I run a two-person coffee roastery. A logo quote came back at four figures. I gave Quodara one paragraph about the brand instead.
I described the business, the feeling I wanted — warm, small-batch, and specifically not hipster-cliche — and asked for six flat vector marks on white, monochrome, no gradients, readable at favicon size. All six were usable. Two were genuinely good. One is now printed on our bags.
The constraint that made the difference was a single line: it has to be legible at 16 pixels. That kills the over-detailed illustration problem instantly. You get a mark made of two or three shapes instead of a tiny etching nobody can read on a phone tab.
It also kept its hands off other people's trademarks, which I checked carefully before using anything.
Six directions, one chat, under five minutes. The quote is still sitting unanswered in my inbox.
If you are a small business wondering whether AI logo design is usable yet rather than just a toy, the prompt is below. Replace the business description and keep the constraint lines exactly as they are.