An AI-generated logo for one of the most ridiculous business ventures ever conceived.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) can help you with many tasks — from writing code and generating stories to summarizing emails and creating images. You can use AI to help you create a logo.
To use gen AI tools for making a logo, you have several options. While you can opt for a specialized tool, you’re likely to encounter a paywall. On the other hand, free tools are available, though you may need to put in some extra work to perfect your results.
Also: The best AI image generators of 2024: Tested and reviewed
Depending on your design needs and skills, there are ways to make a logo for free using software you may already have and use regularly. This is even easier if you’re familiar with Photoshop or other photo editing software to make necessary tweaks.
Here’s how to use a free AI image generator and some editing tools to make a brand-new logo.
How to use AI to create a logo for free
What you’ll need: Access to one of several free AI image generators and image editing software.
First, go to your preferred AI image or art generator. I’m going to use the Image Creator from Microsoft Designer — currently ranked ZDNET’s best overall image generator — for this project, as it’s one of the easiest to use, but there are several alternative options to explore:
To access Image Creator, you’ll need to log in to your Microsoft account (or create one). You can also create images using Designer from within Microsoft Copilot, as long as you’re signed in.
Click on Join & Create to log in to your Microsoft account and access the image generator. You can log in with either a personal account or a work or school account.
I’ll be using Microsoft Designer’s Image Creator.
Screenshot by Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Next, you must enter the prompt to create the image we want. After plugging in the prompt in the AI image generator, it will use the prompt to create what you want it to do and envision.
Always be accurate with your prompts when creating images, including the style and visual format you need, like “vaporware” or “vector art.”
Also: Photoshop vs. Midjourney vs. DALL-E 3: Only one AI image generator passed my 5 tests
To give it a slight challenge, I will ask Image Creator to create a logo for an auto mechanic shop that sells milkshakes.
My prompt is “a logo for an automotive mechanic shop that also sells milkshakes. Use pink, blue, brown, silver, and purple.”
Submit your prompt and view your results. You can choose the image you like best or tweak your prompt to get a more accurate result.
Here are the results from Image Creator. You can see the text doesn’t make sense, so we’ll tweak the image we choose.
Screenshot by Maria Diaz via Image Creator/ZDNET
Once you’ve chosen your favorite logo, it’s time to edit. The text didn’t translate accurately in the output, so I will open the image in Photoshop to add the correct text and make any necessary tweaks.
Also: I use Photoshop’s AI tool every day – here are my 5 essential tips for the best results
Depending on your Photoshop skills, you can edit the image as much or as little as you want. You can add extra AI-generated elements to it to make it more complete, change colors and proportions, combine several AI-generate images, and more.
Editing the logo in Photoshop, I only added the ‘Wrenshakes’ name and banner.
Screenshot by Maria Diaz/ZDNET
FAQs
Is there AI that can create a logo?
AI logo generators exist, though there are a few drawbacks. Some require payment, and other free ones create very simplistic logotypes. The benefit is that you don’t have to work on them after they’re created, as the tools add your company’s name and slogan to the logotype.
What are some good AI logo generators to use?
These AI logo generator tools are easy to use. To get started, provide your company’s name, slogan, category and keywords, color palette, and preferred fonts.
- Namecheap: This free AI logo generator lets you edit and download your logos without payment by signing up for an account.
- Hatchful: This free AI logo maker from Shopify — my favorite tool — generates more cohesive logos that look less generic than the alternatives. It also lets users select their brand styles, from creative and bold to classic and reliable, as part of the creation process. Hatchful does require users to have an account.
- Looka: This tool allows you to customize your logo and offers many layout options. But it requires payment, and you have limited graphic options. You can opt for a one-time payment of $20 to $65 for just the logo or subscribe for brand kits with multiple files and formats for $96 and $129, billed annually.
- Brandmark: This is a paid logo generator tool with a one-time cost that ranges from $25 to $175. Its logos are simple yet attractive, but offer only limited graphic options.
- Logo AI: Overall, the logos created with Logo AI seem a little generic, but there were some interesting options when I tested it out. It offers three paid packages, ranging from $29 to $99.
- Designs.AI: This site walks you through a questionnaire to narrow your logo preferences. It’s also limited in graphics, and plans cost between $29 and $199 (for enterprise users) when billed monthly.
Why can’t some AI generators add text accurately to logos and images?
Free generative AI tools aren’t the best at creating logotypes because they can’t generate letters accurately. Large language models (LLMs) are trained on image data, often scraped from the internet and other digitized sources, meaning they generate new content based on their knowledge — but smaller details don’t always translate accurately. Plus, image generators don’t understand how language or spelling functions; they’re just replicating pixels in the shape of words, so they can’t tell when something is wrong.
This is why AI-generated faces can look off or creepy, hands in AI-generated images have more or fewer fingers than the norm, and why words you want to be included don’t look right.
What free AI tool can generate images?
AI image generators are widely available, and many reliable options are free. If you want to use an AI image generator for free, check out Microsoft Designer Image Creator, ChatGPT, Midjourney, or Craiyon.
Disclaimer: You should consider the legal consequences (e.g. copyright) of using AI-generated images before implementing them into your work.