Generative AI shouldn't replace your designer

Image by Alex Knight on Unsplash

Using generative AI to create your branding or graphics may be cheaper than a designer, but along with a lack of quality guarantee there are many other issues that as a business owner you should be made aware of.

Before we get into the issues you may face should you use generative AI to create aspects of your branding, let us ask what is generative AI?

AI is artificial intelligence, it refers to machines, typically computers, that can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence.

When I talk about generative AI I am referring to programs such as Canva’s Magic Media, MidJourney, Dall-E, Adobe Firefly and ChatGPT whereby images are created by computers from a human-written prompt. This could be anything from the brand identity of your business to simple imagery or icons used to support it.

How does Generative AI work?

Generative AI uses neural networks, computer systems modelled on the human brain, to look for patterns in existing data. It can then use these patterns to create new content.

Dr Dharini Balasubramaniam, Why AI?

So as a business owner, why shouldn’t you use generative AI to create your brand identity or your brand assets?

It won’t be distinctive

The very fact that generative AI works from pattern recognition is a problem for brand design. To be memorable, a brand must stand out from the crowd and therefore be distinctive and unique. Following the pattern is not the answer.

Imagery and designs are made from a mass of information which has been fed into AI, which other people have the same access to and will be used over and over. This pool of information is limited and therefore limits creativity and originality.

Images created therefore are more likely to be a clichéd or an overused idea and therefore will not be distinctive or stand out.

All AI created imagery is fed back into the system to train it and improve it so your brand will be feeding designs made in the future, which could compromise its originality further.

It can’t be trademarked

In the UK, the copyright law enables a limited copyright term with no moral rights to computer-generated work.

“Section 178 of the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act (CDPA 1988) enables copyright protection in works generated by a computer in circumstances when there is no human author of the work. However, since copyright cannot vest in machines or non-human actors, the resulting author of a computer-generated work is the person “by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.” In this case, copyright term is reduced to 50 years, and no moral rights apply to the work.” Creative Industries: Policies and Evidence Centre, led by Newcastle University Business School

However, many AI systems do not grant all users the copyright to their creations, which limits the ability to trademark the logo for legal protection. The legal firm, Ronald Fletcher Baker noted in a 2023 article the legal implications of using MidJourney to create a logo.

“In simple terms, the use of MidJourney to create a logo comes with limitations on full ownership and control over the intellectual property (IP) rights of that logo. This, coupled with the potential liability for copyright infringement, can significantly impact a user’s ability to register the logo as a trademark, enforce it against specific third parties, or even avoid legal action.” Rebecca Roberts, Ronald Fletcher Baker

In order to ensure that a logo created in a programme such as MidJourney can be trademarked, it is recommended that it be edited further in a design programme such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to ensure that the design is varied enough from the AI generated image to then grant the person who has created it sufficient intellectual property rights.

It isn’t Ethical

When we consider generative AI uses online content without permissions or financial reimbursement of the original creators, using generative AI isn’t ethical. It is akin to copyright theft.

This then works in the reverse as the created imagery being fed back into AI becomes “stolen” too and aspects of it could be used by others in the future.

It lacks emotion

AI is rational and logical but it is not logic, it is emotion that drives brand loyalty and purchases. We buy brands and products because of how they make us feel.

Designers bring human empathy and judgement into decision making in a way that AI cannot. AI isn’t emotional - the designs and imagery created will therefore lack an emotional resonance.

It can also not predict how complex emotional humans will react to something that has been designed, whereas designers use their gut in combination with their expertise.

AI is not a branding expert

AI generates from a limited source of online imagery, but the true skill is in the prompting and what the person is telling the AI to do. Any imagery created will only be as “good” as the prompts.

Along with the decision-making, the feedback given to the AI programme during this process, is where we need expertise. Expertise that AI does not provide because AI is not a branding expert. Ensuring the relevance of any created assets to the brand is going to require a brand and design expert to make the right decisions.

It can be time-consuming

Having trialled AI to make images myself, I have found it an incredibly frustrating experience not being able to control it as much as I would like. It may seem simple: that the prompt creates an image, but it is trial and error. It takes a significant amount of time and effort and as a business owner, it is time that could be spent elsewhere in the business. In getting exactly what you intend, a designer would be better suited to respond to feedback in order to get to the best design for the brand.

How we can use AI in brand design

In saying all this, AI can be a useful tool in the design process. Here are some ways in which AI can be used to enrich and quicken the design process in order to create better brands.

Ideas Generation

AI can be used to generate imagery that can inspire ideas. When generating concepts, we often use sources of inspiration such as Pinterest, Designspiration, Instagram and other internet sources. Creating something in an AI programme can be a good way to add something new to the mix. When used in combination with other inspiration, it could prompt something unique and unexpected, levelling up our ability to generate ideas.

Moodboard imagery

In order to sell an idea in or create a moodboard that truly encapsulates what the brand is about, we can use AI to create moodboard imagery that may be hard to find elsewhere.

Here the caveat is that using Photoshop to create our own imagery out of an amalgamation of other images, either our own, paid for stock or free to use imagery, is more ideal as we have better control, however this takes a significant amount of time. We may be able to create something with programmes such as MidJourney in minutes if we prompt it correctly.

Critique and analysis

We can use ChatGPT to critique our brand presence, for example, our Instagram or our website from which we can take helpful pointers. Whilst this isn’t a substitute for genuine market research and strategic knowledge, it can be a quick starting point when timing is tight.

In conclusion

AI should not be used to create brand identities for your business.

AI creates content from recognising patterns, but in branding it is patterns we want to avoid; successful brands disrupt. AI is also a logical system using patterns to create a rationale, but brands don’t sell based on rationale - brands sell on emotion. Entrusting the creation of the identity of your brand and brand assets to a non-emotional machine seems non-sensical.

Development of generative AI is still in its infant stages and whilst it is still new, there is uncertainty as to the legal implications in using it, especially where copyright and ownership is concerned.

AI is a computer programme and should not be considered the expert. However, with expert direction, AI can be useful to deepen, enrich and quicken the design process. It can be used for the generation of ideas and moodboard imagery and with expert direction, it can provide a useful analysis of the existing brand presence.

When used in collaboration with a design and branding expert, AI can be a useful tool.