# How to give an AI agent a logo

> The hard part is not the API call. It is the brief: an agent that writes 'a logo for my startup' gets a generic mark. Give it a name, a trade, an audience and a style, and the same engine produces something a business can use.

Canonical: https://dosiefoxie.com/how-to-give-an-ai-agent-a-logo.html

> Agent API (2026-11-09). The contract, the free endpoints and the paid x402 checkout are live. A preview is $1 and a Production Pack $19, in USDC on Base, paid per request — no account, no API key, no card. A request that arrives without payment returns 402 with the exact amount, asset, network and address.

This is the loop to build into an agent. It mirrors the human product because the engine is the same; the agent replaces the browser, not the design process.

## Write a brief the engine can use

Name and trade are the minimum. Style, audience, tagline, must-include and avoid are what turn a generic mark into a direction. The brief is JSON, so the agent can fill it from its own context rather than inventing a prompt.

```
{
  "name": "Salthouse Smokehouse",
  "trade": "wood-smoked fish and charcuterie",
  "audience": "coastal restaurants and delis",
  "style": "woodcut",
  "must_include": ["fish", "smokehouse"],
  "avoid": ["cartoon", "gradients", "text in the mark"],
  "tagline": "Slow smoke, cold water"
}
```

## Show three directions, not one

The preview returns three concepts with a QA summary and a concept line for each. Show them to the user, or pick the one with the best fit if the agent is autonomous. The preview is the cheap step; the pack is the commitment.

Do not skip the preview and buy blind. The engine is good, but the user is the one who has to live with the mark.

## Pay once, get the pack

The paid step returns 402. The agent pays the advertised USDC amount on Base and retries; the order is created, the chosen mark is traced once, the six gates run, and the pack is delivered. The response is a manifest with signed URLs, not a prose description.

```
curl -i https://dosiefoxie.com/api/v1/orders \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -H 'PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: <base64>' \
  -d '{"preview_id":"pv_...","concept_id":"c1"}'
```

## Wire it into an agent

Wrap the three calls as tools: a create, a buy, a lookup — create_preview, create_pack, get_pack if you use our MCP server, which is named to match. Use an idempotency key on the paid call, poll the status URL, and keep the manifest. The agent does not need to understand the design; it needs to pass the brief, show the directions, and hand over the files.

If the agent platform supports MCP, use the MCP server instead of hard-coding the HTTP calls. The tool contract is the same, with one difference that matters: a tool call cannot carry an x402 signature, so the MCP rail is a prepaid key and the HTTP rail is the one that pays per request.

## The failure modes

- Thin brief: 'a logo for my startup' produces a generic mark. Ask for the trade and the style.
- Text in the drawing: the image model sometimes adds lettering. The engine rejects it and redraws once.
- Tiny detail: hairline detail vanishes at 32 pixels. The QA gate refuses it.
- Impersonation: do not generate a mark for a name the user does not own. The terms require rights to the name.
- No trademark check: the pack is not a clearance. Use a search report or an attorney.

## Questions

### What does the agent need?

A structured brief (name, trade, style, audience) and a wallet with USDC on Base. No account or API key is required for x402.

### How long does it take?

A draft is roughly two minutes; the pack compiles in about four seconds after approval. The API is asynchronous, so the agent polls the status URL.

### What if the user dislikes the result?

Show the three previews before buying. After the pack, colour, layout and tagline changes are cheap re-renders; a new concept is a new preview.

### Can the agent use the pack without a human?

Yes. The manifest and licence are machine-readable. Trademark clearance is still a separate human or legal step.