Logo design comprises different defining aspects – from the designer’s influences and personal whims to the design’s color and shape. Our previous post discussed how logos are defined by color and shape. This time we’d like to talk about the file types and what you ought to know when designing a logo for different media.
As technical as these two graphic design terms sound, they’re very simple. Raster graphics are basically made up of pixels, the things you see on your screen, and the rough edges you see on an image when you zoom in too much. On the other hand, vector graphics are made up of lines and anchor points that are auto-adjusted by Adobe Illustrator (or any other vector software editor you’re using) when you’re resizing your work. That’s the basic gist of raster and vector graphics, but let’s delve deeper into the abyss and know where and when to use them and on what project, aside from logo design, you can use them.
Upon first inspection, raster and vector graphics will look the same. The difference becomes apparent once reproducing the design becomes an issue.
Raster Graphics
If you’re going to zoom in on an image, you’ll notice that the edges become more pixelated. This is because most images (JPEG, JPG, PNG, etc.) are rasterized, allowing an artist or photographer to manipulate the image using graphics editing software like Adobe Photoshop.
A raster graphic image is made up of pixels, with each pixel having only one color. This means that if you have fewer pixels in your image, you’ll have lesser color and a low-quality image. Otherwise, you’ll have a perfectly crisp and sharp image.
Why it’s not for any logo project
The resolution is the primary concern in using raster graphics to design your logo. As mentioned, rasterized images are more pixelated or jagged on the edges. Resizing will be the main problem when it comes to reproducing a rasterized logo. You may be able to produce high-resolution images in Photoshop, but you’ll never know how big the logo needs to be in actual production.
A logo design that’s created using Photoshop will show pixels once you zoom in within the image. This becomes an issue when creating a larger design from your original.
Another issue is professional quality. If you’re designing logos as a professional, you will aim for the best quality, and using a raster file for your project doesn’t help your cause. As mentioned earlier, upon closer inspection, rasterized images would eventually produce pixelated images. This’ll reflect your knowledge about industry standards and practice, which is better if you know it now than later.
What’s it for?
Photos and graphic rendering are done in raster graphics. Because of raster graphic editors’ extensive color manipulation capabilities, they’re apt tools for adding and editing colors, tones, and textures on images and photos. Usual projects done in Adobe Photoshop are web design, promotional graphics, and your usual illustration color rendering.
Vector Graphics
In simple terms, vector graphic images are collections of lines and anchor points that make up a whole image. The lines are your drawing’s outline and the anchor points control where your lines should go. It’s similar to how the Photoshop pen tool works. If you’re familiar with it, you’ll be fine, if not, it’s time you work on it.
The anchor points and lines that make up a vector graphic image are manipulated through mathematical calculations (done by the software you’re using, no worries), making the image in vector scalable to any size.
Why it’s used in creating logos
Because of the ease of resizing a vector graphic image, logo designers find it easier to reproduce a logo in any size, at any time, without losing quality. Aside from resolving sizing issues on a logo design, editing it will be a lot easier. Logos made in vector graphics are more adaptable and streamlined when applied to different media – from promotional prints and corporate stationery, like business cards and letterheads, to web design applications and other media.
Vector Graphics’ primary strength lies in its scalability. Since you’ll be applying the logo on different media, you’ll have to create different sizes of the same design. But size and scaling issues are easily resolved if you’ve created the logo design as a vector graphic.
Other applications
Most conceptual artists directly sketch their work on vector graphic editors and render them on Adobe Photoshop or other raster graphic editors. Because of the powerful combination of Adobe Illustrator’s intuitive drawing tools that work best with a tablet – makes it easier for artists and illustrators to create sketches and concept designs or add details to a drawing easier.
Look out for our other logo design posts for the month of June. Remember to subscribe to our RSS Feed for awesome design news and inspiration. If you have any questions, topic suggestions, or some love to share, just hit us on Facebook .