CrazyLeaf Editorial Do you need to design a high resolution logo?
It takes about 2.6 seconds for someone to form a first impression of your company. Most of that first impression is based on your logo.
If your logo isn’t a high resolution image, it could look pixelated or like a cartoon. That will give people the wrong impression of your company.
Once you give a bad first impression, it’s very difficult to create a positive impression. As a result, that first impression could cost you a lot of business.
Keep reading to learn how you can create a high resolution logo to create a great first impression.
What is a Logo?
A logo is a key to creating a visual identity for your business. It’s how your customers, potential customers, and employees relate to your business.
By creating a logo that people can relate to, you’re creating a positive emotional connection between your company and its most important stakeholders.
If you want to know more about designing a great logo, read this article for great design tips.
How to Make Your Logo High Res
You’re finally done creating your killer logo. You now have to save it as a high-resolution image. There are several different file formats that will help you save the file so it’s appropriate for print and digital publishing.
Raster and Vector Logo Images
In order to know the different file types and how they function, you have to know the difference between raster and vector images.
Raster images are standard images. They’re usually pictures, gifs, or illustrations. Raster images are composed of pixels on a grid.
When you use raster images, any time you resize them, you will lose quality. Raster images are usually the final draft of a logo, and it’s ready to be printed.
Vector images are commands or mathematical formulas that tell your computer where to put lines and shapes in a two-dimensional space.
Vector images aren’t used in photographs because the images will look cartoonish. They’re used in illustrations, text, and they’re very common in logos.
Unlike raster images, vector images don’t lose quality when they’re resized. They’re typically used if your logo will be printed on something tangible like a brochure or t-shirt. They’re usually converted to a raster image if they’ll be used online.
Common Raster Files
Within the categories of raster and vector files, there are different file types. Each file type has their own advantages and disadvantages for logo design and printing.
JPEG
JPG is used heavily in web design and online publishing. JPGs have small file sizes, which can make websites load faster. When these images are resized and compressed, the loss of quality isn’t noticeable online.
This is important to know, especially if you want to create a website for SEO.
If you plan to print your logo, don’t use this file type. Due to its small file size, JPGs have a very low resolution. That will result in a pixelated image when it’s printed.
PNG
PNG images are good for creating high resolution images and logos. It combines the best of GIFs and JPGs. PNG images also let you save your logos as transparent images, which you will need.
You’re going o use your logo in a variety of applications, and you don’t want a white background to appear with your design. You want your logo to blend in with the background.
TIFF
TIFF files are used mostly for printing. These files are too large for online usage because they don’t lose quality when they’re compressed.
GIF
Gif or Jif? It doesn’t matter how you pronounce it, you should know that they can be animated.
GIFs are great for drawing attention to social media profiles. They’re also small enough to use on websites.
However, if you use too many colors or have too many frames, the file size will grow. That can slow download times dramatically.
PSD
This file type is used only with Adobe Photoshop. That means that the person you’re sending the file to will need to have Photoshop in order to view the image. Most designers and printers will have Photoshop.
Common Vector Files
There are two main types of vector files. Again, these aren’t to be used on the web. You can send these files to your printer.
AI
An AI file is used within Adobe Illustrator. This is fine if you’re working on your logo in Adobe Illustrator. If you plan to send your file to a web designer or someone within your team, they will need to have Illustrator.
You’re better off converting the file into another file type and sharing it.
EPS
An EPS file is a standard vector file format. This is fine for sharing drafts of your logo or sending a final copy to the printer.
Saving Your Image File
The final step in creating a high resolution logo is saving the file. Once you know what you’re going to use the logo for, it’s simple to decide which file type you’re going to use.
For example, if you’re going to use the logo for your website, you’ll save it as a JPG file. If you plan to send it to the printer, you’ll probably save the logo as a TIFF or EPS file.
This process will be similar across design programs. Under the File menu, you’ll see an option to export the image or save as. You’ll then create a file name and choose the file format to save the image.
Some programs like Adobe Photoshop will give you an additional option to choose the resolution. Generally speaking, you’ll want a resolution of 72dpi (dots per inch) for online images and 300dpi for images to be printed.
Once you’ve saved the logo, you can make high resolution versions of your logo available online. Learn more about this by visiting HoldUp Displays for an example.
Create Your High Resolution Logo
A logo is a major element in creating your company’s image. You want to be sure that your image is consistent with the what your company is about.
A high res logo can give your logo a sleek, professional look or make your company look like it’s performing at amateur hour. Understanding the different file types will go a long way to creating a great impression of your company.
Want to know more about design and marketing?
Check out these tips to make your logo stand out.
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