Logo files explained: SVG, PNG, EPS or PDF?

Vector or pixels: the key difference

There are two kinds of logo file. A vector file is made of lines and shapes described by maths. You can scale it as large as you like and it stays sharp. SVG, EPS and most logo PDFs are vector files.

A pixel file is made of a grid of tiny dots. PNG and JPG are pixel files. Enlarge one beyond its size and it turns blurry or blocky. Making it smaller works fine.

Rule of thumb: the original of your logo is always a vector file. You create pixel files from it, in the sizes you need. The other way round doesn’t work without losing quality.

Which file do you use for what?

Almost every use fits into one of these boxes:

• SVG. For websites and apps. The file is small, stays sharp on every screen and works in all modern browsers. Designers and web developers like working with it too.
• PNG. For Word, PowerPoint, email signatures and social media. Choose a PNG with a transparent background, so your logo doesn’t sit in a white box on a coloured slide.
• PDF or EPS. For print, such as business cards, leaflets, signs and exhibition materials. Printers often ask for one of the two. Supply them in print colours.
• JPG. Best avoided for your logo. A JPG has no transparent background and loses a little sharpness with every edit. You’ll see smudges around the letters.

The variants that belong in your logo pack

Besides the file format, the variant matters. One logo rarely fits everywhere. A good logo pack therefore has a few fixed versions:

• Primary logo. The standard colour version, for most uses on a light background.
• White or reversed. For dark backgrounds and photos. Without it, someone will recolour the logo themselves.
• Black. For newspapers, stamps, simple forms and single-colour print.
• Horizontal and stacked. A wide version for websites and letterheads, a compact version for square spaces.
• Icon or brand mark. The symbol without text, for social media profile pictures and small spaces.
• Favicon and app icon. The small image in a browser tab or on a phone. It needs a simplified version that stays legible at a tiny size.

File names everyone understands

A logo pack only works if people can find the right file. Names like ‘logo_final_v3_new.png’ help no one. Choose one fixed pattern and stick to it, for example: brand name, variant, colour, format.

That gives you names like ‘organisation-horizontal-white.svg’ or ‘organisation-icon-colour.png’. Use lower case and hyphens, without spaces. Leave out dates and words like ‘final’. They’ll be wrong after the next update.

Separate screen and print in your folders as well. Then a colleague making a presentation won’t grab the print file by mistake, and vice versa.

How to put together a small logo pack

You don’t need every possible combination. Start with what your organisation actually uses. Ask the designer or agency that created your logo for the original. That’s usually an AI, EPS, PDF or SVG file.

Then create an SVG and a PNG with a transparent background for each variant. Add a PDF or EPS for print. Make the PNGs generously large, so they stay sharp on a big screen too. Anyone can make them smaller.

Add a short explanation: which file for which purpose. One line per format is enough. Then nobody has to guess or ring round.

In MarkBase, every logo variant sits in the asset hub, in the file formats that belong to your brand: primary, icon, white, black and print. You copy a logo URL for your website or email signature, and you can generate favicons and app icons straight from it. With version control, old logos disappear from view.