Logo File Formats: When to Use SVG, PNG, PDF and JPG

A logo appears everywhere, from websites and business cards to social media profiles and signs. Each use calls for a different file format. Trying to cover everything with a single JPG leads to blurry prints and logos stuck inside white boxes.

Vector vs pixel

• Vector files (SVG, PDF, AI, EPS) define shapes mathematically. However much you enlarge them, edges stay sharp.
• Pixel files (PNG, JPG, WEBP) are made of a fixed number of pixels. Enlarged beyond their size, they blur.

A logo's master file should always be vector. Pixel files are exported from it at the size you need.

Which format where?

What a logo package should include

When delivering a logo, or asking an agency for one, these files make life easier:

• Vector master file (SVG and PDF; AI or EPS if your printer needs them)
• PNGs with transparent backgrounds (horizontal, stacked and icon-only versions)
• Separate color versions for light and dark backgrounds (e.g. white and black logos)
• Brand color codes: HEX and RGB (digital), CMYK and Pantone if available (print)
• The names of the typefaces used

Common mistakes

• Using a JPG logo: JPG doesn't support transparency, so on a colored background you get a white box around the logo. It also blurs sharp edges.
• Enlarging a small PNG: A 200-pixel logo downloaded from a website can't be used for a poster or sign; you need the vector source.
• Taking the logo from a screenshot: The resolution is low and the background comes with it.
• No single-color version: A dark logo disappears on a dark photo; prepare a white or one-color version.

Tools that help

Convert your logo between PNG, JPG and WEBP with the Image Converter, make a site icon from it with the Favicon Generator, and add it to your photos with the Add Watermark to Image.