Logo files,
What to give a client.
The complete list of logo files to give a client: color versions, SVG, PDF, EPS, PNG and JPG, layouts, social sizes and a brand guide, with a checklist.
You finished the logo. The client loves it. Now comes the part nobody teaches in design school: the handoff. Send too little and you get emails for years asking for "the logo, but white" or "a version for the printer". Send a messy folder and the client uses the wrong file on their storefront sign. Here is exactly what to give a client, and why each file is there.
The short answer
A complete logo package has four things: every color version, every file type, a few layouts if the logo has them, and a short brand guide that explains which file to use where. If you only remember one rule, remember this one: give the client a file for every place their logo will ever appear, named so they can find it without calling you.
The color versions
Most logos need four to six color versions. Every one of them should exist in every file type below.
- Full color. The main logo, used on white or light backgrounds.
- Black. One color black for faxes, forms, newspaper ads, engraving and anything printed in a single ink.
- White, reversed. For dark backgrounds, photos and merchandise. This is the version clients ask for most often after handoff.
- One version per brand color. A single color version in each main brand color, for embroidery, screen printing and promo items where ink colors are limited.
If parts of the logo are white in the full color version, decide whether they should become a knockout (a cut out that shows the background) in the one color versions.
The file types
Each file type exists for a reason. A client does not need to understand the reasons, but you do.
SVG
The master vector file for screens. Web developers want it because it stays sharp at any size and loads fast.
The vector file for print. Printers, sign makers and most office software open a PDF without trouble, and the logo stays sharp at any size. When a printer asks for "vector", a PDF is usually the friendliest answer.
EPS
An older vector format that some printers, embroiderers and promo companies still ask for. Include it so the client never has to come back for it.
PNG
A pixel file with a transparent background. This is what the client will use most: slides, documents, social posts and websites built in tools like Squarespace or Wix. Export it large, about 2400 px wide, so it looks sharp on big screens. You can make one from your SVG in seconds with our logo to PNG converter.
JPG
A pixel file with a solid background. Some email systems and older apps cannot handle transparency, so a JPG on white is the safe fallback.
The layouts
If the logo has a symbol and a wordmark, give the client each layout the identity allows: horizontal, stacked, and the symbol on its own. The symbol alone becomes the social profile picture, the favicon and the app icon. Our favicon generator turns it into every icon size a website needs.
The extras that save you emails
These are not strictly logo files, but clients ask for them in the first month after almost every project:
- Social sizes. A profile picture, a cover and a banner for each platform they use. The logo resizer makes Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and X sizes in one go.
- Print sizes. A few ready layouts such as 5x5, 4x6 or Letter at 300 dpi, for signs, flyers and framed prints.
- Favicon and app icons. For the website launch.
- Business card. A simple layout with the logo, which you can build with the business card maker.
The brand guide
Even a one page guide prevents most misuse. Include the brand colors in HEX, RGB and CMYK, plus the closest Pantone if the client prints a lot. Our color palette generator lists all four for every color in the logo. Add the minimum size, the clear space around the logo and two or three examples of what not to do, such as stretching it or putting the full color version on a busy photo.
Name and sort the files
A good package is easy to read. Use one folder per color version, and give every file a name that says what it is: abcinsurance_logo_white-reversed.png tells a stranger everything. final-final-v3.png tells them nothing. Add a short README that says which file to use for what.
Check the files before they leave
Before you send anything, open the SVG and look for the problems printers find later: text that was not converted to outlines, embedded images, strokes too thin to print, and stray open paths. The logo file checker scans for all of them and tells you how to fix each one.
Deliver it in a way that lasts
A ZIP in an email works for a week. Then the email is buried and the client asks you again. The better way is one link the client can bookmark, with every file, the brand guide and the colors in one place. That is what LogoGoGo does: you upload the logo once, it builds every color version and file type, and your client gets a branded page they can always come back to, with approval and payment built in. Read how to deliver a logo package like a pro for the full handoff routine.
Your checklist
- Full color, black, white reversed and one version per brand color.
- Each version in SVG, PDF, EPS, PNG and JPG.
- Every layout the identity has, including the symbol alone.
- Social sizes, print sizes and a favicon pack.
- A brand guide with HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone.
- Clear folders, clear file names and a README.
- A final file check, then one link for the client.