I can’t say AI isn’t affecting Creative Industries as it’s decimating all of them right now – with Graphic Design just about hanging in there and it’s hugely frustrating for us designers right now.

AI obviously has lots of benefits and I now use it myself occasionally, but merely as a tool like other design programs I work with. I won’t use it for logo design for obvious reasons but for other parts of my job such as extracting text into editable formats for example. 

Using AI for actual logo creation might seem great at first as it’s super-quick and extremely cheap however it does throw up a lot of issues and here are just some of them I’ve learned about:

Lack of Originality
Have you seen your Facebook timeline recently? It is populated with the same ubiquitous design. Pubs, restaurants, bars, clubs, schools, shops and businesses are all showing the same generic AI generated posters. With logo design it’s the same – AI pulls from existing brand logos and stock images so your shiny new AI logo won’t be unique to your business and could well look like one of your competitor’s. This could also leave you with a huge financial headache….

Copyright, trademarks, registering and ownership issues
Due to AI scouring the internet for similar logos, your new logo will make it very difficult to prove it’s your own if you ever want to copyright your logo – and may not be possible to register as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office. You may also be contacted by a competitor or their solicitor to cease using your logo if it is deemed too similar to theirs.

Print Production issues
Your new AI logo will cause huge pre-production print issues as it uses pixels rather than vector points, which are industry standard files for all printers and signage companies. Pixels are used in jpegs and png files and are not scalable upwards, so forget about printing your logo any larger than it appears on screen. Thinking about getting your AI logo embroidered on to work-wear or new sign for your building? Your supplier will ask you for a vector version as their machinery will not accept a low resolution jpeg or png file. A Graphic Designer will have to redraw your logo in Adobe Illustrator as a vector graphic which, depending on your design, may not be possible or look like your AI generated logo – depending on complexity of design, colour and if any colour gradients are used.

Colour
AI also uses RGB colour space rather than CMYK so if your logo uses a vibrant colour such as bright blue or purple, it’s going to look very different when printed. 

Typefaces and Fonts
AI doesn’t use original typefaces as it just mimics ones online, so licensing for brand fonts is not possible or recreating additional branded items in a similar style. 

Reputational Risk & Trust
Clients and customers are becoming more aware in spotting AI generated graphics, logos and posters. Some people are actively boycotting products and businesses who use it in the branding and advertising. A logo is the face of your business and should be unique to your company. 

These are just a few issues I have encountered, I’m sure there will be more to come so, choosing a human rather than AI is always a better option in the long run in my opinion and something to think about for the future.