Heidi Bartlett, one of our Sage Branding Specialists, and owner of Idieh Design is here to answer a design question from one of our readers.

I just had new branding identity (logo, etc) done for my business. What sort of file formats do I need?

– Anonymous

You went through the exciting process of a re-brand and you can’t wait to start using your shiny new logo. So, you just need a jpg. and you are good to go, right? Wrong. Any designer who knows what he/she is doing should AT LEAST provide the file formats listed below. If he/she does not, be sure to request them. You will be happy you did (and so will any other designer you choose to work with in the future.)

EPS

An EPS is a vector file format that allows the artwork to be resized to any size, big or small. It can be edited (with limitations), and, because it is still in its raw form as an EPS, it allows the flexibility needed when designing. This is the file format most commonly preferred when printing because of its high quality. (Keep in mind, this won’t be a file format you will be able to open & view unless you have certain design software.)

JPGs and PNGs

These two formats are used mainly on the Internet, which in turn means they are smaller file sizes. They are also great to have if you wish to include an image of your logo in your email signature or if you wish to insert your logo into Word, Powerpoint, etc. (Microsoft Office Tip: If you ever have trouble inserting a JPG into an Office program, it probably means the JPG was created in a CMYK color space. Ask your designer for a RGB JPG, too.)

JPGs have the (dreadful) white box around the artwork, which makes them limited in their use. PNGs allow for the same type of smaller file size to exist, but without the white background (in other words, the background is transparent). Keep in mind, JPGs and PNGs are NOT resizable in terms of making them bigger. The bigger you make them, the more pixilated (blurry) they will become. Always request JPGs and PNGs to be provided at size or slightly larger than their intended end use.

PDF

Press-ready PDFs are great to have on hand. You will be able to open and view this file type without the design software needed to open an EPS file. PDFs are another format that many printers are open (and many times prefer) to work with in production. If the PDF is saved with particularly settings, it can be opened in certain design software and manipulated (with limitations).

Just to recap. Make sure to request an EPS, JPG, PNG and PDF of your final logo from your designer and then treat these files with love. When the time arrives and you need to create an ad, business collateral, a new website or anything that includes your logo, you will have the necessary files (and for sure claim the “best client ever” award from your designer). Not only will it make your life easier, but, if for some reason your original designer jumps ship, you now have your company identity at your fingertips.

Do you have a question for one of our  Sage Branding SpecialistsVisit the home page and ask your question in the right column question box.