Just got logo designed and delivered in .ai format. Is this fine?

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UnripeArbiter

UnripeArbiter

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Dec 21, 2006
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I just used the design services at 99designs

The designer sent the final logo in .ai format. I intend on using this logo on the web. I keep hearing .ai mentioned with print instead of web. Will I be ok?

My main requirement was that I received the logo in vector format.

I wanted to be able to resize to any size and save it to web format. Is this what I got?

Thanks guys.
 


What are you using to view the file? You have no conversion/resizing utility within that program?
 
Well.... I just got Adobe Illustrator and yeah it resizes fine I haven't tried saving it as different file type yet. But, I guess I'm good.

My main question I guess is this... Is there any issue getting from Adobe Illustrator to the web? I'm concerned he was using something intended for print. I'm probably totally wrong.

Thanks.
 
I'm not sure what version you have but I believe Illustrator has a 'Save for Web' feature with web optimization options.
 
There is only loss if you convert it to a format with a limited pallet (gif, png8) and you have more than 256 colors.

AI is a pretty common vector format.
 
Thanks, didn't know save for web was there. Just got the program last night, and I have no experience. Anyway, great news.

And out of curiosity, which format would be the best to publish to the web? JPEG? Something with minimal quality loss and best load time. I'm sure my future designer will tell me, but just curious.

Thanks a lot guys.
 
UnripeArbiter said:
Thanks, didn't know save for web was there. Just got the program last night, and I have no experience. Anyway, great news.

And out of curiosity, which format would be the best to publish to the web? JPEG? Something with minimal quality loss and best load time. I'm sure my future designer will tell me, but just curious.

Thanks a lot guys.
Click to expand...

Jpeg mainly because you want it smaller, and you can tweak the compression level of jpeg to where you need it. (a save-for-web level 70-80 or so is still going to be quite a bit smaller than a 24bit png). But thats assuming you don't need any kind of transparency.
 
Spectacular.

Also any future designers will be able to easily edit this .ai file correct? Mainly just add a background or something.

Thanks
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I'm sure, duh, but just making sure. My partner and I just plopped some money down and just making certain.
 
He gave you the right file. Although it would have been nice for him to send you a vector PDF so that if you didn't have Illustrator you could still at least view it. If they were nice they would keep any original type on a backup (hidden) layer and convert the type to outlines on another layer in case you don't have the font.

You can save it as a jpeg from Illustrator (as mentioned) or if you have Photoshop you can open it directly in PS. If you do this when you open it you will get a window about rasterizing it. Pick 72 as the ppi. You can size it and do what you need before using save for web. If you need to scale it up in PS you need to select a higher ppi when opening it. If you scale it down you may need to sharpen it a bit before you save it.

Depending on the image you may be better off saving it as a gif, depending on the logo, but go with jpeg as your first option.

Yes, this file should be fully editable. You could have a problem with type if they only gave you outline text and not true text. If this is the case you can't edit the type.
 
Thanks a lot DewChugr. I did get the .ai to open in Adobe Reader at first so I could view it.

And I experienced just what you said in Photoshop.

As for the true text, is there anyway for me to easily tell? I don't believe we will be needing to edit the type, but it would be nice to have the option.

Thanks a lot! +rep
 
UnripeArbiter said:
Thanks a lot DewChugr. I did get the .ai to open in Adobe Reader at first so I could view it.

And I experienced just what you said in Photoshop.

As for the true text, is there anyway for me to easily tell? I don't believe we will be needing to edit the type, but it would be nice to have the option.

Thanks a lot! +rep
Click to expand...

Normally if you try to open it up in say photoshop, it'll warn you if you don't have the font loaded in your system. Otherwise it should open fine.

And to add on to what others said. .ai is a good format, like keeping a raw copy around for further modifications, or for future designers. But if I were a designer giving a client something, I don't expect my clients to have a copy of adobe illustrator, so I would likely give an .ai file, plus one exported into the format best suited for their need. But then again, I'm not a designer.
 
Excellent, Photoshop didn't warn me so I guess I have the font. (does that mean we kinda lost some of the custom aspect of our logo? )

And yes I didn't have Illustrator so it was a pain. (required quick visit to piratebay)

Thanks again!
 
UnripeArbiter said:
Excellent, Photoshop didn't warn me so I guess I have the font. (does that mean we kinda lost some of the custom aspect of our logo? )

And yes I didn't have Illustrator so it was a pain. (required quick visit to piratebay)

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

The original ai would keep a path of the font. If you didn't have the font and couldn't download it, you could still scale the ai file without loss of quality, but you wouldn't be able to retype the font automatically while retaining any kind of custom path and such.

But basically with an ai in hand, you got the original, as original could be for any future modifications. Where as a psd file could be a vector, or could be rastered (or completely flatted making it more difficult to slice up and export).

In the future if you work with other designers, at the very least request a web-ready copy.
 
If you open the file in Illustrator and hit command-Y (Mac) or I think control-Y (PC) you will switch the view to keyline mode. Fonts should still look like text where as if it was converted to paths the text would look like outlines of the letters.

It does sound like the font is still text in the file. Whenever I send out an AI file I always have the original text on a hidden layer and a copy converted to path on a visible layer. When you do this the end user can output the file even if they don't have the font and if they do they can edit it.

If you have any questions about the file you can send it to me and I could look at it for you. If you want to PM me.
 
A vector logo and you guys are suggesting jpg for web. Jpg is great for pictures and all but this artwork is probably big blocks of a standard color (most vector is). It's going to turn out much better in PNG format and you'll be able to use transparencies to boot.

go with a PNG 24 filetype in the 'save for web' thing
 
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