Can I use ai to create my branding?

Honestly, every time I see an ai generated image on social media it kind of makes me want to poke my eyes out 👀. As a brand designer you can probably guess from the title of this post what my answer is going to be, but stick with me to find out why.

If you work in comms or marketing you probably can’t go a day without hearing about ai tools to help do your job. Whether you love it or hate it, ai is popping up across platforms to help make things ‘easier’ for us.

So if you’re part of a newly formed non-profit or a social impact organization doing a re-brand, you might be asking yourself: can I use ai to create my new branding online?

The short answer is yes, you could.

The more nuanced answer is that I wouldn’t recommend it.

In this post I’m going to break down why using ai to design your new branding can hurt your brand identity, and what to do instead.

Public Perception of ai as Lazy

Last year I watched as a local business launched their new branding and got slammed in the comments. Almost every comment was calling them out for using ai to generate their logo and the caption of their post.

Launching a new organization, or launching a new brand identity, is a very personal and exciting moment for any non-profit or business leader. That moment should be met with clarity, support, and your community cheering you on.

To launch your branding and see all negative comments, would be such a blow emotionally. I never want to see someone experience that.

I know social media isn’t necessarily where we should look for broad public opinion on an issue. But in this case the sentiment was pretty clear — using ai to develop your branding hurts public perception of your brand. People start to question if you’ll skimp on your branding, where else are you cutting corners?

Your brand is your reputation and it’s important that your logos, color palette, fonts, and other brand elements are building trust with your community.

Trademark Issues with ai Branding

You can’t trademark somebody else’s designs.

If you’re generating a logo for your organization with ai, the technology is creating a graphic based on other graphics it can find online that already exist.

Trademarking helps protect your brand from another organization using your brand identity as their own, or using very similar branding to yours. If you’re going to trademark your logo or organization name, it needs to be distinct and unique from anyone else’s.

An article by Ruhana Chowhan of the Ontario Bar Association warns against using ai in your branding and marketing. Trademarking might not be possible if your brand was built with ai and that’s definitley something to think about before going ahead with an ai generated visual identity.

Ai Can’t Replicate Human Creativity

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m great at what I do.

I get to know my clients and their organization, I work with clients to develop their brand strategy, and I use that to inform the visual identity of their brand — logo variations, colors, fonts, and other visual elements.

When you work with a brand designer, there is a lot of strategy and creativity that goes into your brand. It’s a very thoughtful and deliberate process.

Ai just can’t replicate the creativity of a human 🤷

How to Build Your Brand with Integrity

So… you agree, we’re not building our non-profit brand with ai? How are we doing it then?

Step 1: Figure out Budget & Timeline

The first thing you need to do is figure out your budget and timeline.

How soon do you want to launch your branding?

How much money do you have to spend on your brand identity?

Do you need to apply for a grant to help cover the investment in branding?

These are all questions you should be asking when you need a new brand identity.

Step 2: Find a Brand Strategist & Designer

Once you’ve established your budget and desired timeline, you need to find a brand strategist and designer. A lot of times brand designers will include brand strategy in their brand design process, but not everyone does so you could be looking for two people.

To hire a brand designer you can reach out to them directly from their website, ahem…check out my Branding page to peep packages & book an intro call. Or, you could put out an RFP and invite designers to send you a proposal.

When assessing who you want to work with, consider the style of work in their portfolios, what’s included in their packages, and their pricing.

Step 3: Participate in the Process

You’ve hired your designer and you’re letting out a sigh of relief that it’s off your plate.

Not so fast…

You will need to be actively engaged throughout the process to provide details about your organization (values, mission, stakeholders, etc.) and providing feedback throughout the project.

Step 4: Launch Your New Brand

Your designer has handed over your new logos and your brand guide.

Now you need to apply your new branding across your online and IRL spaces. This includes social media profiles, your website, and any signage or printed materials if you have a physical location.

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If we haven’t met yet, hi — my name is Meghan Doucette and I’m The Brand & Website Designer for non-profits, social impact orgs and values-led businesses. I live by the sea in rural Nova Scotia with my partner, dog, and two cats.

I’ve been working with non-profits for 10+ years because I don’t really give a f*ck about selling products but I do give a f*ck about helping you make a bigger impact for people and the planet.

If you like my blog and want to stay in touch, here’s how:

• Subscribe to my newsletter, where I help you communicate your impact with clarity, accessibility, and care at the heart of it 🩷

• Join the Social Impact Comms Club, an online community for values-led comms folks to connect and share feedback with each other. In this house we believe in collaboration over competition.

• Check out my brand services. I create brand strategies and visual identities for non-profits, social impact orgs, and values-led businesses.

• Check out my website design services. I create beautiful and functional Squarespace websites for non-profits, social impact orgs, and values-led businesses.

• Check out The Lemonade Stand, my online shop where you can purchase templates, strategy calls, and other lower ticket services.

• Read the rest of our blog, where my biz partner Emily and I share information about communications and marketing, branding, and website design for non-profits.

To get in touch you can send me a DM on Instagram, connect on LinkedIn, or send me an email at meghan@lemonadeco.ca