{design tips}

 

All

Branding

Digital Design

Event Design

Collateral

 

• JPG - PNG - SVG or TIFF…Maybe I should use a GIF?

  Which file format should you use?

  JPG - PNG - SVG or TIFF…Maybe I should use a GIF?

  Which file format should you use?

  FILE FORMATS

   

  Printing

  .ai - Adobe Illustrator file.

  This is the mother-file. An .ai file is a high resolution (300 dpi), vector file that can be scaled as large as you need it to go without loosing any resolution. Illustrator files work in CMYK, RGB or Hex (web) color spaces.

  You won’t be able to open the files without Adobe Illustrator - but hold onto those files anyway. Your designer, developer or printer can use them. From the Illustrator file all files can me created and sized appropriately.

   

  .eps - Encapsulated Postscript

  EPS files are vector files. Depending on the way they are saved, they can be scalable and transparent. This file is a great file to send to the printer for business cards, ads, banners, flyers, etc..

   

  .pdf - Portable Document Format

  Perfect for file sharing. Everyone can use a PDF if they have Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded for free from Adobe. A PDF file can be edited in Acrobat. PDF files are really versatile, If saved properly, a PDF file is the perfect way to send  documents to print. Likewise, you can also save  documents at a lower resolution and upload it to your website for you users to view or download.

   

  .wmf  - Windows Meta File.

  Graphics file best used for Windows products - only! If you're having trouble with an image in Word - sometimes saving as a WMF does the trick.

   

  Screen

  .jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group

  A JPG is rasterized image that can not be scaled. Use JPGs in screen graphics, especially more complex images such as a photographs JPGs are not transparent, they will always have a background. They can also be used to placed into a Word Doc.

   

  .gif - Graphic Interchange Format

  GIFs are perfect for simple screen graphics, a line art or spot color image. Don't save photographs as GIF. GIfs will have a smaller file size than JPGs. They can be saved with a transparent background, which is perfect if you are laying over a background or image. Simple animated files are saved as a GIF.

   

  .png - Portable Network Graphics File

  Similar to a GIF, but usually is better image quality. PNG files can’t be animated. They can also be used to place into a Word Doc. They have a transparent background, which is perfect if you are laying over your logo over a background or image.

   

  .svg - Scalable vector graphic.

  Can be scaled to any size and maintain their resolution, very much like an Illustrator file. These are great files to use on your web site. They have a transparent background, which is perfect if you are laying over your logo over a background or image.

   

  

• Color

  Understanding Color Terms

   

  K - Black

   

  REV  - Reversed (white)

   

  CMYK/4c - Cyan, magenta, yellow & black. 4-color process printing.

   

  Spot Color

  2c/ 3c 2 or 3 spot color printing, generally using the Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors.  Coated (c)  or Uncoated (u). IE: PMS 320u

   

  RGB - Red, green and Blue

  Used for screen colors.

   

  HEX/Web Values give to RGB colors online. Generally noted as #000000

   

• Branding Guidelines

  Branding Guidelines