AI Can Generate Logos in Seconds, So Why Does Branding Still Cost RM50,000?
The Honest Truth People Avoid Talking About
Let’s be honest for a second.
Yes, AI logo makers work.
And no, they do not build brands.
What most people do not expect us to say is this.
At BrandMethod, we regularly work with companies that already started with AI generated logos.
Some of them have real budgets.
Some of them are scaling.
Some of them are not amateurs.
So if AI logo makers are “bad”, why are smart businesses still using them?
That question alone already tells you the real issue is not the logo.
Why AI Logo Makers Are Winning Right Now
AI logo tools are not winning because they are more creative.
They are winning because they remove friction.
No briefing calls.
No revisions.
No waiting.
No uncomfortable questions about positioning, audience, or long term direction.
You click.
You generate.
You export.
You move on.
For founders who just want to start, that speed feels powerful.
Tools like Looka, Brandmark, Canva Logo Generator, or Wix Logo Maker are actually very good at one thing.
They give you something to react to.
And in early stages, reaction feels like progress.
A Pattern We See Again and Again
This is a real sentence we hear often.
“We already have a logo. We used AI. Now we need help with branding.”
That sentence tells us everything.
The logo was never the real problem.
The problem was everything around it.
The moment a business needs to raise prices, enter a competitive market, talk to partners, convince investors, or stay consistent across ads, website, social media, and packaging, the AI logo suddenly feels thin.
Not ugly.
Just empty.
Logos Are Easy. Decisions Are Not
Most conversations about AI miss this completely.
Branding is not about generating options.
Branding is about removing options.
It is about deciding what you will never look like.
What you will never say.
Who you are willing to lose.
What trade offs you are willing to live with.
AI can generate 50 logo variations in seconds.
It cannot answer which one the company should bet its future on.
That is not a design problem.
That is a decision problem.
Can Branding Be Automated?
Partly, yes.
AI can help with visual exploration, early drafts, style direction, and mood references.
Where AI struggles is context.
It does not understand internal politics.
It does not understand market tension.
It does not understand what happens when a brand needs to stretch, pivot, or scale.
It does not understand emotional shortcuts that create trust.
AI is good at output.
Branding is about consequence.
And consequence requires judgement.
Let’s Talk About Cost Properly
People think about this anyway, so let’s be clear.
AI logo maker
Cost is low, sometimes free.
You get a logo file.
The risk feels low now, but often shows up later.
Freelancer
Cost sits somewhere in the middle.
You get a better logo.
The outcome depends heavily on experience and thinking depth.
Branding agency
Cost is higher.
You do not get a file, you get a system.
The risk is not the price.
The risk is only hiring one before you are ready.
If you are choosing purely based on cost, AI wins every time.
If you are choosing based on where the business is going in three to five years, price stops being the main variable.
Our Actual Position
This is usually the part that triggers people.
We do not mind AI logos.
What we mind is when people think a logo equals branding.
Or speed equals strategy.
Or cheap now will not cost more later.
Some of our strongest branding projects started from AI generated logos.
Not because AI did the job well.
But because it gave us a starting point to correct, refine, and rebuild properly.
AI can start the conversation.
Humans have to finish it.
So What Should You Actually Do?
Use an AI logo maker if you are testing an idea, need momentum, or are not ready to commit yet.
Hire a freelancer if you want something more thoughtful, have a limited budget, and a small scope.
Hire a branding agency if your brand affects revenue, trust matters, consistency matters, and you do not want to redo this again in a year.
That is it.
No drama.
The Part Nobody Likes to Admit
AI will not replace designers.
It will replace designers who only produce outputs.
The future belongs to people who think in systems, understand positioning, make uncomfortable decisions, and can explain why something exists, not just what it looks like.
If you already used AI and now feel the need to build something more intentional, scalable, and real, that does not make you wrong.
Most of the time, it simply means you are ready.
If you want to see what that looks like in practice, visit BrandMethod.co.
If you are still experimenting, that is fine too.
Both paths exist.
Just do not confuse them.
