffee. That revelation ignited a vision.

Coffee, he realized, could be the perfect medium. It wasn’t just a drink. It was heritage, resilience, and connection poured into a cup. And with that, VietFive was born.

Tuan Huynh (right) with his uncle

Building VietFive Against All Odds

Launching a business as a formerly incarcerated person was no small feat. Doors closed before Tuan could step through them. Banks hesitated, investors doubted, and skeptics assumed his past would define his future. But Tuan refused to let rejection write his story.

Instead, he built VietFive from the ground up, importing beans from his family’s farm, shaping the brand through design, and pouring his heart into creating not just a business, but a movement.

VietFive is vertically integrated, meaning Tuan controls the process from farm to cup. That ensures authenticity, quality, and fair practices. But more than that, it provides every sip tells a story. A story of Vietnamese resilience. A tale of personal redemption.

The Power of Representation

For Tuan, VietFive is not just about coffee. It’s about representation. Too often, the stories of immigrants, refugees, and formerly incarcerated people are missing from mainstream narratives. By building VietFive, Tuan created a stage where those voices can’t be ignored.

“When people drink our coffee,” he says, “I want them to taste more than flavor. I want them to taste legacy, survival, and pride.”

That representation extends to the community VietFive has built. Walk into the café, and you’ll see it as a true “third space” where all are welcome. From business leaders to students, from immigrants to lifelong Chicagoans, VietFive has become a gathering point for connection.

Turning Pain Into Purpose

Tuan’s proudest achievement isn’t revenue numbers, though VietFive is on track to approach seven figures this year. His real pride is seeing familiar faces return, watching conversations unfold, and knowing that his café has become a home for many.

The struggles he faced, incarceration, rejection, and underrepresentation, didn’t vanish. But he reframed them. Each obstacle became a stepping stone, each “no” a chance to persist, each bias an opportunity to prove that transformation is possible.

In Tuan’s words, “VietFive is not just about beans. It’s about belonging.”

A Vision for the Future

Tuan’s mission is clear: to elevate Vietnamese Robusta on the global stage, to create spaces of connection, and to rewrite narratives that society often overlooks. He envisions VietFive not only as a coffee brand but as a global movement rooted in heritage and social impact.

For the Asian community, VietFive stands as an affirmation, proof that their culture, history, and voices belong at the table. For those who carry the weight of incarceration or failure, it’s a beacon of hope that broken beginnings can lead to beautiful new chapters.

Redemption in Every Cup

At its core, VietFive is more than coffee. It’s a story of redemption steeped into every brew. It’s the story of a refugee child who stumbled, a prisoner who refused despair, and an entrepreneur who now builds bridges where walls once stood.

When you sip VietFive, you’re not just tasting Robusta, you’re tasting resilience. You’re part of a narrative that proves our past does not define our future.

As Tuan Huynh himself puts it: “VietFive is my second chance in a cup. And I want every person who walks through our doors to feel that same possibility, that no matter where you’ve been, there’s always a way forward.”

Connect with Tuan Huynh

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Understand Conversions with Attribution

To win your customers, you need to run many marketing activities across multiple channels. And then those conversions came pouring in, but you don’t exactly know where those conversions come from since there are too many ongoing activities. That’s what marketing attribution does. By assigning credit to touchpoints, you can gauge how effective each touchpoint is to the conversion.

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Pain points and gain points are not necessarily new concepts, but some might think they are opposing concepts, when in contrast, the two complement each other. Through customer pain and gain points, you can get a better understanding of your customers’ needs, and offer a unique value proposition.

  • Pain point: As the name suggests, it’s something that “pains” your customers; an issue that they have that needs to be addressed; a challenge that they need to overcome.
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  • Consideration: The customer is aware of your brands but also your competitors’;, they start wondering which of the options they should choose from.
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