How to prepare a logo for use in print and online?

You have a logo and it feels like the job is done - one nice file you can paste everywhere. In practice it works a little differently. The same logo needs to land on a business card, on a banner as big as a door, on a tiny favicon in the browser tab, and on an engraving in metal. Each of these places likes a different file. The good news: once you prepare a proper set, later you simply pull out the right version and go. Let us walk through it calmly.

The vector - the base everything starts from

Let us begin with the most important thing. A logo should exist in a vector version. A vector is a graphic described mathematically - with lines, curves and shapes - rather than a set of pixels. It sounds technical, but the effect is very practical: such a file can be enlarged endlessly and always stays perfectly sharp. The same mark looks just as good on a small label as on a banner at the entrance to town.

Vector logo formats are most often SVG, AI (Adobe Illustrator), EPS and PDF. Your designer works from those files, because they let the artwork be prepared at any size - from a business card to a large format - without pixelation or blur. What reaches the print shop is a finished PDF; source files such as AI, CDR or PSD are not accepted. If you plan a logo on merchandise, for example an engraving on a pendrive or a print on a pen, the vector is the starting point here too.

If you only have a photo of your logo or a JPG downloaded from a website some time ago, treat that as a sign that it is worth asking a designer for a vector version. It is like having the original key rather than a copy of it - from the original you can make anything, from a copy not always.

Raster - versions for the web and screens

For the web, raster graphics are used more often - images built from pixels. A few formats rule here, each for something different.

• PNG - great when you need a transparent background. A logo in PNG sits nicely on a colourful section of a page or on a photo, because it does not drag a white rectangle along with it.
• JPG - light and convenient where the background is uniform anyway. It works well as a logo in simple materials or in an email footer.
• Favicon - that tiny icon visible in the browser tab. It is usually a simplified version of the mark or just the symbol, because a full logo with text becomes unreadable at such a small size.

It is worth having raster versions in a few sizes and resolutions - a page header will appreciate one size, a social media avatar another, and an email signature yet another. When you prepare them in advance, you do not have to improvise and scale in a hurry every time.

Colours - so the brand looks the same everywhere

Colour is the heart of a logo and worth guarding, because a screen and paper "see" colours differently. A screen glows with light, print reflects it off paper - which is why the same shade can look slightly different in both worlds. A well-prepared logo has this solved in advance.

• CMYK - the colour space print works in. A logo version in CMYK gives the most predictable colours on paper.
• RGB and HEX - these are screen colours. RGB describes a colour with light, and HEX is its short notation (for example used on websites). You will use this version online and in everything viewed on a monitor.
• Pantone - a system of precisely defined, ready-made colours. It helps when you want your brand colour to be identical across different materials and different providers.

Logo versions - one is not enough

Here we come to the thing that usually surprises people the most. A solid mark is not a single file - it is more of a small family of versions, each with its own job. Thanks to that, the logo feels at home in very different places.

• The full version - the mark together with the name, which most people will recognise as "the whole logo".
• The simplified version (symbol) - just the symbol without text. Ideal where space is tight, for example on a favicon or as an avatar.
• Horizontal and vertical layout - so the logo fits both a wide page footer and a narrow, tall space on a banner.
• For light and dark backgrounds - a version that looks good on white, and a separate one for a dark background, so the mark is always readable.
• Monochrome (single colour) - a logo in one colour. Useful for an engraving, a stamp or a print on an invoice, where colours may not be available.

Many of these versions come in handy in everyday company materials. When you order classic business cards, the full version in vector and CMYK colours usually works best - and that is exactly the file the printing house will ask you for.

A good logo is not one file, but a small family of versions - each ready for a different place and a different material.

Usage rules - the clear space and what not to do

Even the best-prepared logo can be unintentionally "spoiled" by poor use. That is why it is worth sticking to a few simple rules that protect its readability and consistency.

• Clear space - the minimum free area around the logo. Thanks to it, the mark can "breathe" and does not blend with text or other elements next to it.
• Minimum size - the smallest size below which the logo becomes unreadable. Below that limit it is better to use just the symbol.
• Do not stretch it - always scale the logo proportionally. A flattened or stretched mark immediately looks sloppy.
• Do not change the colours - brand colours are part of recognisability. Instead of experimenting, use the ready version for a light, dark or single-colour background.

These rules are not a designer's whim - it is precisely thanks to them that a brand looks consistent wherever it appears. If you want to care for recognisability even more, take a look at the post on how to create a recognisable visual style without changing your logo - the logo is only the starting point.

Order in your files - a set that saves time

Finally, the most practical thing. All these versions are worth keeping in one, logically arranged place, with a simple way of naming them. When a file is named so that the format and purpose are visible at a glance, you do not have to open it to know what is inside.

A great solution is a so-called brand mark manual, or a mini-brandbook - a short document that lists the colours, the allowed logo versions, the clear space and the usage rules. It is a handy signpost: whenever anyone does something with your brand, they only need to glance at it.

Why is it worth having this set before you order anything for print? Because then ordering is simply easy. You do not search for files at the last minute, you do not send a random JPG and you do not risk the logo coming out blurry or in the wrong colour. You have it ready - you pull out the right version and move on. It works the same way with colours: if you want them to be dependable in print and on screen, the post on how to build a colour palette that works in print and online will help.

A logo is the face of your company, so it is worth taking a moment to prepare it properly, once and well. You do not need to be a graphics expert - it is enough to know what to ask a designer for and what is worth having on hand. And once you have gathered the vectors, the raster versions and the described colours, every next order - from a business card to merchandise - becomes much easier.