Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Using AI in Branding

Everyone has an opinion on the Artificial Intelligence era. The marketing and branding industry can beat and discuss this subject, and provide tons of reasoning one way or another. Some creators fully support AI, while others avoid it like the plague. But a lot of us just don’t know what to do with it. It is everywhere, and we need to know how to handle it. So, what’s the move? We’re glad you asked.

Let’s start with looking at things logically. Using AI or ChatGPT can be a useful tool for idea generation and to get your wheels turning. Compare it to any source you pull inspiration from. Many creators love Pinterest! We admire a lot of social accounts and website designs. 

But, if you’re asking us if it’s ok to use the online robot to create your logo?  It just hits a grey area of authenticity. Ask yourself these questions before you open Chat GPT:

Can you trademark that?  

Well, you didn’t create it. A robot did. A trademark identifies you with your work. It is what makes you stand out among your competitors, how your audience recognizes you. So, you want your trademark to be authentic.

Can you really call it yours? 

It is like taking another's work and submitting it under your name. What does that sound like? Cheating. Yep, we’re right back to the right and wrong of an elementary school classroom. 

Are you a true creative if you use AI? 

A true creative looks for inspiration in the world around them. They think far outside of that boring, cardboard box. Aside from the ethical question, don’t you just feel so accomplished when you start and finish a project completely from scratch? Let that feeling of accomplishment drive you in design, and don’t let artificial intelligence take that from you.

Should you have just called the experts?  

If you struggle to design a logo on your own, you may need to rethink your creative strategy! It sounds like you’re pouring from an empty cup (We have a blog here that might help with that!)

Do you really want to be the one that cuts corners?

Few want to admit that their logo came from a Chat GPT prompt. Take this perspective: It’s like anything you make in your kitchen. You can take pride to say “yeah, I MADE that. From scratch!” When you show up to an event, are you proud to bring cookies in a plastic box from Publix? Or warm chocolate chip cookies from your oven at home?  You may have heard the saying, “You get what you pay for.” It doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune to have a logo designed or a brand built. But if you have one designed “from the box,” remember you get what you pay for now and you get the expertise in the long run to go with it 😀.

This is a simple rule of thumb for AI: use it to start IDEAS, but not to close out a PROJECT.

If you are questioning the social integrity of it, ask yourself “Is this a task I would be willing to admit that a robot did?” Chances are, if it is for a client, the answer would be no. Your client is paying you to CREATE your logo. They want a human being to be the brains behind it. Asking AI is not using creativity. There is a difference between using a helpful tool and asking it to do your work for you.

We can use these tools to aid in creativity, but not to do all of our work for us. We still need to know how to work without it. May we not forget that we have operated for centuries without AI and produced quality work, too. There are so many other helpful online sources to pull inspiration from! We understand that the creative rut is real, and it’s an undodgeable part of marketing.

There are a lot of hard parts of life. Taking the easy way out might be painless in the moment, but it is hard to produce character that way.

Use AI as a starting place, then it is up to you. Use that research and create a unique strategy for your client. If we can use it to re-ignite ideas, creativity, and thoughts, let’s use the tools we have around us to help us be more efficient and get projects going. Then, it is up to us to finish it.