A guide to graphic design file formats, what they mean and when to use them

Send me a “what file?” If you deal with designers, printers, web developers, or animators, they may request a logo or image in a file format you haven’t heard of before.

The reason is that different file formats work better for different applications, e.g. print, digital, video and web.

Here's a quick guide of some of the common file types, what the acronyms mean, and when to use each one.

JPEG or JPG: Joint Photographic Experts Group

JPEG or JPG is the same file (apparently the older Windows system could only support 3-character extensions, hence the ‘e’ was dropped back then). They're ideal for sharing photos online because they balance quality with small file size. However, they’re not great for editing or printing due to compression and lack of transparency (the background is white) – a tell-tale sign when you see a logo in a white box against a colour or photo (my pet hate!).

PNG: Portable Networks Graphics

PNGs support transparent backgrounds (the ORX logos and icons we use in PowerPoint, Word, and the website are mostly .png files). This file type is ideal to be placed on top of other colours or photos, and the file size can sometimes be a bit larger, but they keep their edges sharp and clean. However, they are not suitable for large print or enlarged photos, as they can become pixelated.

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format

GIFs are great for short, fun looping animations graphics (I am sure you have used them in Teams or WhatsApp messages) – they are widely supported across all platforms. They only support 256* colours as they are low resolution, so they’re not suited for detailed images or print.

*CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) creates 1000s of colours for print, when colours are mixed, as does RGB (red, green, blue) for digital screens, monitors, TVs etc.

SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics

SVGs are code-based graphics (logos, icons, illustrations, etc.) that scale perfectly on any screen size, making them ideal for responsive web design but they are not suitable for print. They’re sharp and editable in programmes like Adobe Illustrator. I created new AGORA icons for the dashboard recently and these have been provided to the team as SVG files. This is the best format for you to send any charts that you want added as images to webpages.

PDF: Portable Document Format

We all know a PDF – the universal file that preserve fonts, images, and layout, making them the standard for sharing documents across devices. Designers (including myself) love Print Ready PDFs for proofs and final print passes, as they give a true representation of the final print job. But these file sizes can be large as the files are usually a print resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) using CMYK colours, embedded fonts, crop marks and bleed (e.g. magazines, exhibition materials, packaging, leaflets, adverts, etc.)

But there are more PDF types than you think.

Interactive PDF: designed for screen viewing with interactions, e.g. clickable buttons, hyperlinks, fillable form files, and you can add in video too (digital brochures, presentations, etc.)

There are many other variations too (but not as commonly used by designers): PDF/X (Exchange), PDF/A (Archival), PDF/E (Engineering), PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility)

Going forward, I may look at PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) files, as these are accessibility-compliant PDFs for screen readers making documents accessibility compliant for disabled users, and it uses a Tagged structure, alt text for images and readable order.

EPS: Encapsulated PostScript

EPS files are a format used in professional print workflows. They contain scalable vector data and are editable in design software like Adobe Illustrator, which means a vector logo could scale from a business card size right up to a large format banner size and still retain its sharpness and detail. It is suitable for sending individual logos to printers. This file is not suitable for web use.

AI: Adobe Illustrator

AI files are Adobe Illustrator’s native format and keep everything editable, which is perfect for logos, infographics, illustrations and just like the vector EPS, these files scale up and down nicely. Usually, designers will request this format as they will be using Adobe Illustrator too.

PSD: Photoshop Document

PSD files are Adobe Photoshop’s native format and keep every layer, mask, and adjustment intact. The PSD is great for image manipulation, photo retouching, and composite designs (where you can come back and change elements), but the file sizes can be huge and are therefore not the file type to use for print or web.

INDD: InDesign Document

INDD files are Adobe InDesign's native format and the standard file format for projects created and saved within Adobe InDesign. These files contain all the elements of a page layout, including text, images, formatting, styles, and other design components. They are used for creating a wide variety of print and digital publications (the Top Risk Review and Horizon reports, Loss Data Infographics, exhibition materials, the Vision report, and more are all created in this application).

TIFF or TIF: Tagged Image File Format

TIFFs preserve image quality, making them a favourite for photographers and print designers (like .jpg image files, the older Window system could only support 3-character extensions, hence one ‘f’ was dropped back then). They’re bulky in size but perfect when every detail counts. I used to favour this file type when I was designing furniture/photo album brochures as the detailed mattered. Due to the file size, this is not suitable for websites, emails or social.

WEBP: Web Picture Format

This format was brought to my attention last year and it’s a relatively new format by Google, which delivers high-quality visuals at a fraction of the file size of JPEG and PNG. It's ideal for websites that need to load fast. A stable version was released in 2018 and now in 2025, it is widely supported by Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari browsers. This file type is not suitable for print.

There you go, a basic overview of the common file types. Hopefully now it will make sense why a logo or image can be supplied in different formats (but look the same).