Design File Types: Which to Use Where
Your company’s new logo is finalized. It’s a true work of art and you’re chomping at the bit to get it implemented into all your company’s brand materials ASAP: website, business cards, signage, email signature, t-shirts, stickers, temporary tattoos, letterhead, social media, you name it. So your designer dumps a bunch of files on you. Yay you have the final product! But you may be wondering, what the fannypack is an .eps file and what the fishsticks am I supposed to do with it?!
If your designer gave you a handful of file types, then that’s good. Having different files will help you apply the logo in various ways. Here’s some background on each file type and what you can do with each…
EPS: Best for Printing
An EPS (.eps) file is an infinitely scalable file, meaning you can put it on a billboard or on a pen and it doesn’t lose resolution or quality. Your logo was probably created in Adobe Illustrator as a “vector” shape, which allows the logo to be scalable. EPS files may not open on your computer, but that’s ok, as they’re best used for professional printing. Say you want a business card and letterhead created. You can send the designer and/or printer these files and they will be able to work with them to ensure the printed brand materials display your logo at perfect resolution.
SVG: Best for Responsive Web Design
I’m not an expert in the mysteries of SVG (.svg) files, though I know enough to explain the basics. To my knowledge, SVGs are a sort of digital EPS file, meaning that when saved and implemented into a website properly, the SVG image files will scale with a responsive web page without losing quality. They also load quicker than other large image files due to the way the file is encoded. Working with SVG files can be tricky even for designers, so unless you have Illustrator and know how to export SVG files properly, you should definitely let your designer and developer handle these.
JPG: Most Common
A JPG (.jpg) file is the most common digital image file. You’ve probably heard of JPGs since most image files are in this format. If you’ve taken a photo on your phone or digital camera, and/or uploaded images to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc., then you’ve used a JPG file. Say you want to upload your logo to your social media platforms or your email signature. JPGs are good to use here, though JPG files don’t scale infinitely like EPS or SVG files do. You will need to make sure your JPG files are at the right size and pixel ratio for uploading to different locations such as the square profile pic, the main banner, the really small signature area and so on. You can also work with JPG files in print applications, though you will need to pay close attention to the size and resolution of the files. They typically need to be 300 pixels per inch (PPI), and since images require many colors to print details, they need to be in CMYK color format. Your designer should be able to provide you with JPG files that fit the requirements for the specific application.
PNG: A Fancy JPG for Digital Use
PNG (.png) files are very similar to JPGs in that they don’t scale infinitely and need to be the right size and resolution wherever they are placed. The difference between PNG and JPG files is that PNG files are only intended to be used in digital applications and can be saved with a transparent background. This can be of benefit when you need to apply your logo on a webpage with a background color, as it eliminates the white box around the artwork that appears in JPG files. When you have a choice, it’s better to use an SVG file over a PNG file, as PNGs are high quality but may take longer to load depending on their size.
AI, PSD, or INDD: Artwork Files for Future Use
Illustrator files (.ai), Photoshop files (.psd) and InDesign files (.indd) are all generated from their respective Adobe design software programs. They will contain the original artwork where your logo and other brand materials were created. These files can only be opened and manipulated if you have Adobe Creative Cloud. If you don’t have this software or if you don’t know how to use it, that’s ok. It’s good to keep these files in case you want to change your logo and branding in the future. Any designer you may hire later on should be able to use these files to make updates and create new logo and brand designs. And just so you understand the gist of each file type, here is a bit more info on each:
- Illustrator Files: These will be where your logo files were created. The artwork should be created with vector shapes, possibly some fonts, and include the universal color codes that appear in the logo.
- Photoshop Files: These files will contain brand design elements and are used to generate image files. These image files include JPGs and PNGs saved at specific sizes and resolutions (non-scaling files).
- InDesign Files: These files typically contain many design elements including your logo, images, colors, shapes, fonts, and are typically used to create print-ready pieces like brochures, business cards and stationery.
There are a handful of other file types floating around out there, but these are the most common file types used in design and branding projects. It’s good to be familiar with these when starting a new business or redesigning outdated branding so you know how to handle them once your designer passes them along to you. When in doubt, ask your designer what they’re sending you and how to use them. That’s what you’re paying them to do!
