How do I get a vector version of my logo?
Most logos start life as a vector, so the file you need often already exists. Start by looking for it. If it really is gone, you can have the logo redrawn, or auto-trace it if it’s simple.
1. Look for what you already have
Check these places, roughly in order of how often they turn something up:
- Email from your designer, from around the time the logo was made. Search for “logo,” the designer’s name, or attachments ending in .ai, .eps, .svg, .pdf or .zip.
- Shared folders: Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer links, or a “brand assets” folder someone set up.
- The order page on Fiverr, Upwork, 99designs or wherever you hired the designer. Final files usually stay attached.
- Your logo-maker account, if the logo came from an online logo maker. Many offer vector downloads, sometimes in a paid package.
- Printers you’ve used before. A sign shop or shirt printer may have redrawn your logo already, and will often send it if you ask.
- Your web designer, who may have an SVG version from building your site.
- A brand guidelines PDF, if you have one. The logos inside are sometimes vector.
Run anything you find through the checker. A grade of A or B means you’ve found it.
2. Ask for the right files
If you can reach the person who made the logo, ask for a complete set. Here’s what each file is for:
| File | Use it for |
|---|---|
| .ai or .eps, text converted to outlines | Printers, sign shops, embroidery, anyone with design software |
| .pdf (vector) | Printers, and anyone who just needs to view it |
| .svg | Websites, cutting machines (Cricut, vinyl cutters), laser engravers |
| .png, large, with a transparent background | Slides, documents, social media, email signatures |
Ask for each in full color, one color (usually black), and white, for dark backgrounds. Here’s an email you can copy:
Hi [name], could you send us our logo files? We need the original Illustrator (.ai) or EPS file and a vector PDF, with all text converted to outlines, plus an SVG and a large transparent PNG. Full color, black and white versions if you have them. Thanks!
3. If no vector exists: redraw or trace
Redrawing (best quality)
A designer rebuilds the logo by hand as clean shapes, matching the original. Curves are smooth, corners are crisp, and text is reset in the correct font. This is what you want for anything you’ll use for years: signs, apparel, packaging, vehicle graphics.
Freelance designers offer this, and so do many print shops. A simple logo is usually a small job. To get the best result, give them:
- the largest, sharpest copy of the logo you have (not a screenshot of a screenshot),
- the font names, if you know them,
- the exact colors, if you have them (Pantone, CMYK or hex codes).
Auto-tracing (fastest)
Software draws shapes around the areas of color in your picture. Illustrator’s Image Trace, Inkscape’s Trace Bitmap and many online vectorizers do this in seconds.
It works well for simple, bold logos with a few flat colors and a large, clean source image. It struggles with small or blurry images, thin lines, small text and gradients, and the result can have lumpy curves and rounded corners. That’s what a D grade in the checker means. Read is an auto-traced logo good enough? before you rely on one.
4. Check the new file before you use it
Whatever route you take, run the new file through the checker before you send it to a printer or pay the final invoice. A or B means you have a real, print-ready vector. Save it somewhere safe, with a PDF copy next to it, so you never have to do this again.