Image file guidelines
The details matter. When it comes to creating things, our teams require certain types of logo & brand files, colors, and guidelines.
Logo Do’s & Don’ts
In order for your brand’s logos to look their best across any experience we create together, there are a few must-haves for our design team.
- Please provide vector logo files to ensure clarity.
(more about vector below) - Ideally, we need a full-color logo, a one-color logo, and any secondary logos or icons.
- DO NOT provide raster logo files if at all possible. These don’t translate to print and require our design team to rebuild your logos from scratch as an additional service.
(more about raster below)
Vector File Types
Vector files are images that are built by mathematical formulas that establish points on a grid. This allows them to scale to any size needed without losing definition and clarity.
Portable Document Format
Accessible by art teams, vendors, production, and clients.
Best Used: Viewing, submitting & editing logos, graphics, illustrations, and final art.
Color mode: CMYK or RGB
Adobe Illustrator
Accessible by art teams, vendors & production.
Best Used: Viewing, submitting & editing logos, graphics, illustrations, and final art.
Color mode: CMYK or RGB
Encapsulated PostScript
Accessible by art teams, vendors & production.
Best Used: Master logo files, graphics and print designs.
Color mode: CMYK
Scalable Vector Graphics
Accessible by art teams and web developers.
Best Used: Editing and creating images, mocks & proofs for a digital environment.
Color mode: RGB
Raster File Types
Raster files are composed of the colored blocks commonly referred to as pixels. These image types cannot be scaled without losing definition and clarity, and work best in web environments vs. print.
Adobe Photoshop Document
Ideal only for art & creative teams who have access to Photoshop.
Best Used: Editing and creating images, photos, mocks & proofs.
Color mode: CMYK or RGB
Joint Photographic Experts Group
Viewable image file for art, web development and clients.
Best Used: Image/illustration previewing or website images only.
Color mode: RGB
Portable Network Graphics
Works for art teams, web developers and clients.
Best Used: Logos, icons and other images that need a transparent background.
Color mode: CMYK
Tag Image File Format
High quality raster image ideal for art teams.
Best Used: Fixed images & photographs for high quality print.
Color mode: CMYK or RGB
Color Types
There are two main categories of color types: print and onscreen. Color on the printed page is subtractive, while color on a screen is additive (more on this later). The most important thing to realize is that digital and print mediums render color very differently from one another. You don’t use PMS colors on a website, just like you don’t use RGB colors on a printing press.
The most popular formats we use — PMS, CMYK, RGB and Hex — all fall into one of the two basic categories (print vs onscreen).
PMS – Pantone Matching System
PMS is a standardized color reproduction system used primarily in printing. Developed by Pantone Inc., it assigns a unique number to each color, making it easy to ensure consistency across different materials and production processes.
Format: Print
Usage: Commonly used in branding, design, and manufacturing where precise color matching is crucial. Ideal for logos, business cards, and other materials that require consistent color replication.
CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, & Key
CMYK is a subtractive color model used in color printing. It works by combining different percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks to produce a wide range of colors. The “Key” in CMYK refers to the black plate used in printing.
Format: Print
Usage: Used in color printing processes such as brochures, posters, and packaging. It’s the standard color model for most printers.
Hex (Hexadecimal) Color
Hex color codes are six-digit codes used in web design and development to specify colors. Each pair of digits represents the intensity of red, green, and blue in a color, respectively, in a hexadecimal (base-16) format.
Format: Onscreen
Usage: Widely used in web design, HTML, and CSS to define colors on websites and digital platforms.
RGB – Red, Green & Blue
RGB is an additive color model used for digital screens and electronic displays. It combines different intensities of red, green, and blue light to create various colors. The values range from 0 to 255 for each color component.
Format: Onscreen
Usage: Primarily used in digital design, including monitors, televisions, cameras, and LED displays.
What the font?!
Your brand’s fonts shape your brand voice in written form. To ensure we have all the correct font assets, please provide:
- Packaged static or variable fonts
- OFT (OpenType) or TTF (TrueType) font files
What about traditional print?
If your company has any traditional print needs (i.e. marketing collateral, letterhead, flyers, banners, business cards, tradeshow graphics), click the link below to download our checklist to ensure your files are properly structured.