I know it seems attractive to cut a corner and save some money but, I regularly encounter design situations where the only logo available is a low resolution jpeg which is effectively useless. The designer is long gone, didn’t know what they were doing and now, you need re-branded.

I said that here in a previous design post.

You only have low quality design assets?

Maybe this situation has came about because you cut corners on your design work.

Sometimes though, this problem may not be your fault. You’ve paid well for good design but then your designer disappears or you have a disagreement that ends badly, leaving you with only a handful of your design assets, or worse none. I have encountered this problem more often than you might imagine.

It can be tricky to navigate.

If you only have a low resolution jpeg of your logo then this limits your future design, branding and marketing. A good designer can do lots of things to manipulate images but, they can’t perform magic. A low resolution jpeg version of your logo is not suitable for print. It will end up looking something like the image above and thats unacceptable.

Prevent this headache

When a designer creates your logo/brand/identity you need to have a copy of the master design. If you hire someone to create something for you and have paid them, you need to have these files.

Your designer will also have a copy which means they can create other work for you using these assets. Posters, leaflets, brochures etc. If for some reason you start to use a different designer then you should have these design assets on file for them.

This is not complicated stuff but, lots of businesses find themselves stuck with no access to their own brand assets.

So, if this happens…

What are your options?

The best solution may be to re-create your logo exactly like the original but, some designers will be reluctant to do this. I hate having to do this.

Perhaps you will need to think about re-branding completely. You can do this without straying too far from your previous logo/brand identity.

There are lots of reasons why you might struggle with this solution though. You could have thousands of products in circulation with your brand on them and therefore be reluctant to make big changes. That’s a fair enough reason to not make brand changes.

If you do have to re-brand or re-create, you need to make sure that this time around you have possession of your design assets when the job is finished.

This is good and sensible business practice and will prevent extra design costs in the long-run.

Remember, it’s your business. It’s your brand. When you pay a designer to create a logo and brand identity, it’s good to have trust and a good working relationship but, it’s your business and you must protect it.

Of course, unforeseen circumstances are always possible. Trust me though, you can avoid being in a situation where you only have low quality design assets.