For Graphic Designers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll be using Midjourney to generate visual references for new client projects in 15 minutes instead of 60 — producing a working mood board from a text prompt that you can refine, present, and use to anchor client conversations about visual direction before you open Illustrator.
What you'll need
If you don't have Discord, go to discord.com and sign up — it's free. Then:
What you should see: A Discord server with multiple channels. The newbies channels are where you can start generating immediately.
/subscribe and press EnterWhat you should see: Your Discord account becomes verified as a subscriber, and you gain access to the full generation system.
Working in public Midjourney channels means your prompts and generated images are visible to everyone. For client work, set up a private Discord server:
Easier alternative: Use midjourney.com/app directly — the web interface is private, faster, and doesn't require Discord management.
What you should see: The Midjourney web app at midjourney.com/app — a cleaner interface with an image gallery and a prompt field at the bottom.
The formula for a good mood board prompt: [subject/mood] + [style reference] + [color palette] + [composition notes] + [technical flags]
Example for a luxury wellness brand:
editorial luxury spa campaign, natural light photography, warm earth tones, linen textures, minimalist composition, soft diffused light, Pantone 7527 cream and sage green palette, still life arrangement --ar 3:2 --v 6
What you should see: A grid of 4 images matching your description. Below each image are upscale (U) and variation (V) buttons.
What you should see: Upscaled images are full resolution (typically 1024px+) suitable for presentation use.
Luxury / premium brand:
[product type] brand campaign, premium editorial photography, [color palette], minimalist composition, natural light, [material texture references] --ar 3:2 --v 6
Playful / consumer brand:
[brand type] branding visual direction, bold graphic design, [color palette], flat illustration style, geometric shapes, energetic composition --ar 1:1 --v 6
Professional / corporate:
[industry] brand photography, confident professional aesthetic, [color palette], architectural environment, clean lines, natural light --ar 16:9 --v 6
Artisan / craft brand:
handmade [product type] brand aesthetic, craft textures, natural materials, warm analogue photography style, organic imperfection, [color palette] --ar 3:2 --v 6
Typography-forward / editorial:
editorial design layout concept, [publication type], bold typography hierarchy, [color palette], grid-based layout, print magazine aesthetic --ar 2:3 --v 6