On this page 5 sections
Uploading your logo takes seconds: the designer asks for it on the very first screen, and every template drops it into place for you. Getting it to print crisply is down to the file. An SVG, or a large PNG with a see-through background, gives the sharpest result. A screenshot or an image saved off a website usually doesn’t. Below: which files work, seven steps from upload to the basket, and what to do if yours is small or fuzzy.
Before uploading your logo: pick the right file #
The designer accepts PNG, JPG, SVG and PDF (for a PDF it takes the first page). It can’t open AI or EPS files. If that’s all you’ve got, either choose “I will upload print-ready artwork” on the product page, or use our logo redraw service, covered further down.
| What you’ve got | Result in print | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| SVG or a vector PDF | Crisp at any size, from a sticker to a banner | The gold standard. Whoever designed your logo should have one. |
| PNG, transparent background | Crisp, provided it has enough pixels | Sits neatly on any colour. |
| JPG, or PNG on white | Fine on a white area | On a coloured background you’ll see a white box round it, unless you strip the white out. |
| Screenshot or website image | Often soft or blocky | Rarely enough pixels for anything larger than a small label. |
How many pixels is enough depends on how big it prints. The maths, with examples, is in dpi for printing.
Uploading your logo in seven steps #
- Upload on the first screen. When the designer opens you’ll see “Step 1: upload your logo”. Drag the file in or tap to browse. Changed your mind later? The Your details tab has a Your logo section where you can add or swap it at any point.
- Strip a white background if needed. PNG and JPG logos get a “Remove background” button in that Your logo section. If it eats into the logo itself, “Undo background removal” restores it.
- Try a few layouts. Each template has a logo spot, so as you click through layouts in the Templates tab your logo moves into each one by itself. Settle on the one where it looks most at home.
- Borrow your logo’s colours. The designer reads the colours in your logo and suggests three or four ready-matched pairs under “Colours from your logo”. Choose one and the whole design recolours to match.
- Position and size it. Click the logo, drag it into place and pull a corner handle to scale it. Proportions are locked, so it can’t get squashed or stretched. The arrow keys nudge it a little at a time.
- Stay inside the dashed line. That dashed line is the safe area. Let the logo cross it and the checks panel will warn you it may be trimmed or folded into a hem.
- Clear the warnings. Look for a low-resolution alert or a note that the logo is covering text, and fix either by moving or resizing before you finish.
Where the logo should sit #
Size depends on the product. On a banner, people usually need the business name and phone number first, often from across the street, so a logo roughly a quarter to a third of the banner’s height is about right. On a business card or label it’s the other way round: the logo is often what people recognise, so give it more room.
- Give it breathing space. Keep text from touching it or tucking underneath. The designer warns you if a logo covers words.
- Mind the contrast. A navy logo on a navy panel vanishes. Pick a colour pair where it stands out, or sit it on a light patch.
- Respect the margins. Logos belong inside the dashed line just like text does. Bleed and safe area explains the margins product by product.
- Stamps are their own thing. A self-inking company stamp prints in one solid ink, so every shade and colour turns into the same colour. Simple, bold logos come out best.
Some products are built around the logo from the start. Round custom logo stickers and business cards put it front and centre, and card backs can show it on a block of colour. On a very small label, a layout may have no logo space at all; the designer says so and offers to “Place my logo on it”.
A worked example
A window cleaner has a logo that looks great on his van but was only ever saved as a small JPG from his website. On a 6 ft × 3 ft (1829 × 914 mm) PVC banner, the designer flags it as low resolution. He shrinks the logo until the warning clears and makes his phone number bigger instead. The banner reads better from the road, and the logo stays sharp. For his car door magnetic signs later, he’d be better off getting the logo redrawn once and using the clean file everywhere.
When your logo is low resolution #
If a logo will print below 100 dpi on something big like a banner, or below 150 dpi on something small, the checks give you three options: make it smaller, upload a bigger file, or choose our logo redraw. It’s a warning, not a block. But a blurry logo on a banner is obvious from the pavement.
Can’t find a better file? Close the designer and pick Redraw / vectorise my logo from a low-res file under Artwork on the product page. It’s a paid option: we rebuild your logo as a clean vector file that’s yours to keep and use on your letterheads, signs and everything else. No logo at all? Use your company name as a wordmark to keep going, or choose Design a new logo for me under Artwork. If you’d rather hand the whole job over, our artwork and design service does exactly that, and it includes 1 design and 2 rounds of changes.
Membership and scheme badges #
We don’t add scheme or trade-body logos to designs. Those badges are licensed to members, so the designer shows your registration or membership number as plain text instead, and its icon set is simple line icons only. Only upload logos you own or have permission to use. If your own logo is a registered mark, GOV.UK’s guide on how to register a trade mark explains what that protects.
Once uploading your logo is done and it sits well, run through our final design checks before you finish. Making a banner? The free banner designer walkthrough covers everything else.