Ideogram 3.0 Deep Review & Comparison with 2.0 and 2a

Introduction

On March 26, 2025, Ideogram officially released its most powerful image generation model yet — Ideogram 3.0. The announcement sparked immediate interest across the creative AI community, with early adopters praising its leap in visual quality, realism, and creative control.

Known for its exceptional text rendering and stylish outputs, Ideogram has steadily built a reputation as one of the most innovative tools in the AI art space. With this latest release, the platform aims to set a new standard, positioning version 3.0 as its most advanced model to date.

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1. What Is Ideogram?
2. Evolution Through Versions
3. What’s New in Ideogram 3.0?
4. Prompt Comparison Test
5. The 5 Test Categories
6. Conclusion – Our Final Thoughts
   • What Did Ideogram 3.0 Get Right?
   • Where Does It Still Fall Short?
   • Which Version Performed Best?
   • Who Should Use Ideogram 3.0 — and For What?
   • Is It Worth Switching to 3.0?
   • Try It Yourself & Join the Discussion!

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1. Landing Page Design

📌 Prompt:
A photo of a bustling outdoor farmer's market with a variety of vibrant seasonal produce. There are leafy greens, fresh berries, and artisanal breads. The background has a soft green hue. At the top center, there is the market name "The Local Harvest" in a rustic, serif font. Below the market name, there is the slogan "Farm Fresh, Every Day". The main menu items "Home", "Products", "Local Farms", and "Contact Us" are centered and clear. Below the slogan, there is a large, welcoming "Shop Now" button. The overall image has warm, earthy tones, with a soft green background and gentle white borders, creating an approachable and organic feel.

This prompt tests layout composition, typography clarity, and design-friendly aesthetics. Style used: Design, aspect ratio – 16:9.

Landing Page Design – Commentary:
All three versions correctly recognized the task: creating a landing page-style composition based on a descriptive layout. Each version included an image of a farmer’s market, rendered a clear headline and slogan, and attempted to place menu items and a call-to-action button. Here's how they compared:

• Ideogram 2.0
  Delivered the most consistent result. The background image resembled a realistic photograph of a farmer’s market with a pleasant soft green hue. The title and slogan were accurately written, with no spelling or layout issues. All main menu items were present and clearly legible, and the “Shop Now” button was visible in all outputs.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 10/10

• Ideogram 2a
  Took a slightly more stylized approach, rendering the background as a graphic illustration rather than a photo. While the tone and colors matched the brief, and the text elements were mostly accurate, one or two images included minor errors in menu text or omitted menu items entirely. The “Shop Now” button was consistently present.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 7/10

• Ideogram 3.0
  Like 2a, this version produced a graphic-style background rather than a photo. However, the results were more refined: the soft green hue, rustic typography, and warm earthy tones were rendered beautifully. Text accuracy was perfect across the board, including the full set of main menu items and a clearly placed call-to-action.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 9/10

2. Character or Portrait Test

📌 Prompt:
A photo of a tender moment between a woman and a young child in an outdoor setting. The woman is closely observing a dandelion she holds. The child is blowing on the dandelion, causing its seeds to scatter in the air. The backdrop is a lush green field with trees, suggesting a serene and peaceful environment.

This category is ideal for evaluating realism, facial details, anatomy, and emotional expression. Style used: Realistic, aspect ratio – 3:4.

Character or Portrait Test – Commentary:
All three versions clearly understood the essence of the prompt — a tender, emotionally grounded moment between a mother and child interacting with a dandelion, set in a natural, outdoor environment. The output from each version was realistic and well-composed, capturing the core elements of the scene: two characters, a peaceful background, and the action of blowing on a dandelion.

• Ideogram 2.0
  The model produced consistent greenery and tree-filled backgrounds across all images. The emotional tone was clear, but in one case, the image mistakenly included two children instead of one. The subject positioning was uniform, with characters always placed on the left side, leaving the right side open to showcase the environment.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 8/10

• Ideogram 2a
  This version handled the scene with impressive balance. All images accurately depicted one child and one adult, maintaining the emotional nuance of the prompt. The positioning varied — sometimes centered, sometimes off to the right — adding visual diversity. Additionally, some outputs introduced sunlight and warm lighting, enhancing the mood and realism.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 10/10

• Ideogram 3.0
  All results were consistent and precise — a mother and one child, always shown with a lush green background and the correct dandelion interaction. The composition was more centralized, with both figures appearing in the center of the frame, creating a balanced and focused portrait-like result. While technically solid, it lacked some of the variety seen in 2a.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 9/10

3. Poster / Wallpaper Design

📌 Prompt:
A cinematic wallpaper, titled "Expeditions into the Unknown: Apollo 11 Luna Lander", about lunar exploration. The night sky is filled with twinkling stars, and the Earth appears in the background. The foreground showcases the moon's surface, with the detailed Apollo lunar lander lit by the soft moonlight. The title is elegantly written in a futuristic font. The overall mood is awe-inspiring, evoking a sense of exploration, wonder, and the unknown.

This scene puts lighting, typography, space composition, and atmosphere to the test. Style used: General, aspect ratio – 3:2.

Poster / Wallpaper Design – Commentary

This prompt tested each version’s ability to create a cinematic, space-themed wallpaper combining detailed scenery, clear typography, and a sense of visual drama. The goal was to depict the Apollo 11 lunar lander on the moon’s surface, with the Earth in the background, a star-filled night sky, and a readable title: “Expeditions into the Unknown: Apollo 11 Luna Lander”. All three versions succeeded in producing strong compositions that closely matched the concept — but with some differences in execution.

• Ideogram 2.0
  All images clearly depicted the night sky, Earth in the distance, and the Apollo lander in the foreground, positioned on the moon’s surface. The title text was accurate, free of spelling errors, and presented in a visually appropriate futuristic font. This version nailed the cinematic feel we were aiming for, with clean layout and space atmosphere.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 10/10

• Ideogram 2a
  The scene elements were all present: stars, Earth, moon, and lander. The text was readable, but there were minor mistakes in phrasing or character spacing. While the overall style worked, it lacked the cinematic impact and visual depth of versions 2.0 and 3.0. Still, a solid output for a faster model.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 8/10

• Ideogram 3.0
  Delivered a highly polished result. The background and foreground were both spot-on, with a rich night sky, crisp view of the Earth, and a detailed Apollo lander. The title was error-free, using the kind of stylized sci-fi font we described in the prompt. The visuals felt professional and immersive.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 10/10

4. Logo Creation

📌 Prompt:
A logo for a vacation tours company "Oasis", featuring a stylized palm tree with lush green leaves and golden fruits instead of letter I. The logo is set against a dark blue background with the brand name "Oasis" in gold lettering. A small earth icon is subtly integrated into the design, emphasizing travelling around the world. The overall composition is balanced with a sense of natural harmony and prosperity.

A good challenge for Ideogram’s trademark strength: combining imagery and clear text in one frame. Style used: Design, aspect ratio – 1:1.

Logo Creation – Commentary

This prompt challenged the models to create a logo for a vacation tours company called "Oasis", featuring a palm tree, an earth icon, and golden text on a dark blue background. We also asked for a creative touch: the palm tree replacing the letter “I” in the word “Oasis.” All three versions understood the branding concept well and delivered strong, visually balanced logo designs — though execution varied in details.

• Ideogram 2.0
  All images had the correct dark blue background, and three out of four featured golden text as requested. The palm tree and earth icon were consistently included, and there were no text errors. However, none of the logos used a palm tree to replace the letter “I,” and one image used white text instead of gold, slightly straying from the brief.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 8/10

• Ideogram 2a
  This version followed the color and layout prompt very closely. All outputs had a dark blue background, golden text, and the correct inclusion of both the palm tree and earth icon. Again, the palm tree was not used in place of the letter “I”, but the visual consistency was strong throughout.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 9/10

• Ideogram 3.0
  The outputs were visually appealing but showed some divergence from the prompt. All logos featured a dark green background rather than blue. Text was consistently golden, and the palm tree and earth icon were present in all images. One version did creatively replace the letter “I” with a palm tree — though it’s unclear whether that was intentional or coincidental. There was also one small text error in one of the images.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 8/10

5. Creative Use Case Test

📌 Prompt:
A cartoon-style scene of a happy banana surfing on a river of glowing lava. The banana is wearing sunglasses and riding a wooden surfboard, with dramatic waves of lava splashing around. The sky is a fiery red, and there are tiny palm trees in the background melting from the heat. Fun, surreal, and vibrant.

This prompt checks how each model handles surrealism, humor, color dynamics, and storytelling coherence. Style used: Auto, aspect ratio – 2:3.

Cartoon Banana Poster – Commentary

This prompt was designed to test each model’s ability to interpret a whimsical and surreal scenario — a cartoon-style image of a happy banana surfing on lava, wearing sunglasses, with a red sky and melting palm trees in the background. We used Ideogram’s auto style feature, allowing the model to select the most fitting visual style based on the prompt — and in this case, it performed beautifully. All versions generated fun, cartoonish compositions with vibrant colors and strong character expression.

Even though not all images showed the palm trees melting exactly as described, the overall quality across all versions was excellent — the style was cohesive, vibrant, and playful, fully matching the tone of the prompt.

• Ideogram 2.0
  Delivered bright, engaging illustrations that fully captured the playful tone of the prompt. The banana character was cheerful and wearing sunglasses, the lava was glowing, and the sky was red across all outputs. Palm trees were present, but they appeared intact and untouched — not melting, as the prompt specified.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 9/10

• Ideogram 2a
  The results were lively and cartoonish, with a consistent representation of the surfing banana in sunglasses. However, some images lacked the red sky, and while palm trees were included, they again did not show signs of heat damage or melting. Still, the overall style was strong and enjoyable.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 8/10

• Ideogram 3.0
  This version hit every point. The banana, surfboard, lava waves, and red sky were all perfectly captured. Notably, the palm trees in the background appeared blackened, creatively implying they were melting from the heat, just as described. The scene was cohesive, fun, and visually polished — and the style felt spot-on for the concept.
  ⭐ Overall impression: 10/10

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After running five very different prompts through all three versions of Ideogram — 2.0, 2a, and the brand-new 3.0 — one thing is clear: each model has its strengths, and version 3.0, while powerful, isn’t necessarily the best in every use case.