This guide goes over tips and best practices for creating your logo. If you'd like to see a step-by-step guide on how to upload your logo to your Zenfolio site, click here.
As a photographer, you've already claimed your style by having your own photography technique and photo editing style. Whether you are just getting started in the photography business or you are a seasoned professional, your photography make your business unique. While the product you deliver is what sets you apart from the rest, it's also important to consider branding and logo presentation.
Every day, whether we are online or in person, we take notice of company branding. We immediately associate the Nike Swoosh with sports and athletics. We also recognize that the Target Bullseye is associated with getting lost in a retail wonderland of one-stop shopping dreams!
You see - logos and branding can evoke emotion but most notably, it is what makes your individual business recognizable and unique. Preparing your logo for your website can be a little daunting though, especially when it comes to color choices, transparency, or determining the correct size to upload.
In order to assist with any questions that might come up in the process of preparing your logo for your website, we've pulled together some information that may be helpful, whether you are creating the logo yourself or working with a graphic designer who is designing the logo for you.
Types of Logos on Zenfolio
With your Zenfolio site, you can upload up to 4 different logos. These logos will appear in various places on your site and they all serve different purposes. Below, we'll explain the differences between each type of logo
Primary Logo
The primary logo is going to be your main logo. This logo can be used on your site header and it is also the logo that appears on branded gallery invites when you share your galleries to guests and clients via email.
Secondary Logo
The secondary logo simply gives you another logo option for your site header. Usually photographers will upload their secondary logo in a different color. That way, they have two options to switch between to coordinate colors and styles.
Favicon
The can sometimes be overlooked, but it is so important! The favicon is a small 32x32 icon that appears in a browser tab. By uploading your favicon, you can ensure your website never gets lost among a sea of browser tabs.
Watermark - Never overlook the importance of watermarks. Watermarks are placed on the display versions of your images. They can discourage clients taking screenshots when you want to encourage them to purchase their digital files. They also allow your images to be protected when shared across social media, ensuring that curious clients will seek you out when they see an image they love that's been shared on the web!
Preparing your Logo - File Type and Transparency
To create a logo, you will need an image editing application such as Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign. You can also use online applications such as Canva. When saving your logo, make sure you save it as a PNG file because it has the largest range of color and can be saved with transparency. Transparency allows you to cut out the background, negative space around your logo.
Without transparency, the entire logo will appear in the shape of your original file because of a solid color appearing in the negative space. See the example below for a comparison of a watermark logo saved with and without transparency.
Note: If you are saving your PNG in Photoshop and are asked if you want this to be saved with Interlace or None, the recommendation is to choose None. An Interlaced PNG will reduce the compression quality of the logo when it is initially viewed, and because your logo is a small file, this isn’t necessary.
| Logo saved without transparency | Logo saved with transparency |
Cropping your Logo
When you save your logo, the entire area of your canvas in the editing program is still a part of the file. So, even if the background of the image doesn’t have any content, it still takes up pixel space.
In order to maximize the size of the logo in any given area on your site, it’s best to crop excess information out of the file before saving it. This is especially useful for logos that need to fit in smaller spaces.
| Un-cropped Logo | Tightly Cropped Logo |
Sizing your Logo
The size of a logo that can be used on a site is calculated in pixel height and width. When you are creating the logo, we suggest saving a master file in high resolution and then resizing a duplicate file to the appropriate size for uploading. For best results, we recommend a PNG file size of 180x90. If the logo has very specific dimensions, such as the favicon, it will be necessary to upload the exact size recommended of 32x32
For watermarks you may upload a larger file size - say 500x500 - and adjust your positioning and sizing within the watermark editor.