What should I ask the winning designer to provide?

• If you’re running a logo design contest, you should ask for a vectorized image in either of the two file formats listed below (note that you may need to download a special program to view these files):

  • an EPS file (which is a universal file format that can be used with any professional image editing software), or
  • an Adobe Illustrator AI file.

  You may also want to ask the designer to provide a JPEG, GIF, or PNG file so that you can view the design without downloading special software.

• For website designs, you should ask for a layered Photoshop PSD file.

• With print design contests, it’s always a good idea to ask your printer what file formats they’ll need. But typically, you’ll want to ask the designer for a 300 dpi (dots per inch) CMYK image in:
  • an EPS file (which is a universal file format that can be used with any image editing software), or
  • an Adobe Illustrator AI file.

Don’t ask the designer to provide any of the files for the font they used in your design, since font licenses are usually non-transferrable. But do ask the designer for the name of the font so you can buy a license if you need to.