This week I set out to create a logo for The AI Income Experiment.
Simple enough, right? I had a vision in my head. A magnifying glass, a dollar sign, something feminine and warm that felt like me. I just needed the right tool to bring it to life.
What I got instead was a masterclass in why AI tools are not interchangeable, and why that actually matters for anyone building a business with them.
First stop: Ideogram
Ideogram is genuinely impressive, especially for putting text inside images. If you've seen my Pinterest pins, that's Ideogram doing the heavy lifting on the bold chunky typography. For the logo though, I couldn't quite get what I wanted. Not because the tool was bad, but because I didn't yet have the prompt knowledge to steer it precisely enough. I could see it getting close but couldn't figure out how to close the gap between what it was giving me and what I actually had in my head.
Second stop: Bing Image Creator
One word. Text. Bing simply cannot handle incorporating words accurately into an image. If your design requires readable text, and a logo absolutely does, Bing is not your tool. I moved on quickly.
Third stop: Canva
This is where everything clicked. Canva gave me a solid starting point and then did something the other tools couldn't. It got out of my way. I could see a design I liked, grab it, and then add my own flourishes. The botanical leaf details, the arched text, the teal color pulled from my exact brand palette. Little decisions that turned a generic design into something that actually felt like mine.
The logo you see on this newsletter now? That came from Canva. And honestly it came from me.
Here's what this week taught me that I wasn't expecting.
I didn't want AI to just hand me something. I wanted creative control. And the moment I realized that about myself, everything shifted.
I think a lot of people expect AI to spit out perfection and then feel disappointed or even a little cheated when it doesn't. But that expectation misses the whole point. AI isn't a vending machine. It's more like a kitchen full of really good appliances. You don't use a blender when you need a knife. Ideogram is your blender. Canva is your knife. Knowing which one to reach for is the actual skill.
Yes, I use AI in every part of this business. My newsletters, my social media, my branding, my Pinterest pins, my products. But here is the truth that nobody in this space says out loud enough.
Each item begins and ends with me.
AI helps me focus when I have too many ideas bouncing around. It helps me brainstorm when I'm staring at a blank page. It helps me stretch an idea further than I could on my own. And it helps me share my ideas in an efficient, publish ready way.
But the idea? Mine. The creative instinct? Mine. The decision to add botanical leaves to a magnifying glass because it felt warm and feminine and right? One hundred percent mine.
If you've been hesitant to try AI tools because you're afraid of losing your creative voice in the process, here's what I want you to hear. AI isn't in charge. You are. You get exactly as much creativity as you want. The tools work for you, not the other way around.
The AI assist this week: Ideogram for initial concept exploration, Canva for final logo design and creative control.
The honest take: The best result didn't come from the most sophisticated AI tool. It came from the tool that let me be most myself.
See you next Wednesday.
— Kelly
P.S. Still haven't grabbed the free NotebookLM Quick Start guide? It's the same philosophy in action. Five prompts that help you think more clearly and create more efficiently, with your own ideas at the center. Grab it here.