Guide · 5 min read

Fix a pixelated logo for good: draw it again as shapes.

Why a logo looks pixelated or blurry, how many pixels a screen or a print asks for, and the fixes that work, best first, on one small logo enlarged three ways.

Its pixelsthe JPG as it is
Enlargedthe same pixels, smoothed
Drawn againVecSnap's SVG
The same 28 × 28 pixels of a 320 px JPG, enlarged to fill each pane.

A logo looks pixelated when it is shown larger than its pixels: each one is stretched into a visible square. Enlarging the file only smooths those squares into a blur. Fix a pixelated logo for good by getting it as a vector file, an SVG, a PDF or an EPS: ask whoever made it for the original, or have it drawn again as shapes from the file you have. A vector is sharp at every size, so you export a PNG of any size from it.

Updated 5 sources ↓

Why it happens

Why does my logo look pixelated?

Because it is shown or printed larger than its pixels. A logo saved 320 pixels wide has 320 pixels to give; show it wider and each pixel is stretched over several, until its squares show.

A small JPEG adds its own marks: blocks and smudges along every edge, left by the compression that kept it light.

Original
320 pxthe JPG as uploaded, its own pixels
VecSnap
98anchor points in the whole file

How many pixels

How many pixels does my logo need?

Twice the width it is shown at on a screen, and 300 for every inch it is printed wide. A logo printed 4 inches wide needs 1,200 pixels; a vector file needs none, it is drawn for each size.

Sharp screens, on phones and most laptops, draw two pixels for each one a page lays out. Type your logo's width to see where it is enough.

Empty, the bars measure the example: 320 px.
  • A site header240 px wide · 480 pxthe JPG covers 66%
  • On a business card2 in · 600 pxthe JPG covers 53%
  • On a flyer4 in · 1,200 pxthe JPG covers 26%
  • On a T-shirt10 in · 3,000 pxthe JPG covers 10%
  • On a shop sign36 in · 10,800 pxthe JPG covers 2%
The JPG: 320 px wide, 1.1 in at 300 dpi, 160 px wide on a sharp screenThe SVG: every size

The fixes

How do I fix a pixelated logo?

Replace the pixels with shapes: find the logo's original vector file, or have it drawn again as one from the file you have. Enlarging the pixels, by hand or with an AI upscaler, gives a bigger picture that still has an end.

  • Find the original

    What you get
    The vector file the logo was made as: an SVG, an AI, an EPS or a PDF
    When it is the one
    Always ask first: the designer, the agency, the brand kit

  • Draw it again as shapes

    What you get
    A new vector file from your pixels, sharp at every size
    When it is the one
    No original exists, or nobody can find it

  • Enlarge it with an upscaler

    What you get
    A bigger PNG, smoother, still pixels
    When it is the one
    One screen size, when a vector is out of reach

  • Change its dpi number

    What you get
    The same pixels with a new label
    When it is the one
    Never: no pixel is added

Fix it here

How do I turn a pixelated logo into a vector?

Drop the largest copy you have into a converter that draws it again as shapes. VecSnap reads past the blocks and the blur and draws each edge as a clean curve.

Drop your logo. Get its SVG.

  1. Find the largest copy you have: the biggest file, never a screenshot of a screenshot.
  2. Drop it here: VecSnap draws it again as shapes, an SVG sharp at every size.
  3. Zoom in on the result: the edges stay clean however close you look.
  4. Download the SVG for the web, the PDF for a printer, and PNGs at any size from the same drawing.

On a website

Why is my logo blurry on my website?

Usually because the file has fewer pixels than the space it fills: the page, or a sharp screen, stretches it. Give it twice its shown width in pixels, or use an SVG, which is drawn for each screen.
  • The fileIt is smaller than its space
    • A logo shown 240 px wide needs 480 pixels on a sharp screen
    • Upload one at least twice as wide as it shows
  • CanvaThe design was small
    • Canva says a design under 500 × 500 px may look blurry when downloaded
    • Download a logo as a PNG, the format Canva gives for text and icons
  • The formatIt was saved as a JPEG
    • A JPEG blurs the hard edges of letters and flat color
    • A PNG keeps them; an SVG keeps them at every size
  • The fixUse an SVG
    • One file for every screen and every size
    • Every current browser draws one
    SVG or PNG?

In print

Why does my logo look pixelated when printed?

Because a print asks for 300 pixels per inch. A logo that looks fine on a screen 320 pixels wide covers about one inch in print; a business card, a shirt or a sign stretches it further.
  • Measure itIts pixels ÷ 300 = its inches
    • 1,200 pixels print sharp 4 inches wide
    • The same file 8 inches wide drops to 150 dpi
  • A mythA new dpi number adds nothing
    • Changing 72 to 300 dpi relabels the same pixels
    • Only more pixels, or shapes, print larger
  • A trapA JPEG saved as a PDF is still a JPEG
    • Renaming or re-saving a file never turns its pixels into shapes
    • A printer asking for a vector will see it
    Is it a real vector?
  • The fixSend the printer a vector
    • A PDF of shapes prints sharp at any size
    • VecSnap draws one from your file in section 4

Questions

Pixelated logos, answered.

Sources

It can make a bigger, smoother PNG, often good enough for one screen. It is still pixels, so it has a new size limit, and it guesses at small letters and corners; a printer or a cutter still needs a vector.

More guides

Keep reading

Favicon size and format

Sizes, formats and the HTML, shown on one icon in a tab, a search result and a home screen.

Guide · 5 min read

What is an SVG file?

What the format is, and how to open, make and edit one, on a real file read line by line.

Guide · 4 min read

What is a vector file?

What one is, its formats, and how to tell a real one from pixels.

Guide · 3 min read

Image Trace in Illustrator, step by step

The steps, the settings and Expand, and what to do when Image Trace is grayed out.

Guide · 3 min read

How to change a logo's color

Change a logo's colors, make a white or a black version, and why a recolored PNG grows a halo.

Guide · 4 min read

SVG viewBox, width and height

The viewBox, width and height, a responsive SVG, and why yours will not scale, shown on one file.

Guide · 4 min read

SVG vs PNG

Which format each job needs, shown on one drawing saved both ways.

Guide · 3 min read

How to change an SVG's color

Recolor an SVG in its text, with CSS or currentColor, and why one in an img tag will not change.

Guide · 4 min read

How to add a sticker border

A white edge and a smooth cut line, in Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape or one step.

Guide · 5 min read

Inkscape Trace Bitmap, step by step

The steps, the modes and the settings, and what Trace Bitmap leaves on a real PNG.

Guide · 4 min read

How to vectorize an image in Photoshop

Make Work Path, color by color, and where it stops: what Photoshop can vectorize.

Guide · 4 min read

SVG vs EPS

What differs, which to send a printer, and one logo opened both ways.

Guide · 3 min read

How to vectorize an image in Canva

Canva's own apps, why a PNG saved as an SVG stays pixels, and an SVG you can recolor in Canva.

Guide · 4 min read

How to turn a Procreate drawing into a vector

Procreate shares no vector file: export the PNG that converts best, and draw for it.

Guide · 2 min read

How to make an SVG for Cricut

Why Design Space wants an SVG, and how to make one with a layer for each color.

Guide · 4 min read

Image Trace in Affinity, step by step

The steps, the two settings, where it is, and why traced corners come out round.

Guide · 4 min read

How to make an SVG for laser cutting

Why a traced SVG engraves some areas twice, and the file each laser app wants.

Guide · 5 min read

How to vectorize an image in Figma

Figma's own Vectorize, how to import or paste an SVG, and what makes a file easy to edit there.

Guide · 3 min read

How to reduce anchor points

Why a traced SVG has thousands, what they cost, and how to keep only the few a shape needs.

Guide · 2 min read

Drop an image. Check the file.

Converting is free. You see the whole result before you spend anything.