We’re so excited to build your on demand plus swag collection! We’ve put together this handy guide on logo files to make it easy to create your collection in a snap.
✅ Branding Checklist
→ Company Brand Guidelines (if you have them)
→ Your logo or design in vector format, with text in outlines
→ Versions of your logo designed for a dark and light background (also in vector)
Why Do We Ask For Your Brand Guidelines?
Typically, brand guidelines include information on your fonts, color palette, and other important information on how to represent your brand visually. Having all of that information in a single document gives our design team everything they need when they start creating your branded items.
What does it mean to have text in outlines?
If your design or logo has text, that text is typically saved with the specific font. There are thousands of font families out there, many of which are specifically designed for one company’s use, and are unavailable to the general public.
When we receive a file that requires a specific font, our graphics editing program won’t recognize that font, and will replace it with a generic font - which changes the logo.
However, if the file is saved with the text converted to outlines, the text is saved as a shape, and it retains the style of the font.
You can usually find the function to convert text to outlines under the type menu. Select all the text, choose “Type” → create outlines.
What Are Vector Files? Why Are They Important?
Vector files are digital files made up of mathematical equations and geometric shapes. Unlike raster files (e.g. JPEGs or PNGs), which are made up of pixels, vector files can be resized without losing quality, meaning they can be scaled up or down without becoming pixelated or blurry.
When decorating branded items, using vector files is crucial to ensure high-quality printing. When a raster image is enlarged, the pixels become more visible, leading to a loss of quality. Vector files, on the other hand, can be enlarged to any size without losing quality.
How Do I Know If My Artwork is Vector Art?
Common types of vector files include Adobe Illustrator (.ai), Encapsulated PostScript (.eps), and Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg). If you have a file that ends in .ai or .eps, you probably won’t be able to open it, unless you have a graphics editing program like Adobe Illustrator. Don’t worry! Send it to us and we’ll confirm that it is acceptable.
Raster vs Vector Art
I Don’t Have My Logo In Vector, What Can I Do?
Your best bet is to find the person or group in your company that manages your brand. Typically that will be someone in marketing or creative - anyone that’s responsible for making physical items with your logo on it (like signage). You can share this article with them to explain why you need the vector file, including the checklist above.