'Human artists charge too much, AI can do just as good a job’: AI logo controversy divides creatives

A restaurant in Santa Cruz was recently entangled in a tricky AI controversy after its artificially generated logo led to a tidal wave of bad reviews. While owner Rachel Smith has since changed the design to a more conventional, AI-free logo, the debacle has sparked a wider conversation over the ethics of AI in design.

While I would argue there are certainly productive ways to use AI properly to streamline your creative workflow, AI art continues to be controversial – as our dear readers have made clear. Here's what the Creative Bloq community had to say about the Salty Otter AI scandal.

For many, the situation raised a complex debate as creatives weighed the cost of a small business hiring human talent. "Graphic designer here...It blows my mind that anyone is that invested in the logo of a local restaurant and would go so far as to leave a negative review ABOUT THE LOGO knowing that could hurt the business. It is a restaurant, not a design agency," one commenter responded.

"Graphic designer/illustrator of 30+ years here. Obviously this logo is no worse than a billion other small business logos you can see anywhere in the world. The idea that small businesses are obligated to employ designers/illustrators doesn't hold much weight really - I'm sure most graphic designers have at least once typed their bosses/client's text into Photoshop or InDesign and then scrolled through fonts lists rather than subcontract the work to a New York based artisan typographer or Swedish type foundry," another added."

Others were staunchly on the side of the small business, with one impassioned reader commenting, "The reality is human artists charge far too much and AI can do just as good a job for simple things for far less. It still takes skill and time to produce decent AI output, and it opens the door for an entire group of people that are every bit as creative but don't have the physical skills or time to produce hand drawn output. How many of these luddites are happy to buy flat pack furniture, made by automated machines in far off land for a fraction of what hand made custom furniture costs. Or cars even. They didn't mind computer automation when it benefits them."

On the other side of the spectrum, some creatives were completely anti-AI. "The AI logo looks like AI. It looks bad. Pay someone for a logo. If the budget is tight then hire a student for something basic. It will still be better than AI slop," one commenter wrote, while another added, "I think they can afford a real artist to do the same thing and it'll look way better. Support human talent."

For more design news, check out why Marvel fans are roasting the new Wonder Man logo, or take a look at these 9 exercises to do before you start designing a logo.