Every design, web or video project starts with the same small request: “Could you send over your logo?” And it is remarkable how often what comes back is not quite a logo. A 200-pixel JPEG lifted from the website. A screenshot from a PowerPoint. A PDF of a business card. A link to a Facebook profile picture.
None of these is the client’s fault. Most people have never needed to know the difference between a vector master and a raster export. The fix is to ask precisely, and to give them an easy place to put the files.
Why the format matters
Logos come in two families.
Vector files describe shapes mathematically. They scale to any size, from a favicon to a billboard, without losing sharpness. Common formats are SVG, EPS, AI (Adobe Illustrator) and a vector PDF.
Raster files are grids of pixels. They look fine at the size they were made for and blurry above it. Common formats are PNG, JPEG and WebP.
A good brand kit contains both: a vector master that everything is generated from, and raster exports for places that need them. When a client sends only a small raster file, every larger use - signage, print, a retina display - starts from a compromise.
What to ask for, exactly
Clients respond better to a short, specific list than to “all your brand assets”. Copy and adapt this:
- Logo master as a vector file (SVG, EPS, AI or PDF). If there are several versions - full, icon only, stacked, horizontal - send all of them.
- PNG versions with a transparent background, at least 2000 pixels wide.
- A white or reversed version for use on dark backgrounds, if one exists.
- Brand colours as HEX values, and CMYK or Pantone if they print.
- Fonts, or at least their names, plus licence details if we will be setting text in them.
- Brand guidelines if a document exists, even an old one.
Add one sentence on why: “Vector files let us use your logo at any size without it looking blurry.” People are much more likely to dig for a file when they know what it is for.
Spotting a fake vector
Sometimes you receive an .svg or .pdf that is really a pixel image
wrapped in a vector container. Three quick checks:
- Zoom in to 800% or more. Real vectors stay crisp at the edges; embedded images go soft or blocky.
- Open it in a vector editor and look for individual paths. A single rectangular image object means it is raster inside.
- Look at the file size. A simple logo as true SVG is often a few kilobytes. Several megabytes for a two-colour mark suggests an embedded image.
If you find a fake, ask once more, gently, and suggest who might hold the original: the agency or freelancer who designed it, the printer who last ran business cards, or whoever manages the website.
When there is no vector file
It happens. The designer has vanished, the files were on a laptop that died, or the logo was made in a word processor years ago.
Do not stretch a small image and hope. Tell the client plainly that the logo needs to be redrawn as a vector, and quote for it as a separate line. It is a small job for a simple mark and a real one for a detailed illustration, and the client ends up with a proper master they can use for the next ten years.
Make sending easy
The format list solves half the problem. The other half is delivery. If the client has to email files, you get the usual mess: some files in one thread, fonts in another, the colour values pasted into a message body, and anything large refused by the mail server.
An upload link fixes most of that. You create a link that points at the project folder, the client opens it in a browser, drops everything in and closes the tab. They do not need an account or to learn your tools. The files arrive at full size, already filed where you need them.
On dosya.dev this is a file request. A few settings are worth using for brand assets:
- Point it at the project’s intake folder, for example
Clients/Northwind/01-incoming/brand. - Write the format list into the request message, so it is on screen while they upload.
- Set a deadline that matches your kickoff date. A link that closes is a link that does not linger.
- Turn on “each uploader in their own folder” if several people at the client will send files, so you can tell who sent what.
Uploaders see only what they uploaded, never the rest of the folder. Our broader guide on receiving files from clients covers the workflow beyond logos.
Automate the boring parts
If you onboard clients often, two integrations save the repetitive steps:
- Zapier. The dosya.dev Zapier integration can create a client folder and a file request when a deal is marked won in your CRM, or save logo files that still arrive as email attachments straight into the intake folder.
- The browser extension. When you are researching a client’s existing brand, Save to dosya puts images and screenshots from their website straight into the project folder. Treat these as reference only: an image saved from a website is exactly the low-resolution raster this guide warns about, never a replacement for the master file.
Review on arrival
When the files land, check them the same day, while the client still has the project in mind:
- Open each vector and zoom in.
- Confirm a transparent PNG really is transparent.
- Check the colour values match what is in the guidelines.
- Note anything missing and ask for it in one message, not five.
Then move the approved files into a clean brand folder that the whole
project uses. The intake folder stays as a record of what arrived and when.
A copyable message
Hi Sam, to get started we need your logo and brand files. Could you upload them using this link? Ideally: the logo as SVG, EPS, AI or PDF (all versions you have), a large transparent PNG, your brand colours, and any guidelines document. Vector files let us use your logo at any size without it looking blurry. If you are not sure where these are, whoever designed the logo will usually have them. The link stays open until Friday.
Clear request, easy upload, quick review. That is the whole job, and it makes the first week of every project noticeably calmer.
Frequently asked questions
What logo file formats should I ask a client for?
Ask for a vector master, ideally SVG, EPS, AI or a vector PDF, plus a high-resolution PNG with a transparent background. Also ask for the colour values and any brand guidelines. A JPEG or a screenshot is a last resort, not a source file.
What do I do if the client only has a low-resolution logo?
Ask who designed it, because the designer or agency usually holds the vector file. If nobody can find it, quote for redrawing the logo as a vector rather than stretching a small image, which will look blurred in print and on large screens.
How can a client send me logo files without email?
Send them an upload link pointed at the project folder. They open it in a browser, drop the files and leave. No account is needed, and everything lands in the right folder at full size instead of being scattered across email threads.
