How To Increase The Resolution Of A Logo Design
Here are several easy-to-follow tips for increasing and setting up your logo design resolution for better usage!
Created by Ramotion | https://dribbble.com/shots/16973971-Truebill-Branding-Logo-Design-Visual-Identity
A low-resolution design will make your design look unprofessional and, overall, reduce the attractiveness of your design. All your graphic design elements must be able to appear the best, have crisp and clear lines, and be easy to recognize, especially your logo. A logo is the symbol of your brand, which is the main identity that will be recognized by the public.
For this reason, you must ensure that your logo design always looks its best, especially from the aspect of the resolution. The logo design will be displayed in a variety of different media, ranging from small-scale media, such as brochures or social media content, to even very large media, such as banners, signs, or posters.
Created by Davor Butorac | https://dribbble.com/shots/17511745-LL-Grid
When you want to display a logo design in a large size, often the design will be stretched so that it displays a very low resolution, so it will look pixelated or blurry. Don't worry; in this discussion, we have summarized some tips and also things you can do to increase your brand logo resolution or share other design elements that you might need.
How to Measure A Resolution
Before we get into the steps or things you need to be able to increase the resolution of your logo design, you must know what resolution is in the world of graphic design. Resolution is a standard measurement that is measured based on the number of pixels or dots that make up a design. Each pixel (small squares) and also this dot represents a single color, which, when placed side by side with other pixels or dots, will form your logo design.
Usually, when measuring the resolution of a design, you can see it in the software you use to create the design. Usually, there will be a number that represents the width and height of the number of pixels or dots per inch that compose the image. Pixel and dot themselves have differences, which you may need to know so that you can determine the best resolution for displaying your design logo on different media types. The following are the differences between pixels and dots based on their use in the world of graphic design:
1. Pixels
When you measure your design's resolution using pixels, it means that you are measuring the number of very small squares that are scattered throughout your design. You may already be familiar with pixel art, like in old video games or on cell phones. On this medium, the pixels are still displayed at a fairly large size, so we can see the colors represented by each box, which makes it look a little blurry and not too detailed.
Since a few decades ago, we have been able to have devices that display very small and high pixel resolutions so that the boxy shape is no longer visible. You can use this pixel resolution to display your logo design on various media because its use is very versatile.
Created by Daniel Rotter | https://dribbble.com/shots/14373469-DR-construction-01
For screen needs, 1080x1080 resolution is usually required to be able to get high-definition, clear, and crisp images. As for printed media, you can readjust your logo design according to the size of the medium. The larger the medium you will use, of course, requires the higher the pixel resolution. When you have a design with a high pixel resolution, this will make your file size bigger.
At low resolutions, such as 300x300 pixels, the design is usually only a few kilobytes in size. Meanwhile, if it has reached 1000 or even more, the file size can reach more than tens of megabytes. This is also what you should pay attention to, especially if you want to display your logo design on the website. Use enough pixel resolution so that you don't overload your website and make loading times take longer.
Created by Patrick Tuell | https://dribbble.com/shots/14963021-Letter-S-Grid
2. Dots
In the world of graphic design, the measurement of design resolution using dots will use units of dots per inch. As the name implies, it means that in this measurement, you measure how many dots are in one inch square in your design. Because it uses dots instead of pixels, this measurement is mostly used for digital graphic design needs.
So if you want to display your logo design on various digital media such as social media content, email marketing, e-brochure, or websites, it would be advisable to only use this measurement. Even so, this measurement can still be used if you want to create or display a logo design for the printed medium.
On your computer screen, there are lots of dots that represent different values and colors, depending on the design you display on the screen. This is the basis of measurement via dots per inch.
Created by MisterShot | https://dribbble.com/shots/13720612-Bull-Star-logo-construction
Typically, a design with a resolution of 72 dots per inch is sufficient for digital media needs. When used on the digital media of your choice, your design will display clearly at this resolution. You can also use a design with a much higher resolution, just to be sure. To display a clear design on printed materials, we typically use a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi).
Just like pixels, you can also see the resolution size of your design when you want to create or save a design that you have created in design software such as Adobe Illustrator. You can also readjust the dots per inch resolution that you want, increase or decrease it if you think it doesn't look right. However, most of these features are only available in professional design software. Platforms like Canva or other beginner platforms still don't provide options for displaying and also customizing the dot-per-inch resolution of your logo design or other graphic design product.
Created by Kemonn | https://dribbble.com/shots/14162156-Iconhub-Brand-Guideline
How to Increase Your Logo Design Resolution
Increasing the resolution of a ready-made design can be a little tricky, and sometimes it doesn't work. The thing is, when you already have a design that you have downloaded as an image, the pixels displayed from the image will display their respective colors in pixel sizes which are certainly larger and visible to the eye. When you want to resize this pixel grid to be less visible by increasing the resolution, some platforms will still detect and display the same colors as the previous design, even though the pixel size is larger now.
However, there are still several platforms or ways you can do to increase the resolution of your logo design so that you can still use it for your various marketing or business branding needs. Here is the full discussion:
1. Always Save Your Logo Design in Vector Format
It is better to be safe than sorry. When you're done creating a logo design, make sure you save it in SVG format, or keep the working file and don't just save it in image format. When you save a design, especially a logo design, in an image format and delete the working file or SVG (vector) that you used when creating it, it will be more difficult for you to adjust the design later.
Not only in terms of the elements or objects of the design but, most importantly, the resolution. When you have saved it in the form of an image, you will usually be given a choice of resolution that you can customize yourself.
Created by The Monochromatic Institute | https://dribbble.com/shots/16615526-Stackup-mark-grid-construction
After you choose a resolution and save it, you can only change the resolution back to a smaller size. For example, if you have saved your design at a resolution of 720 pixels, it will be very difficult for you to change the resolution to 1080 if you want a clearer display later. You can only change it to a lower resolution, like 460 pixels, or so on.
If you want to delete the working file, at least make sure that you save your design in vector (or SVG) format. When you use a professional designer to create your logo, most of them will send your logo in SVG format. This is because SVG-sized files do not have a specified resolution, which is perfect for logo design needs. The design is not made up of a collection of pixels or dots but really clear lines, which, when zoomed in as much as you want, will continue to appear in high definition.
The SVG format is also very flexible; you can change it again to a pixel-based format or an image such as PNG, JPG, or even PDF.
Created by Davor Butorac | https://dribbble.com/shots/18081111-Motus-grid
2. Use an Image Enhancer
For those of you who designed your logo and have already downloaded your design in image form and have deleted the working file, then lucky for you, there are other ways you can use to make sure your logo appears in a clear resolution. Nowadays, there are tons of image enhancer tools or software that are very easy to access, and even most of them are available for free.
This image enhancer will identify the value and color displayed in your pixelated image, guess which fill color may be appropriate, and increase the resolution of your image or design. So, they will insert additional pixels in between the original pixels in your image and display the filling colors that are automatically identified by artificial intelligence.
Several platforms, such as Picsart, Remini, and many others, offer free access via the Playstore and Appstore, or you can also download it on your PC. If you want more optimal results, you can also use the image-enhancing features of professional software such as Adobe Photoshop. This software has artificial intelligence, which is more optimal and sensitive in determining the right value to fill your image, so the results will certainly be better than when you use free beginner software or platforms.
Created by Mihai Dolganiuc | https://dribbble.com/shots/17580994-Impossible-V-Logo-Design-Unused-for-Sale
With the help of this image enhancer platform, you can get higher-resolution images. A clearer definition and a better design appearance in general. However, some of these platforms may not work optimally if the image you want to enhance is too small in resolution and you want to change it to a much higher resolution.
For example, if you want to change an image with a resolution of 300 pixels to 1000 pixels, the results will not be optimal because the difference in resolution is very high. Most of these image enhancers can only increase resolution in measurement pixels, not dots per inch.
In addition, this image enhancer is mostly recommended for using images or logo designs that have simple objects or illustrations. If your logo image has a lot of intricate details, has people's faces, or uses a complex design style, it is more likely that the enhanced results you get will not match the original logo because the enhancing process is done automatically, where some types of objects may not be detected properly by the system.
Created by Julian Hrankov | https://dribbble.com/shots/16543592-AOK-logo-construction
3. Blur or Edit Your Logo Design
If your logo design has a resolution that is not too low and you want to change it to a resolution that is not too different from the original design, then blurring or editing the design can be one way you try to display a clearer image.
Some people prefer to see images that are a little blurry but can still see the distinction of each object, compared to a pixelated look. Blurring the image will make visible gaps in your image or design more unified so that it looks smoother overall.
This trick might be more suitable if you want to display your design in a small size, such as on digital media only. When the size of your logo design is displayed on a small scale and seen from a distance, it will be less noticeable that the logo looks blurry in the original.
Created by DAINOGO | https://dribbble.com/shots/18532162-Giraffe-Logo-For-Sale
In addition to blurring the design, you can also adjust its appearance by editing your logo. Currently, there are many platforms or software that you can use to edit the appearance of an image. One of the most popular and widely available features is the texture adjustment feature, which also affects the sharpness of an image.
You can use this feature to increase the sharpness of an image if you want a crisper look. But you also still have to adjust and not overdo it. Using the sharpness feature and dragging the bar too high might make your logo design appear too sharp later, which will be quite distracting. In addition to sharpness, you can also increase the contrast or clarity of your design a little. Adjust these two elements little by little until you find the right adjustment. Because if there are too many, your design will appear unattractive later.
Always keep in mind to view your design from a distance after you are satisfied with the blur and adjustment. Perhaps the design will look good when you see it on your screen because of how big the display is. You can determine if you've overdone the adjustment by zooming out, though.
Created by Meizzaluna Design | https://dribbble.com/shots/14916079-AWSM-LOGO-DESIGN
4. Trace Your Logo Design
If you've done some of the steps or tips above and the appearance of your logo design still doesn't match your expectations, then you can use this method as your last option, which is to trace your logo design again.
This method will probably only work in simple logo designs with solid objects and colors that are easy to identify. If your logo uses very detailed illustrations or colors that have gradients, this method may take a very long time, so it is not recommended.
Created by Victor Murea | https://dribbble.com/shots/19133655-Letter-H-Unused-Logo
You can make the original image of your logo as a sketch that you trace back with a design platform such as Adobe Illustrator or with the design platform you used when you created the logo. If you have a simple logo in black and white, you can directly use the Image Trace feature available in Adobe Illustrator, so you don't have to bother tracing it manually.
You can immediately get a high-definition version of your logo design in no time. However, if you have a more complex and colorful logo, you can trace it manually. For colors, you can just use the color picker if you don't know the specific code number for the color used.
This method may take a long time. The more complex your design, the longer it will take you to trace your logo design back. But of course, the process will be worth it as you can finally get a high-definition logo design display, and it looks the same as the initial image you used before. Don't forget to save the working file or vector file of the work once you've finished tracing it and are happy with the results, so you won't have to repeat the process in the future.
Created by Ivaylo Nedkov | https://dribbble.com/shots/19203501-F-monogram
Final Words
Knowing how to enhance your logo design resolution is one of the most important skills for you to master, especially as a graphic designer. Your logo design must always appear clear and optimal. The appearance of your brand, particularly the logo, will greatly determine the image of your business or brand.