One of a company’s fundamental branding components is its logo, which conveys a wealth of information about the company, including its personality, target audience, and values. Surprisingly, modern AI logo generators can now swiftly produce logo designs that used to take designers days to create, all in a matter of seconds. In essence, artificial intelligence logos are generated using AI software, either entirely or with AI assistance.

Are AI Logo Generators Free?

These applications are usually not free. You’re looking at paying anywheres from $10 to $50 for use of credits or as a final cost to download the logo. There is also monthly subscriptions for some software. For example, Midjourney’s AI program costs $10 per month for a basic subscription, while DALL-E charges users $15 monthly for generating about 450 images. The real question is – is the lower price worth the result?

While these images will match your literal description, there are quite a few problems associated with using AI software to design a logo that you might want to be aware of.

These are the Top 5 Problems with Creating an AI Logo

Today’s businesses and brands have much to consider when developing their marketing, advertising, and brand identity. So, it is no surprise that fast, cost-effective solutions are highly sought after, but is this always the best approach?

#1 You Can’t Trademark AI Generated Logos

Companies spend thousands, if not millions of dollars and a great deal of time to craft the perfect logo for their brand.

Repercussions when another company steals their logo concept can lead to loss of sales, misleading customers, and negatively impact your brand and how customers perceive you for years to come.

That’s why registering for a trademark symbol ‘®’ or ‘™’ next to your logo is typically a good idea to protect it under trademark laws, and prevents other businesses or brands from copying and using your established logo.

AI logos can’t be trademarked for several reasons. Essentially, AI logo software scans the internet or data mines user-uploaded images, whether copyrighted or not, with or without the artist’s permission. It then combines these elements to craft the logo.

Logo designers often build a reputation for their distinctive style or design themes. For instance, let’s say a designer is known for creating vintage-style crest logos, a unique style developed over years of work.

However, if we instruct AI systems like Midjourney or DALL-E to generate a vintage-style crest logo, they might use images from the same logo design, effectively producing images that mimic the designer’s unique style. Is this AI logo potentially violating intellectual property laws in such cases?

Moreover, since the AI logo is a blend of images collected from the web, it’s nearly impossible to prove the uniqueness of a specific logo it generates. This leaves the door open for other businesses to use a similar logo.

Additionally, copyright protection only applies to works created by humans. AI creations are considered non-original and cannot be copyrighted.

#2 No Text Generation

While the symbol, icon or image is important, typography are essential for creating an effective logo.

Typography communicates on an emotional level and has its own personality. From deciding whether to select a serif to sans-serif font, uppercase or lowercase letters, or choosing a font that’s bubbly, quirky, fun or modern – typography speaks volumes of your brand. In fact, some logos (called ‘typographic’ logos) are completely hand drawn lettering. These include such logos as Google, Louis Vuitton, Zara, and Uber to name a few.

However, AI software does not have the capabilities to reproduce text

These programs often generate jumbled, unintelligible text that resembles a foreign language. They lack a true understanding of the meaning behind text symbols, thus missing a genuine connection to the design’s purpose. Skipping typography means sacrificing a crucial element of any logo.

#3 No Editing Capabilities

It’s not unusual to want to make updates and adjustments to logos, however, since AI is a software, there is no “actual” person that you can turn to for these edits.

From changing colors and adding a tagline to refreshing the logo, adding a EST or date of establishment, an anniversary logo or turning your logo into a pride month logo, there is a lack of ongoing human input that limits any opportunity for adjustments and modifications.

Plus, when you work with a human, you can get a complete brand identity, including business cards and letter heads all completed at the same time as your logo.

The most crucial logo file format is the vector file, which can be .eps, .ai, or .svg. Vector software uses mathematical formulas to create images from points and lines. These images can be enlarged significantly, for instance, for billboards or truck branding, and still maintain sharp, clear quality. Logo design is typically done using vector software like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity, or Coral Draw.

In contrast, AI generators create pixel-based images, resulting in .jpg or .png files for your logo. These files experience a substantial loss in quality when scaled up for larger projects such as conference banners or billboards.

Without a properly scalable logo, it becomes unusable. Vector files enable flexible scaling, ensuring your logo looks excellent across various media and applications.

#5 AI Understanding is Too Literal and Generic

Example of a Logo That Can Be Created with Looka.com

For instance, when creating a logo for a computer, AI programs wouldn’t typically generate an apple image. Yet, that’s precisely what one of the world’s most famous companies, Apple, did. For them, the apple symbolizes Adam & Eve, purity, simplicity, and humanity’s quest for knowledge, exemplifying a logo rich in symbolic meaning.

Similarly, Starbucks doesn’t feature a coffee in its logo; instead, it depicts a female siren representing mystique, magic, and obsession – powerful elements to boost their brand.

Furthermore, AI generators tend to employ recurring elements and design techniques, making it challenging for your company to establish a unique presence amidst competitors.

Additionally, according to many people on YouTube and Reddit, AI-generated logos have been described as looking cheap, generic, and subpar:

“They all look so generic and lazy.”

“I’d be embarrassed to send that to a client.”

“As a client receiving that I would either think the designer incompetent or that AI was involved.”

“Terrible. Proof there’s no substitute for imagination, talent or ideas.”

Example of a ‘tech app’ logo created with DALL-E.

The Bottom Line

Should you replace a logo designer with AI? No, but you can still integrate AI into your design process. AI can serve as a source of visual inspiration, aiding your designer in grasping your requirements. However, it can’t replicate the emotional connection that comes from working with a human designer.

AI generators offer speedy and cost-effective solutions, yet they can’t replace the strategic and creative processes required to craft an outstanding logo.

Explore Supernova’s hand-drawn logo designs, meticulously created on paper and then digitized using Adobe Illustrator. Investing in a professional logo is vital for your business.

To get a unique and creative logo design, contact us to get started.