Note: This blog was updated October 2024.
AI has been a hot topic for years now, and the general consensus is that – while powerful and advancing fast – it can’t fully take the place of humans. Let’s discuss what AI brings to the table regarding logo creation and when you should lean on it for help.
Should You Use AI to Design Your Logo?
Creating a logo requires brand knowledge and strategy, as well as artistic ability. The visual identity of your brand speaks volumes about who you are, and it all begins with your logo. This design component is the way you visually introduce your brand to the world, and it should accurately reflect what your organization is all about. So, the million-dollar question: Should you use AI to design your logo?
Should You Use AI to Design Your Logo?
The Verdict: No
We won’t leave you the users hanging with the answer for long. We wouldn’t recommend using AI to design your B2B logo.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is great for streamlining automated tasks and projects that don’t require human knowledge. And while this technology can make some jobs easier, it can’t creatively think and plan the way that humans do. Like any tool, it has its pros and cons, but when it comes to logo creation, it may hold you back. If you want to create a logo that reflects your brand and elicits a particular message to your audience, then AI won’t be the tool for you.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use AI in other logo design instances. Here are three scenarios in which using AI will meet your logo design needs.
Verdict | Why? | Impact |
No | AI lacks creative capacity and brand strategy for an effective logo design. A logo should accurately reflect the user or brand’s identity and messaging | The logo may not properly represent the brand. Could fail to convey the right meaning and personality to the audience |
3 Advantages of AI Logo Creation
#1 — When you need something fast
AI can generate and build a logo in a matter of seconds, so if you need something quick, this technology can save the day.
Maybe you need something to put on a business card or a social media platform, and you simply can’t wait to design tools until tomorrow. In this case, using AI in a pinch isn’t a bad idea, but you may not come out with the very best logo for your brand.
At the end of the day, you can always use an AI-designed logo temporarily and then rebrand with a graphic designer when you have more time and budget.
#2 — When you are an entrepreneur
As an entrepreneur, you may not have the time or money to work with a graphic designer on a logo.
If you are just starting your entrepreneurial journey and you want to look polished and established, using AI to make a design tool your logo isn’t a bad idea. Again, this technology can spit out something temporary that you can use now but refine or redesign later.
#3 — When you are a startup brand
As a new brand in your industry, you may not know who you are yet — and that’s okay! AI can help you pinpoint logo details and how you want to appear to your audience.
This tool can create as many logo versions as you want in a matter of seconds. You can use different criteria like colors, shapes and words to elicit different responses and then compare the logos to see which one you like more. The cost will typically be low, which is another added bonus when you are in the beginning stages of company development.
Keep in mind that while AI can help in those situations, this technology truly cannot compete with the ability of a human graphic designer. Below, we’ve highlighted the three major downsides of using AI for logo creation.
3 Disadvantages of AI Logo Creation
#1 — It lacks the ability to convey deeper meaning
If you want to create a logo that elicits a specific emotion from your audience — which is what most brands aim to accomplish with their logos — then AI is not the tool for you. AI doesn’t understand semantics like humor or the deeper meaning behind certain words, colors and shapes. It simply doesn’t have the human capacity to understand what is beyond your search criteria.
For example, if you type “blue, ocean, fish” into an AI generator logo, the system won’t be able to understand anything beyond those terms, and it won’t be able to create a logo that connects those terms to your brand. The image it creates may have those elements within it, but it will be missing that vital connection.
#2 — It lacks the ability to convey personality
AI’s inability to convey personality in its creations relates to our statement above. This technology cannot convey the deeper meaning behind its designs, and it also can’t convey a specific flair or personality.
AI doesn’t know a thing about your brand. It doesn’t know your target audience, what font would work best, or how to make your logo stand out from the others in your industry.
When it comes to logo design, conveying your true personality as a company is key in making your brand stand out from the rest, and AI just can’t grasp that concept.
#3 — You can’t trademark the logo
Quick break: What is a trademark, really? The Wikipedia definition says: “A trademark is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others.”
A trademark establishes commercial use. Many brands like to trademark their logo to prevent other people from using their logo or one that is confusingly similar.
If you want to register a trademark for your AI-generated logo, you might run into problems with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This is because there are probably very similar versions of your logo already out there, and there’s no way you can guarantee that your brand is the only one using it.
Anyone can type your search criteria into an AI logo generator – intentionally or not – and get the same result. This can cause problems with protecting that IP through a trademark.
Advantages of Using AI for Logo Design | Disadvantages of Using AI for Logo Design |
1. When you need something fast | 1. Lacks ability to convey deeper meaning |
2. When you are an entrepreneur with limited time/budget | 2. Lacks ability to convey brand personality |
3. When you are a startup still defining your brand identity | 3. Logo may not be trademarkable |
Example Logos Designed by AI
We used an AI logo generator to see what would happen when we searched using the design elements from today’s most popular logos — and our logo!
Example 1: We searched using “Amazon” as the brand name with “white, orange, arrow, shopping” as other search criteria, resulting in:
Example 2: We searched “Apple” as the brand name and “white, sleek, polished” as other search criteria, resulting in:
Example 3: We searched “Altitude Marketing” as the brand name and with “mountains, blue, white, modern” as other search criteria, resulting in:
FAQs
Can I use AI art to make a logo?
Yes, you can use AI-generated artwork to create a logo design. Many AI tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion allow you to generate unique logo concepts through text prompts.
Is AI good for graphic design?
AI can be a useful tool for certain graphic design tasks like generating images, textures, patterns, and concepts. However, human designers are still needed to refine and finalize the AI outputs into polished, purposeful designs.
Can AI generate truly original logos?
AI models can produce novel and unique logo designs by combining and remixing their training data in new ways. However, there are debates around whether this constitutes true machine creativity and originality.
Can I use AI generated logo for commercial use?
In most cases, you can use an AI-generated logo for commercial purposes as long as you have the proper rights and licenses for the specific AI model used. But be cautious of potential copyright issues with training data.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, AI lacks human creative skills — but this is no surprise since AI is a robot! This technology has helped many industries simplify the execution of complex tasks, but it can’t take the place of a human artist just yet. We don’t know what the future holds for AI, but for now, it’s best to use your own human creative skills to design your B2B logo.
