resizing a logo without distorting?

smr · 30 Jun 2009 at 13:36

Hi,

I want to design a logo which will be resized from something as small as business card size to a car sign size without distorting the image when resized, and then resizing for various different sizes. I am using Adobe Photoshop CS3. How can I do this?

reflux · 30 Jun 2009 at 13:36

Do it as a vector in Adobe Illustrator. That's by far the best option. Photoshop has some vector support but it's quite limited.

smr · 30 Jun 2009 at 13:37

reflux said:
Do it as a vector in Adobe Illustrator.

is it not possible to do this in photoshop then as I don't have vector?

Cuchulain · 30 Jun 2009 at 13:42

smr said:
is it not possible to do this in photoshop then as I don't have vector?

You can't simply upscale a bitmap without it losing quality, you'll need to recreate the logo as a vector, plenty of free editors about, try inkscape.

smr · 30 Jun 2009 at 13:44

Cuchulain said:
You can't simply upscale a bitmap without it losing quality, you'll need to recreate the logo as a vector, plenty of free editors about, try inkscape.

I'm downloading the trial of Illustrator CS4... Never used this sw before so I'll see how I get on with this first... but yeah, that's basically what I want to do... design the logo once, and be able to resize it for various different dimensions ranging from business card size to a much larger car magnet sized logo.

~J~ · 30 Jun 2009 at 14:12

Personally I'd agree with Cuchulain, Inkscape is a great vector program and so simple to use.

reflux · 30 Jun 2009 at 14:14

It's always wisest to design a logo in a vector application like Illustrator or InkScape unless you're only going to use the logo on the web. A vector format gives you unlimited flexibility when it comes to scaling.

InkScape is quite good and very easy to use, but I don't think the results always look as professional as Illustrator's.

philjohn · 30 Jun 2009 at 15:46

Another way, make it in the biggest size you'll need it and then resize down for other sizes.