AI-agnostic is how I'd describe myself. I can see how it might be useful in some fields, for certain tasks. But I'm no hype-man for artificial intelligence. I'm not sold on a lot of what AI tools can do (or claim to do). And I certainly don't think it's a replacement for human creativity, whether that's writing or designing. No, not even turning documents into slide decks.

So, it was with some trepidation and skepticism that I approached VistaPrint's recently unveiled AI logo maker

Now, right off the bat, I have to say, if you possess a degree of design nous, this isn't the service for you. I find it to be relatively basic overall - which is the idea.

This is for small businesses who understand the need for company branding, but lack the time and knowledge to spend hours tinkering in creative apps like Photoshop or Affinity.

You can check out the full service by clicking here (although I used the UK version here, it's an identical platform).

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Pricing & plans

The AI logo maker is free to use. To start, you get four free starter logos. Sign up for a VistaPrint account, and that increases from 4 to 64 free logo generations.

Where it will cost money is all the extras. You can have a professional designer tweak your AI-created logo or build one from scratch, you can print your logo on a range of promotional materials, from business cards to coffee mugs, or use it alongside the VistaPrint website builder.

You can also purchase additional AI credits with a subscription to VistaCreate for $10 / £10 a month. This unlocks a raft of extra features, including unlimited storage, access to design templates, and 100 monthly AI credits. You can see what's on offer here.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Interface

Navigating the VistaPrint AI logo maker is delightfully simple. I always thought Canva nailed an intuitive design interface, and even that feels cluttered compared to this one. It's sparse. It's minimalist. It's not going to overwhelm anyone, particularly first-timers and new designers.

On the AI logo maker home page, I found a text box requesting a business name. I typed it in, hit 'Let's Go'. And I'm off.

A nice touch here is the progress bar at the top. Despite only being three steps from prompt to output, it will still help put first-time users at ease. It tells users: This is not going to take a hundred years to produce a usable AI logo.

From here, I could add a business tagline to sit under the company name, and details about my business.

Next, I had to choose up to four logo styles I liked. This ranged from simple and minimalist designs to bold, colorful, and playful ones. It gives the AI an idea what sort of logo you're looking for.

Finally, I was prompted to add a few more details about my ideal logo.

The platform suggests detailing colors, styles, imagery, icons that best represents your business. As a means to get started, there are also AI-produced starter topics, like 'Capture the brand personality of...' Just fill in the blanks.

What I'd recommend here is be as specific as possible, particularly if you have even the vaguest notion of what your logo should look like. I experimented with both a short and long answer, and the longer ones delivered superior results overall.

With these steps complete, VistaPrint will show you four logo options. You can then see more logo ideas (but that will eat up your credits), alter your original ideal logo description, or begin using AI to edit one specific logo.

So, in terms of the interface and figuring out what you need to do, it's incredibly simple. And it doesn't break any molds. If you've used a similar service before, you'll be in familiar territory here.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: In use

In general, I found the tool very easy to use. It's all basic text-to-image prompting, so you'll want to be descriptive with how you describe what you want from your logo.

My first experiment was to replicate, as closely as possible, our TechRadar Pro logo. That way, I'd be able to compare the professionally designed logo with the AI's output. And this is where I ran into the first problem.

A problem for me, that is - but not for large businesses.

It turns out, VistaPrint recognized that TechRadar was a trademarked company. It wouldn't let me use that business name at all (I tried multiple times). Here's the message I received.

I tried this again with other big brands, like Google and Facebook, and got the same message. When I tried it with a random selection of Seattle cafes, however, it produced these without issue.

Fair enough. I altered my business name to TR Pro, and that went through with no issues.

When the platform served up four AI-generated logos based on my descriptions, I began tweaking the best version with more prompts.

Now, the AI output is pretty quick - around five to ten seconds at most. And edited logos are similarly quick.

In the main, the service understood what changes I wanted to make. When I wanted to turn the very angular typeface to a bolder, more rounded one, it tackled this with ease. When I changed the color of the 'TR' to our brand colors, pasting in the correct hex code, it was done.

However, results are not completely perfect.

Any attempt to remove the color gradient into a single block color was ignored. Each time, the logo with reproduced with no identifiable change. I attempted this multiple times, and every time, the gradient remained.

The same thing occurred when I tried removing the outline around the word 'Pro'. Instead of taking it out, the AI simply turned it from grey to white, while the lines were still visible.

And it's worth pointing out, that each time you edit the existing logo, you're using up yet another AI credit. Even if, as with the example above, the AI doesn't deliver on your request.

That's why I recommend being as specific as possible the first time around, to reduce the amount of time and credits you'll spend getting the logo to match your vision.

Outside of the radar icon, my original TR Pro logo lacked imagery. So, I decided to run a few more tests with more graphical logos.

First, I asked for a friendly, anthropomorphic coffee bean to help promote my fictional cafe Cosy Beans coffee & book shop. This was almost ridiculously easy for the AI to produce. A little generic, perhaps, but more than suitable for placing on promo materials and social media.

Next, I created Stevie C's House of DJ - it's party time central. The logos produced here were colorful, visually appealing, and struck all the right notes as I requested.

Finally, I asked for a logo for my burger joint Meat Sax - tagline: Burgers. Booze. Bands.

I was a little more specific here, requesting a Pixar-style man, and a McDonalds-style carton of fries (replacing the fries with a handful of saxophones).

Once again, the computer said: No. I was asking for trademarked elements. I had to try again. I kept the Pixar reference, removed McDonalds from the description of changes, and that seemed fine.

The carton of fries, while in a McDonalds red, was more like a wheelie bin of saxophones.

And while it had no issues with me asking for a Pixar-style cartoon figure, that wasn't what I got. The man munching on the burger was a standard figure. But then, I suppose no business using VistaPrint's AI logo maker wants to tangle with the lawyers of the Golden Arches or Disney, so it makes sense.

I then noticed these additional edits had stripped out the business name and tagline. Without specifying, I asked the service to re-add them to the new image. Instead of complying, it created a whole new business name and tag. Gone was Meat Sax - Burgers. Booze. Bands. In its place, was Melody Bites - Where food sings.

Overall, results were mostly hits, but with some noticeable misses.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Export & download

If you thought the AI creation was straightforward, actually downloading your logo is child's play. Beneath your edited image is an option to download SVG, PNG, and PDF versions with a single click. These are all placed in a ZIP file. Considering this is free, I can't complain with that line-up.

You can also retrieve your logo from Account Dashboard. All projects are added here - including any you've uploaded (if you already have a logo) and all previous AI creations. You'll also be able to view the prompts used to create them. Very useful, especially if you're collaborating with colleagues.

It's here where you can also manage other aspects of your company brand kit, like brand colors, and look through VistaPrint's catalog of promotional products if you plan on printing this logo.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Rights

Ok, you have a fresh new logo - but can you legally use it for your business?

This is one of the big concerns for businesses who need commercially safe AI-generated designs.

I asked VistaPrint's Patrick Llewellyn, Vice President, Digital and Design Services.

Here's what he told me:

"The AI generates designs based on a unique combination of a business name, industry, and style preferences, the experience is designed to produce a high degree of variety and distinction.

From a usage perspective, every user has the full right to use its finalized logo for its business, marketing, and social media. However, it is important to note that no intellectual property rights in the logo are transferred to the user.

This means that while you have the right to use your AI-generated logo, the logo can not be registered for exclusive trademark or copyright protection. To date, this is usually the case with all AI-generated imagery."

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Final verdict

For a free service, there's not much to dislike about the VistaPrint AI logo maker. It won't be acceptable for professional designers, but then, that's not its intent.

It's fast, fun, and will be useful for small businesses looking for a quick way to produce an eye-catching - and most importantly usable - logo. The AI designs are fine for that sort of use.

I did run in to some quirks when trying to refine my original logo designs. I would've liked a little more control over this (or to have the AI actually 'hear', rather than just assuming it's delivered).

On top of that, you could quickly burn through AI credits with every edit you make if you're not specific enough. That's a curse for pretty much every AI logo maker I've tested out, it's not just VistaPrint.

But if you're relatively clear about what the logo should include - the style, the color, the imagery, and so on - and you're not trying to reinvent the wheel, then 64 credits feels like more than enough to get a good representation of your company in logo form.

Should I try the VistaPrint AI logo maker?

My team and I have also tested and reviewed the best logo makers and the best free logo makers.