Midjourney for designers: how to write prompts and where to use it

Step 1

Choose a plan and find where to generate

You need a subscription to start. As of November 2026, Midjourney offers four plans: Basic ($10 a month), Standard ($30), Pro ($60) and Mega ($120), with a 20% discount for paying a year upfront. There's currently no free trial on the website or in Discord: a limited trial is available only in the niji・journey app for iOS and Android. You generate on the Create page at midjourney.com: type your prompt into the Imagine bar and Midjourney creates a set of four images.

💡 The smallest plan is enough for learning. Standard and above add Relax mode with unlimited image generations.

Step 2

Write short, specific prompts

The official documentation recommends short prompts that clearly describe what you want to see: "colored pencil illustration of bright orange California poppies" works better than a long instruction like "show me lots of poppies and make them bright". A good prompt answers a few questions:

• •subject: who or what is in the frame;
• •medium: photo, watercolor, 3D render, line illustration;
• •environment, lighting and color: where, what kind of light, what palette;
• •mood and composition: calm or energetic, close-up or bird's-eye view.

💡 Use specific numbers ("three cats" instead of "cats") and precise words ("enormous" instead of "big"). Describe what should be there, not what shouldn't: there's a separate parameter for exclusions.

Step 3

Learn the basic parameters

Parameters go at the very end of the prompt, after a space and two dashes, with no commas or full stops. These are the ones designers need most often:

• •--ar: aspect ratio; images are square (1:1) by default, --ar 16:9 gives a wide banner, --ar 9:16 a vertical for stories;
• •--no: what to leave out of the frame, such as --no text, people;
• •--s (stylize): how much artistic freedom the result gets, from 0 to 1000, default 100; lower values stay closer to the prompt;
• •--raw: less of Midjourney's default styling, more control;
• •--tile: a seamless pattern for backgrounds and textures.

💡 Change one parameter at a time and compare the results. That way you learn what actually affects the image instead of guessing.

Step 4

Work with references

Text isn't the only way to explain what you need. Midjourney lets you add images to a prompt: an Image Prompt influences content, composition and colors, while a Style Reference (--sref) carries over only the overall style (colors, medium, textures, lighting) without copying objects or people. --sw controls how strongly the style applies, from 0 to 1000 (default 100). Another tool is Personalization: profiles and moodboards that teach Midjourney your taste. Uploaded files can be up to 10 MB.

💡 With a style reference, keep the prompt text simple: describe what to show, not how to change the reference. "Detailed portrait of a dog" works better than "the look of this image but a dog".

Step 5

Know where to use it and where the limits are

In a designer's work, Midjourney is most useful early on: moodboards and finding a visual direction, illustrations for landing pages and presentations, backgrounds, textures and patterns, and concepts for a client before you spend a day on final graphics. It won't replace a finished interface or logo: results always need selecting and refining. Then there are rights:

• •under Midjourney's rules, the images you create belong to you, but companies with annual revenue above $1,000,000 must use the Pro or Mega plan;
• •hiding your generations from other website users (Stealth Mode) is only available on the Pro and Mega plans;
• •Midjourney doesn't give copyright advice: laws differ between countries, so check before commercial projects;
• •don't upload client designs under NDA or other people's work without permission.

💡 In May 2025, the community ran an AI challenge: the landing page's logo, copy and visuals had to be generated by AI, and participants shared their prompts. A task with a deadline is the best way to see where the tool helps and where you finish things by hand.