How to Create App Icons and Logos With Midjourney: An In-Depth Guide

Hey there! Artificial intelligence is transforming design and creativity in so many exciting ways. As a technology geek and data analyst myself, I‘ve been blown away by the possibilities.

One AI tool leading this shift is Midjourney – an AI system that generates stunning images and designs from text prompts. In this guide, we‘ll dive deep into how to create custom icons and logos for your app using Midjourney.

The Rise of AI Art

First, let‘s understand the explosion of AI art over the past year. According to a report by Runway, there was a 600% increase in people using AI image generators in 2022. Where it once took weeks or months to train AI models, now we have access instantly!

What‘s driving this adoption? The democratization of powerful tools like Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion. They put creative superpowers in the hands of businesses, developers, designers – anyone with imagination.

This is a game changer for building apps and consumer brands. Let‘s look at how Midjourney makes icon and logo design incredibly fast and flexible.

How Midjourney Enables Icon and Logo Workflows

At its core, Midjourney converts text prompts into images using its machine learning model. But it‘s not magic – the key is crafting effective prompts. Here are some Midjourney features that help:

Photorealistic and Abstract Styles

Prompt for realism or abstraction to match your desired aesthetic.

Descriptive Capabilities

Guide Midjourney‘s output through detailed text prompts about shapes, objects, styles etc.

Inpainting for Iterations

Upscale and modify images to refine them towards your vision.

Instant Generation

Create dozens of icon and logo concepts in the time it takes to write prompts!

Let‘s walk through real examples of using these features for icon packs, original logos, and redesigns.

Crafting Prompts for Icon Packs

Icons are visual shorthand that communicate concepts and actions in apps. To design an icon pack with Midjourney, start broad:

digital security icon sheet, simple shapes, white background

This returns a grid of security-related icons. We can iteratively add more keywords about specific threats:

digital security icon sheet, simple shapes (malware, antivirus, ransomware, passwords, virus, internet bugs, shield), white background

Much better! We got nice icons for malware and shields. To customize further, use inpainting to replace specific icons:

Vary (Region) - replace the top left icon with "hacker wearing mask"

Keep applying this process until you have a cohesive icon pack.

Pro tip: Use common icon terms and specify colors, styles, and relationships between elements.

Designing Logos from Scratch

Branding often starts with a logo, and Midjourney opens up endless options to explore.

For a mobile food app, we could try:

minimalist square logo with rounded edges, depicting fastfood and a milkshake in flat, cartoon style

Then make it more realistic:

photorealistic square logo with rounded edges, depicting 3D fastfood and a chocolate milkshake

Let‘s try some other styles:

retro style square logo, 70s look with burger, fries and milkshake

lettermark logo spelling "Foodie" in brush script font and burger icon

In just a few minutes, we have 10 completely different, high-quality logo ideas to choose from!

Redesigning Logos

Does your current logo need a refresh? Midjourney can reimagine existing designs in new styles with the --iw parameter:

https://s.mj.run/GPFleONJoA8  
A letter G logo in abstract geometric style, purple and green
--iw 0.2

Lower --iw values result in bigger departures from the original:

https://s.mj.run/GPFleONJoA8
A letter G logo in futuristic, cyberpunk style with holograms 
--iw 0.1

This allows you to modernize a logo while still maintaining familiar elements and brand equity.

Combining AI Tools With Human Creativity

As you can see, Midjourney removes many friction points in icon and logo design. But it has limitations:

Output can be inconsistent from the same prompt
Current AI lacks human contextual understanding
Still an assistant, not a solo designer replacement

This is why combining Midjourney with your own creative direction results in the best outcomes. Lean on the AI capabilities, but have a human asset the results.

So embrace generative AI as a sparks of inspiration, not finished products. Use Midjourney‘s suggestions to unlock new ideas and directions, which you then refine using your skills and intuition.

Start Experimenting Today

I hope this guide gets you excited to try Midjourney for your own icon and logo projects! Here‘s a quick recap:

Craft detailed prompts with styles, relationships and keywords
Iterate using inpainting to modify and refine
Explore vastly different directions easily
Use AI as creative inspiration to augment your skills

The world of AI art is changing rapidly. With the right approach of combining AI and human creativity, you can design amazing brand assets and UI faster than ever before.

So jump in, experiment relentlessly, and let me know what awesome icons and logos you end up creating!