Organize inspiration and generate visuals in Firefly Boards

On an infinite canvas, arrange image references and try multiple models to build concepts. Then share for feedback.

Published September 29, 2026

00:01

Introduction and meet Angelo Montilla

[Angelo Montilla]: Firefly Boards is an infinite canvas workspace for gathering inspiration, generating and refining visuals, and collaborating with others.

Hi everyone, my name is Angelo Montilla.

In this tutorial, I'll give you a high-level tour of the key features in Boards.

We'll look at how to add and organize content, generate images and video, and explore different models.

I'll also show you how to share your board for feedback.

Let's dive in and learn how Firefly Boards can help spark ideas and organize creative directions.

First, make your way to firefly.adobe.com/boards and click on Create new board.

This launches a new canvas for gathering inspiration, generating images and videos, as well as collaborating with your team.

I'll switch over to another board here where I have a visual direction for a specialty coffee brand.

Now you can see I already have one concept on the board.

However, I'd like to create a secondary visual direction, and for this I already have some content that I'd like to add to this board.

01:05

Add and arrange references to shape a visual direction

From the toolbar on the left side, I'll click on the Add content icon.

Here I can choose from Your device or Adobe cloud storage.

In this case, I'll choose Your device.

Here are the six images I'll be adding.

I'll select all of them and then click Open.

The images will appear in the loaded cursor.

I can click on the board to add them to the canvas.

Now, by default, this will organize the content on the board by rows.

However, if you want a little more control with the content selected, hover over the Arrange icon, and you can choose Columns.

This will arrange the content in columns, or if I go back to the Arrange icon, I can click Mosaic, and this just gives me another layout option, which, in this case, I like, so I'll commit to it.

I can also resize all the content to match the first direction.

Now, let's say I want to search Adobe Stock images for more inspiration.

I could do that right here in Firefly Boards by clicking the Adobe Stock icon in the right side menu.

For this example, I'll search coffee and choose an image to add to the second visual direction layout.

This image matches the look and feel of my visual direction, so I'll click Place on canvas and add it to my board.

Once it's added, I can resize it.

Next, I'd like to add the logo to the paper cup.

For this, I'll click on the logo set once, and while holding Option on a Mac, that's Alt on Windows, I'll just create another copy by dragging.

I can even crop the first logo.

With the logo selected, I'll click the Remove background icon in the floating menu to remove the color background from the logo.

Now I can place the logo on the paper cup, resize it, and rotate it accordingly.

And for another touch of realism, I'll go up to the Properties panel, and under the Appearance section, I'll click the Blend mode dropdown and choose Multiply so the logo blends into the paper cup.

I can even reduce the opacity to soften the blend.

03:05

Generate and refine images that build on your direction

Next, let's go over how to generate an image that aligns with the visual direction.

I'll click on Generate image from the bottom menu, and now I can add my text prompt here.

This focuses on generating an image of a paper coffee cup being filled with espresso.

I'll choose the Firefly Image 5 model, which is known for its photorealism and high fidelity detailed outputs.

I'll change the aspect ratio from Landscape to Widescreen.

Now I can click Generate to view my result.

If you're not pleased with your first result, remember you can always click Generate to generate another version.

I like this second variation better, so I'll click on it and add it to my board.

Now that I have this image, I can use it as a reference image to keep building on this visual direction.

For example, I'll go back to Generate image, and this time I'll switch the model from Firefly Image 5 to Gemini 3.1 with Nano Banana 2.

This model is known for its conversational editing at high speed.

I'll go ahead and add my next prompt.

Next, I can add the reference images.

I'll click on the reference image button and sample the image I just generated with Firefly.

I'll click on the Capture area as reference icon in the floating menu and capture the area of the orange logo against the blue background for my visual direction.

This adds the logo to the prompt bar as a reference image as well.

I've already added the prompt asking to place the logo from reference image 2 on the coffee cup.

I'll click Generate, and let's have a look at the result.

The Gemini 3.1 model does a fantastic job understanding that I wanted to place the logo on the cup.

It also kept the reference image unchanged.

Next, let's go over how to add a preset to this board.

For this, I want to use an Adobe Stock image, so I'll click on the icon in the right menu again.

I'll search for "trendy man" and locate the image I'd like to use for this example.

I'll choose my image from the Adobe Stock library and place it on the canvas.

05:09

Fuse a character and product into one on-brand scene

In the floating menu bar, I'll click on the Presets button and choose Character and Product, which fuses people and products into a cohesive visual story perfect for building a visual direction.

With the Preset window open, I'll click on the Character button and then choose the image I just added from Adobe Stock.

Then I'll click on the Product button and choose the image of the coffee cup under the espresso machine.

I'll click Generate to view my result.

Here's the image generated with the Character and Product preset.

I'll place it on the board.

And have a closer look.

This preset uses the Gemini 3.1 model, which does a great job at fusing the images and creates stronger results.

05:51

Generate a transition video and share the board for feedback

Now, to this point, I've gone over how to generate still images to build out this brand direction, but you're also able to generate videos within Firefly Boards as well.

First, I'll click on Generate video from the bottom menu, and I'll ensure that I clear the reference images as well as the text prompt.

I'll add my next prompt, which focuses on creating a lifestyle video that transitions between two scenes using images from my board.

I'll click on the model, and for this case, I'll choose Veo 3.1 Fast, which is known for its speedy generation and rapid iteration.

Next, I'll choose my first frame and last frame.

I'll click on the First frame button and sample the branded coffee cup image to add it as the first frame.

Next, I'll click on the Last frame button and sample the image of the man having coffee to set it as the last frame.

Now at present, the Veo 3.1 Fast model uses 160 credits.

Once I have all those settings, I'm going to click Generate to view the result.

The video has finished generating and I'll place it on the canvas and resize it to get a final look.

I'll press Play in the floating menu bar, and you can see that it transitions nicely from the coffee cup to the subject having coffee at an outdoor cafe table.

Sharing a board with your team or client for feedback is simple.

In the top right hand corner, I'll click the Share button, which launches another window.

Here I can add the email of the person I'd like to invite and choose to add them as an Editor, Commenter, or Viewer.

In this case, I just want to get feedback, so I'll add the person as a commenter.

Then I can click Invite as commenter, and that's how you can shape concepts, organize creative directions, and share Firefly Boards for feedback.

Try these methods in your own creative process to explore ideas more quickly, and share concepts with confidence.

Thanks again for watching.

My name is Angelo Montilla, and I'll see you in the next video.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Add and arrange references to shape a visual direction

Combine your own images with Adobe Stock references in one board, then arrange them by rows, columns, or mosaic to find the layout that works best. For a logo, Remove background clears the surrounding color automatically, and blend mode and opacity settings control how it sits in the scene.

Generate and refine images that build on your direction

Use a text prompt and a photorealistic model to turn a rough idea into a visual. Generating again gives you another version to choose from. Pick one as a reference for your next image, or switch to a conversational model and point it at a reference, like your logo, to direct where new details land.

Fuse a character and product into one on-brand scene

Compositing a person and a product usually means manual masking and lighting work, but a preset built for that pairing fuses a stock photo and a product shot into one image. You choose which two images go in, so the result stays true to your direction.

A visual direction can extend into motion: set one still from your board as the first frame and another as the last, and a fast video model generates the transition between them. From there, invite a client or teammate as an editor, commenter, or viewer to keep feedback on the same board.

Instruction and design by: Angelo Montilla
Adobe Stock Contributors: Drobot Dean; ijeab; Snowstudio

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General information

Cookies are small text files stored by your web browser when you use websites. There are also other technologies that can be used for similar purposes like HTML5 Local Storage, web beacons, and embedded scripts. These technologies help us do things like remembering you and your preferences when you return to our sites, measure how you use the website, conduct market research, and gather information about the ads you see and interact with.

If enabled:

We can improve your experience by tailoring the site and the content to things we think might be of interest
We can better keep track of your preferences — like what language you prefer to use
We will better understand your likely interests so we can provide you more relevant Adobe ads and content on non-Adobe websites and in non-Adobe apps
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If disabled:

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View transcript

What you’ll learn

Add and arrange references to shape a visual direction

Generate and refine images that build on your direction

Fuse a character and product into one on-brand scene

Generate a transition video and share the board for feedback