As AI-generated icons become a popular, cost-effective option, many businesses face a dilemma: should they choose the speed and affordability of AI, or the creativity and precision of human-led custom design? At Creative Freedom, we believe nothing beats the human touch when it comes to crafting a unique brand identity and delivering long-term consistency but what are the advantages of each approach?

With AI tools becoming increasingly accessible, businesses now have new options for creating icons quickly and at a potentially lower cost. But is AI always the right choice? The answer depends on a few factors, the number of icons you need, the importance of brand adherence, consistency, and maybe even your technical requirements. For some projects, AI might provide a fast solution and even very out-of-the-box concepts, while for some, the interaction with an experienced designer may be more productive. Many of our clients came to us after trying AI tools, only to discover that while the initial icons looked fine, they struggled to maintain style consistency when adding to the set, and as the process continued it became very time-consuming, needing to guide the AI with ever-increasing detail. AI definitely has a place and will only improve, but there are still limitations.

Tailored Customisation for Your Brand Identity

One area in particular where custom icon designers excel over AI is in tailoring your icon style to reflect your companies branding. We can create custom palettes and group similar icon metaphors using shape and colour so the user can easily identify at a glance, the tools or information they need in the software, app or website they are navigating. A good example of this is a project we completed for Synopsys, where the colour used in the icons is so important to the user experience and also offers a bold nod to the company branding. Currently, AI is incapable of making so many complex visual rulesets to create simple looking and easy to use icons.

Deep Expertise and Creativity of Human Designers

Experienced human designers bring a wealth of creativity and problem-solving to icon design that AI tools often lack. At Creative Freedom, we pay attention to details like pixel-perfect illustration, harmonious colour palettes, and style consistency, to create icons that do more than just serve a functional purpose, they enhance your brand’s visual identity. Our clients frequently find that while AI handles simple tasks well, it struggles with projects involving more than a handful of icons, let alone dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of intricate icons. Custom design becomes a more effective and time-saving option for such large-scale needs. Sometimes you cannot beat the security of an experienced icon design agency taking the entire burden of a project off your hands. AI will always need to be micro-managed throughout the process and some people simply don’t have that time.

Human-Centred Design for Superior User Experience

Designing with the user in mind is a key strength of professional designers. Our approach focuses not only on aesthetics, but on making icons clear, simple and intuitive at multiple sizes and in many file formats, even when they represent complex and often obscure technical concepts. Human experience gives us the ability to utilise our combined technical expertise, adherence to existing standards and metaphors, and the creativity to create new design languages when necessary. This level of understanding and craftsmanship is something AI tools currently find difficult, if not impossible to replicate at present.

Quality Control and Feedback Loop

One of the limitations of AI tools is the lack of flexibility when it comes to revising designs. At Creative Freedom, we collaborate closely with our clients throughout the design process, refining each icon based on feedback. Our Icon Manager Software simplifies this process by offering a clear, transparent platform for feedback, revisions, and project management. This ensures smooth communication and a streamlined design workflow.

Handling Complex and Large-Scale Icon Design Projects

Many of our projects involve not just a handful of icons, but hundreds, or even thousands. While AI can generate icons quickly, managing such large volumes and ensuring consistency across the board can be extremely time-consuming. Experienced human designers, on the other hand, are skilled at handling large-scale projects efficiently while maintaining high quality, especially with the help of tools like Icon Manager.

Icon Manager benefits

• View your project and interact with your designer, globally
• Get notified of new icons, edits or comments from your designer
• Approve, reject or leave feedback as your icons are added
• Every step of the project is recorded so you can keep track
• Icon manager is simple to use and saves you time and hassle

When to use AI for Quick, Simple Solutions

AI tools can be a great fit for small projects or businesses that need a few icons fast, with minimal customization. If you have a logo or an App icon for example, I would not hesitate to try Free AI design tools like Pixcap first, if nothing else you may come up with some good concept ideas to present to a human designer as part of your brief. However, when it comes to more complex projects requiring a high degree of consistency and brand alignment, custom design produced by experienced designers is typically the better choice.

• Small Icon Projects Websites like Recraft allow you to design batches of free icons (up to 6), perfect if you know exactly what you want for an App or Website.
• Single colour linework icons AI icon design tools are much better at creating basic icon styles, so if you don’t need many icons and you want a simple unbranded style, AI could be ideal.
• Minimising cost If you don’t mind putting in the time yourself and have an eye for design, using AI tools can be a cost-effective alternative to using a custom icon designer.
• Designing an App Icon or Logo If you only need one icon it makes complete sense to try using AI Icon Design to create fast varied designs.

AI vs Custom Icon Design FAQs

Q: What’s the main difference between custom and AI-generated icons?
A: Custom icons are created with your brand’s unique goals and user experience in mind, offering depth and tailored design. AI-generated icons tend to be more generic and may lack the nuance that human designers can provide.

Q: When should I consider using AI for icon design?
A: AI works well for smaller projects with basic needs and minimal customization. It’s best suited when speed and cost take priority over long-term consistency or brand-specific requirements.

Q: How does your team handle large projects involving hundreds of icons?
A: We specialise in managing large-scale icon design projects. Our Icon Manager Software helps us maintain consistency across hundreds or even thousands of icons, making the feedback and revision process simple and transparent.

Q: Why is it hard to maintain consistency with AI tools?
A: AI tools often struggle to produce consistent designs when dealing with a large volume of icons. Many clients find that while AI is fast, it requires time-consuming manual adjustments to achieve the desired consistency. Human designers, however, can ensure consistency from the outset.

Q: What is the Icon Manager Software?
A: Our Icon Manager Software is a unique tool that streamlines the icon design process, recording all feedback, and iterations for every icon. It allows collaboration between client and designer to track revisions, leave comments in real-time, approve and download icons at any time, making the entire design process more efficient and transparent.

Have a large-scale icon project on the horizon? Reach out to our expert team at Creative Freedom to discuss how we can ensure consistency and quality across your entire suite of icons.