Why a Logo should be Vector

As you may know, a logo is a companies most precious element - it is its' face and can describe a whole company in one little image. They are so powerful, they can either make or break your company, and yet some of the best logos are the most simple. When choosing a logo for your company, with all the important things to keep in mind such as concept and message it portrays, I urge you to also keep in mine that your logo be created in vector.

Vector Graphics

Vector, in short, refers to 2D graphics that can be stretched to any size imaginable without ever badly distorting or losing quality. This characteristic is important for logos for when you want to make them bigger, for say advertising purposes. The two biggest and best vector programs that currently exist are Freehand and Illustrator.

Below is an example of a vector image, and then zoomed in to show its structure.

As you can see, even after zooming in/stretching the image, it remains crisp and clear. Once placed in your desired design place (advert/website etc.) it then gets converted to a bitmap.

Bitmap/Raster Graphics

The opposing graphic would be Bitmap or Raster. These refers to images that are built up of pixels (such as photographs, or actually most of the graphics you see around you). The main characteristic of these graphics we should be concerned about is that once a size is given, it can never be made bigger without distorting. It is usually a high-resolution image.

Referring to the above posted images, have a look at the one below. It is the same image, but was converted to a bitmap and then stretched.


As you can see, it has lost a lot of quality and is becoming blurry. Imagine the same image needs to be stretched to fit and be clear on a billboard! It's impossible.

If you get a vector logo from the start in its raw format (as previously mentioned in Illustrator/Freehand, or even in Photoshop as a Smart Object) then you won't encounter design difficulties later.

However, if you already have a logo and was given to you as a bitmap, there is a process called vectorisation, which takes your logo and makes it vector, as long as it isn't too complex. It is just a process of tracing of the image and making a new one in vector.

I hope this will clear things up for you, concerning logos and vector, and I hope I have convinced you of why it is so important.

Finding my path in design

I am a new, young designer and am still finding my feet in the world of graphic and web design. I started tinkering with code and designs in a role play website about 6 years ago, and only recently realised it is my passion in life. I studied graphic design and I didn't always grasp it. Suddenly though, I did understand it and am well on my way to being a successful designer.

I have realised simply doing graphic design is too limiting though... So I have taken the path to be a web designer and build my own websites too. My CSS and XHTML code is limited for now, but I have come so far in six months I can't believe it myself. My dream is to become a successful designer, fluent in JavaScript too.

Concerning design, I believe some people do have a natural talent and don't need to be taught, but I certainly did. With the help of my college and the web design firm I worked for, I learnt so much. It helps to have people around you who are patient and willing to help. I was so discouraged at one point, because my work was just... amateur. I was also very lazy (though I am not afraid to admit, coffee has been my best ally these passed months!).

Now that I am starting to grasp the secret to design, I want to share it with the world. I am not the best nor am I perfect, but I aim to get to that point! Below is an example of a project I redid. The difference between the old and new is about a year.



I hope you can see the improvement! That is just the logo of the entire project redo (it was a corporate identity for an existing garden design college). The entire CI can be seen on my website. Along with working on these articles, I am working on a amateur page on my website that shows exactly how I have grown.

If you are a new struggling designer, I know seeing other people's work that is just so amazing can be discouraging, especially when you try your utmost to just do the same, but trust me, if I could eventually grasp it, anyone can. I hope my articles will be helpful and insightful!