Refresh Your Brand In 2025: 6 Design Hacks You Should Try

Running a small business or stepping into the world of solopreneurship often means wearing all the hats — marketer, accountant, CEO, and yes, content creator, too. And if you rang in the new year committed to giving your brand a glow-up but the thought of creating professional-looking assets is making you sweat (hi, same), Adobe Express is about to become your new favorite app. I’m not a design expert by any stretch, but this tool makes pulling off sleek visuals almost laughably easy. Think of it as the ultimate sidekick for creating everything, whether that's workshop assets, social media posts, a brand book, event flyers — without hours of added work learning how to actually use it. It’s the cheat code every small business owner, marketer, and content creator needs to craft polished visuals — regardless of your experience.

And it's because Adobe Express takes the guesswork out of design with the best of Adobe's pro-quality tools (like Photoshop and Illustrator) into an app that caters to all skill levels, regardless of experience. There are thousands of templates, hundreds of thousands of pro assets (Stock imagery, videos, fonts, shapes, and more), and commercially safe AI-powered tools. What that means: Adobe trains its Firefly generative AI models on Adobe Stock assets and openly licensed, public domain content where copyright has expired, meaning you won't be infringing on anyone's intellectual property.

So, where do you start? We've partnered with Adobe Express to bring you six tips that'll help you unlock your inner creative genius (no art degree required) in 2025. Keep reading for the design hacks guaranteed to level up your content-creating game.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but messy, unedited ones? Not so much. Adobe Express makes it ridiculously easy to clean up your visuals — think background and object removals, seamless resizing, and AI-enhanced tweaks like replacing dull backdrops with on-brand scenes that take your pics from "meh" to magazine-worthy. If you're editing videos, the tool is equally game-changing: remove backgrounds, splice clips, add animations or captions, or pull from over 200 million commercially safe and ready-to-use assets, including images, video, and audio to create polished, share-ready content for every platform.

There are just not enough hours in a day, especially when you have to spend some of that precious time tediously creating similar assets. Let's say you want to launch a series of social posts showcasing a "product of the week." Start with a template in Adobe Express, import the image of your product, customize the text, and hit resize to resize the design for any (or every) channel or medium. And once you've created one, you can create all. Using Bulk Create, you can automate the creations of dozens of variations with just a few clicks.

You know when you have the vibe in your head but can't seem to find the right stock photo? Bring your ideas to life with Adobe Express’ Generate Image feature. Type out your idea (no matter how fragmented) to create new images quickly. Or, if you have an existing image, use Style Reference by uploading a visual cue — whether it’s a color palette, dreamy Pinterest pins, existing brand kit imagery, or even a rough sketch. It can generate new imagery or designs tailored to your brand’s vibe, helping you bridge the gap between what you’re imagining and what’s on the screen.

Does your Instagram grid feel lackluster? Are you struggling with low engagement? There are a few ways to make your posts stand out (and obviously, garner views and clicks): 1) Browse Adobe Express' large library of sound effects, videos, and songs to add audio files to your posts, 2) Click Animate All to add motion to static text and images for visual interest; and 3) Maintain consistency by using Content Scheduler to queue up upcoming posts on the right channels on the right days and at right times for maximum impact. Not only can you plan, preview, and post like a boss, but you can align your content with trending moments — holidays or the latest social trend — weeks or months in advance. The content calendar also prompts fresh ideas tailored to upcoming events or trends, and it even suggests emojis and captions, so you can spend more time engaging with your audience.

Staying on brand has never been easier. Set up easy-to-use brand kits and apply brand colors and fonts to your entire design with just a click. If you’re working with a team, Adobe Express takes the chaos out of collaboration. Share projects in real time, leave comments, and co-edit designs without ever having to send an email attachment. It’s like having a shared creative workspace that everyone can access anytime, anywhere. Need to download the entire project or adjust permissions? Easy. This streamlined workflow means more time for creativity and less time chasing down files or feedback.

And because Adobe Express is integrated with other Adobe pro tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, you can receive, import, edit, and share assets without constantly downloading files or toggling between apps.

Every second counts. When you're always on the go, sitting at the computer for long stretches of time is no longer a realistic option. Adobe Express syncs seamlessly across devices, so you can jump from desktop to mobile without skipping a beat. Whether you're between meetings, running errands, or squeezing in edits on a coffee break, you can tweak designs on the go and keep everything moving smoothly.