If you’ve ever worked with a brand designer before, you’ve hopefully received a whole bunch of files that are likely very confusing. (If you haven’t, you didn’t work with a professional but I’ll touch on that and how to spot a fraud in a future post.)

You might have thought, “What the heck are all of these files and are they really necessary?”

The answer to that is “Maybe”. Let me explain. As brand designers, we are often coming into your life at the beginning of something; usually the beginning of your business or the beginning of a new era, launch or pivot in direction. You’re investing in professional branding because you want this thing to succeed and last for a long time.

Neither you, nor I, can predict what you’re going to do in the following years after you’ve worked with us.

It’s our job as brand designers to give you files that anticipate ALL needs and situations so that you’re not constantly having to come back to us years down the track if you need large-sized ads made or merch printed with your logo. We give you all of the files you need early to empower you, so that you can grow your business with as little friction as possible (in this area, anyway).

I get that this doesn’t make that package we give you any less confusing. So, here’s a basic explainer of the different file formats you should have and their uses.

What logo files you should receive

If you’ve worked with a professional, you’ll know it because they’ll have given you more than just JPG and PNG file formats. You should also receive:

• SVG
• AI
• EPS
• PDF
• JPG
• PNG

Who your logo files are for

Some of these files can easily be opened and used by you without special software. Some, however, are for other designers, printers, and other professionals you might need to work with.

The files for you are:

• JPG
• PNG
• SVG (if you have Canva Pro, which lets you change colours in some cases)

The files for other designers are:

• SVG
• AI
• EPS
• PDF (most printers prefer these)

What to use your logo files for

While you can use often use your files interchangeably between digital and print, they’ll usually be better in one situation than the other. Raster files are better for digital formats because they allow for lots of detail but they can’t be made very large. Vector files are great for print because they can be enlarged infinitely without becoming pixelated or losing quality.

Some examples of digital use would be email signatures, social media posts, presentations, websites and apps. Examples of print use would be anything that gets printed, so things like stationery, merchandise, packaging, business cards or brochures.

Files that are best for digital use:

• JPG
• PNG
• SVG
• PDF

Files that are best for print use:

• AI
• EPS
• PDF (yes, it’s in this list too – PDF is a pretty solid all-rounder)

On top of these formats, you should also receive any logo files in colour, all-black and all-white. This ensures that your logo can work on a variety of backgrounds.

If this still feels like a lot of info, I’ve prepared a cheat sheet that you can save (or Pin!) and refer back to.