Your Logo Cheat Sheet: How To Use Logo File Formats

Imagine. You’ve been working with your creative partner for weeks or even months, to develop a new brand identity or refresh an existing one for your business or organisation, and the day has finally arrived. 

It’s all done. It’s all finalised.

The entire team is buzzing with excitement to launch the new brand, and you’re utterly thrilled with the results. 

It’s been a labour of love. You might be doing happy dances around your office.

Now, your magical design team is hitting send any minute and delivering a suite of logo file formats, your brand guidelines and if you’ve been super thorough, everything else you need to launch your brand. 

(Not forgetting those all-important social profile images in the correct size.)

But wait…

There’s a folder here called logo files and within that folder, you find lots of other folders containing lots of different logo file formats. Eeeek! 

What’s an SVG? Why can’t I open this EPS? What even is an EPS? Which one do you use for what?

Breathe. Let’s unravel the mysteries together with our logo cheat sheet.

Why are there so many file formats? 

You have your digital files in front of you, and there are JUST. SO. MANY. 

It may seem like overkill, but actually, when it comes to designing and launching your brand, using the right logo file format for a specific purpose is important. 

Your creative team will have worked hard to make sure your logo has been delivered in every variation of file format. 

Not for sh*ts and giggles or to clock up some extra hours.

Really, it’s so you can be secure in the knowledge that you’ve got what you need to launch your brand, EVERYWHERE, for always. Yep. Always.

Right now, you may only need to be updating your social media or your website, so you may just need files that are suitable for online viewing. 

But in a week, a month or even a year from now, you may be working with a signage company, a stationery printer, or even an exhibition company and will need a completely different file type that’s suitable for print. 

That’s what all these files are for. They’re for now and for the future. The most common file formats

All the files that have magically arrived in your inbox can be identified by their extension. You probably know this already, but basically, this is what it could look like:

Those are the most common ones. Here’s a guide on exactly what they are, where they should be used, and how to open them.

What is an AI file?

Now, don’t panic, but unless you have access to Adobe Creative Suite and know your way around Adobe Illustrator, you probably won’t be able to open this file.

But that doesn’t mean it’s broken. 

Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard design software. A vector-based software which allows you to scale artwork using mathematical formulas (don’t worry, that’s automatic), without losing quality. 

This is what your designers have used to create your brand identity.

If you’re a marketing manager or CEO, you won’t necessarily need to be able to open this file yourself. If you’re working with designers or printers in the future, those are the files they’ll need to reproduce or create marketing materials for the brand. 

Keep them safe! 

What is an EPS file?

Similar to AI files, it is used primarily as a vector format. Which, as we touched on, means the resolution stays high (not blurry), even when stretched or blown up to larger scales.

For example, it will work well on a business card but can be blown up to appear on a massive roadside billboard and still look epic.

AI files are becoming increasingly more popular than EPS. While creative agencies will usually still supply an EPS file, designers and illustrators can just as easily create the same image types in AI files. 

But better safe than sorry, so same story.  Keep them safe, just in case. 

And again, unless you know your way around Adobe Illustrator, you won’t be able to just click and open this format. 

But that’s what designers are for, right? They’re a handy bunch.

What is a PDF file?

Now, you’re probably thinking, ‘Well, which bloomin’ file types can I open then?’ Fair point. Let’s start with the PDF. 

You probably know your way around a PDF; they basically run the world now. 

But in case you didn’t know, PDF stands for Portable Document Format. 

It means that these file types can be shared and opened easily and reliably on any machine, anywhere. 

Pretty snazzy, right?

In the context of logos and even your brand guidelines, a PDF is a format used to display documents and graphics correctly, no matter the device, application, operating system or web browser. 

So this will come in handy when you need to send your brand guidelines to a colleague somewhere else in the world, to printers, designers or anyone who is having anything to do with re-creating your brand for other materials. 

Warning though, because you can open this file and you know you’re way around a PDF, you must resist the urge to make any edits to a design when it’s in this format. 

PDFs are great containers, but make sure any design edits are done within the AI files (by a professional) and they can then be exported as a new version of a PDF.

What is a JPG file?

Ah, the humble jpg. You’ve probably seen these file formats knockin’ around quite a bit. It might even be your go-to file type because you can open it easily.

JPG is one of the most widely used formats online, typically for photos, graphics and large web images like banner ads. 

These magical little files have a sliding scale of compression that decreases file size fabulously but increases pixelation (it gets blurry, basically) the more the image is compressed. 

But as long as you keep the quality at a certain point, their compact file sizes are perfect for uploading images to your website, for example. 

But JPGs are definitely not suitable for high-quality print jobs, such as business stationery, brochures, roller banners or exhibition graphics. 

So don’t send them to your designer or printing company. They won’t be able to scale them without losing quality, and you’ll end up with a blurry logo on a humongous banner at your next exhibition or conference. 

Imagine the horror! 

JPGs also don’t support transparency, unlike the legendary PNG format. Which can be super handy. 

Let’s go visit that one next.

What is a PNG file?

Have you seen those awful designs where a glorious logo on a white background has been plonked on a coloured background? 

It doesn’t look that great, does it?

It’s probably because a jpg file (which doesn’t have a transparent background) has been sent to whoever designed this ‘masterpiece’ and they’ve had no choice but to use it like this. 

If only there was a better option. Yep, you guessed it. 

The PNG file comes to the rescue. They can be used for almost any digital purpose (note, we said digital, definitely not print) and can be exported from the AI file with transparency. 

That makes it super duper handy to drop onto PowerPoint presentations, social posts with coloured backgrounds, and on top of photographs.

Make sure you’re adhering to your brand guidelines, though; read why that’s important here. 

If you’ve chosen your creative partner well, they will have supplied you with versions of the logo that can be used on any colour background. Here’s an example. 

Note: If you’ve been supplied a white version of your logo as a transparent PNG, you probably won’t be able to actually see it when you open it. 

Don’t worry, it’s definitely there. Plonk it on to a colour background, and you’ll see what we mean.

What is an SVG file?

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. It’s an XML-based vector image format for defining two-dimensional graphics.

Eh? I know, right?  

We could go into the ins and outs of all the technical mumbo jumbo here, but here’s what you need to know. 

Just like the AI files, it’s a scaleable file. So the logo, graphic or whatever it might be can be resized up and down as many times as needed and won’t lose quality. 

But the difference is that this file is a bit of a game changer for web design, interactivity and animation. 

It means that even with the most complex graphics, you never need to worry about blurry images online again. 

These are files that your in-house design team, web designers, animation and design agencies will know what to do with. 

Don’t sweat it, just keep it safe.