We are sometimes commissioned to create logo design artwork for businesses who have a logo already which is not in the right format for the various uses that may be required during the lifetime of the brand. Make sure your logo is in the right format for where it’s being used. The last thing you want is your brand to be reproduced poorly which can have an adverse affect on your reputation.
Pixels (bitmap) vs Vector
Here are some visual examples of what vector and pixel-based images might look close up:
Your logo artwork can be made from a mix of typography and graphics. Unfortunately, with the increased usage of modern PCs allowing professional software to be used as more of an everyday tool, some of the traditions of artwork are being lost. Typographic measurements such as Ems and Ens, leading and kerning were once an important aspect of typographic learning. Now, a user can set up a logo design with less knowledge about artwork specifications that may be required within publications and high quality print and optimised for web usage.
Em (typography) … An em is a unit in the field of typography, equal to the currently specified point size. For example, one em in a 16-point typeface is 16 points. Therefore, this unit is the same for all typefaces at a given point size. The em dash (—) and em space ( ) are each one em wide.
Files formats are important when creating a logo for your business or brand. At Crisp Design, our process for designing a new logo includes demonstrating the logo at different sizes. Your logo must work at a tiny size such as on a pen up to larger sizes like on Exhibition Graphics. Once your logo has been designed, the final logo design artwork will be required in different file formats depending on how it will be used. Typically, a logo design will be used in jpeg, png or svg formats for digital use and pdf, ai or eps for printing. Self-publishing software such as Word or PowerPoint my also use jpeg or png for printing but resolution must be considered.
Logo Design Artwork – file formats
Here are a list of file formats and their characteristics:
Artwork for Printing:
EPS – Encapsulated PostScript file: can be imported into professional design software and is scalable.
AI – Adobe Illustrator file: a native Adobe artwork file similar to and eps that can be opened within Illustrator. Also scalable.
PDF – Portable Document format: A universal file format that can be opened using Adobe Reader and is generally more accessible by non-professional software users. Also scalable.
For printing purposes, imagery within your logo artwork should be set up as 300ppi (pixels per inch) at the final size it is to be used.
Artwork for Digital:
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group: a highly compressed file format which is dependant on resolution and therefore cannot be scaled too much without losing quality. You may here the term image pixelation which is when an image breaks down when enlarged too much.
PNG – Portable Network Graphics: Also resolution dependant with the benefit of allowing a transparent background which allows logo design artwork to be placed on different coloured backgrounds.
SVG – Scalable Vector Graphics: Usable within web technologies and is scaleable. Typically used for logo and illustration and benefits from quicker loading speed and being scaleable for higher resolution screens.
For digital on screen purposes, imagery within your logo should be set up as 72ppi at the final screen size it is to be used. Twice as big for high resolution retina screens.
Should you require a logo to be created in the right artwork format, get in touch via our contact page or Facebook Messenger.