What files do I need to get from my designer?
TRUE STORY - Today, I had to recreate a logo for an established brand in Toronto because they need collateral made but their initial designer did not provide them with any logo files... What!?!
Once the logo and branding is designed, your designer should send you a package of logo files to use in your marketing material. You need to make sure your designer provides you your logo in a variety of formats so that you will be able to use your logo anywhere.
1/Vector files: A vector image is made up of paths and shapes, not dots (pixels).
AI (Adobe Illustrator)
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript
PDF (can be vector if saved properly)
4 Reasons why they are critical to your brand kit.
Scalable Without Losing Quality
You can make a vector image as big or small as you want, and it stays crisp—perfect for everything from business cards to billboards.
Editable and Flexible
Every element (like color, line thickness, font) can be adjusted easily in design software.
Professional Printing
Printers require vector files for clean, high-resolution output (especially logos, illustrations, or text-based designs).
Smaller File Sizes
Because they only store formulas for shapes, vector files are often smaller and more efficient than high-resolution raster images.
2/Raster files: A raster image (also called a bitmap) is made up of pixels—tiny squares of color arranged in a grid. Each pixel has a specific color value, and together they create the full image.
Key Characteristics of Raster Images:
Resolution-Dependent
Raster images are created at a specific size and resolution (e.g. 1920x1080 pixels).
If you try to enlarge them beyond their original resolution, they become blurry or pixelated.
Great for Detail
Perfect for photographs or detailed artwork with complex color gradients and shading.
Not Easily Scalable
Unlike vector graphics, raster files don’t scale well. If you need a larger version, you may need to recreate it at a higher resolution.
