Information

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Logo Design FAQ

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About Me

I work from my home office in a small market town in Bedfordshire UK. From 1991 to 2005 I worked as a Graphic designer for a variety of different companies mainly providing marketing material and creating artwork for production (pre-press). I also had to manually redraw logos into vector format and estimate that I vectorised over 8000 logos in this period. 

Since 2005 I’ve been working full time as a Freelance Graphic designer designing logos, large format banners, stationery and flyers. I also continue to redraw logos from jpg into vector logos. As well as providing graphic design services I also run a Logo Mat website.

Software I use is industry standard Adobe Illustrator and occasionally Photoshop. 

Thanks for taking an interest!

Gerald Waters

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Payment

For payment, I can accept any major credit card through the PayPal secure banking system, or a direct payment from your Paypal account to my Paypal address which is [email protected]
Or simply click below on the ‘make payment’ button ($) or (£) and follow instructions.
(Please note it will appear as ‘Design Me a Mat’ which is my other business

You don’t need to have a PayPal account to make a credit card payment.

1. Just click ‘make payment’ button ($) or (£)

2. Enter the amount

3. Select “Don’t have a Paypal account”, usually bottom right of screen.






logo mat payment

If you have trouble with the Paypal method above than we can also accept card payments through Worldpay

Cheques made payable to ‘Design Me a Mat Ltd’ Send to:
Design Me a Mat Ltd,
Design Office, 85 Willow Bank Walk,
Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire  LU7 3U

Sort Code: 402812
Account Name: Design Me A Mat Ltd
Bank: HSBC Account: 51529390

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Graphic Image Formats

AI

Native Adobe Illustrator (AI) source file format. Vector based. This is the industry standard vector drawing program.

EPS

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) language file format can contain both vector and bitmap graphics and is supported by virtually all graphic, illustration, and page-layout programs. EPS format is used to transfer PostScript-language artwork between applications.

EPS format supports Lab, CMYK, RGB, Indexed Colour, Duo tone, Grayscale, and Bitmap colour modes, but does not support alpha channels. EPS does support clipping paths. Desktop Colour Separations (DCS) format, a version of the standard EPS format, lets you save colour separations of CMYK images. To print EPS files, you must use a PostScript printer.

GIF

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is the file format commonly used to display indexed-colour graphics and images in hypertext markup language (HTML) documents over the World Wide Web and other online services. GIF is an LZW-compressed format designed to minimize file size and electronic transfer time. GIF format preserves transparency in indexed-colour images; however, it does not support alpha channels.

JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format is commonly used to display photographs and other continuous-tone images in hypertext markup language (HTML) documents over the World Wide Web and other online services. JPEG format supports CMYK, RGB, and Grayscale colour modes, but does not support alpha channels. Unlike GIF format, JPEG retains all colour information in an RGB image but compresses the file size by selectively discarding data.

A JPEG image is automatically decompressed when opened. A higher level of compression results in lower image quality, and a lower level of compression results in better image quality. In most cases, the maximum quality option produces a result indistinguishable from the original.

PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a flexible, cross-platform, cross-application file format. Based on the PostScript imaging model, PDF files accurately display and preserve fonts, page layouts, and both vector and bitmap graphics. In addition, PDF files can contain electronic document search and navigation features such as electronic links.

PDF files are created using applications like Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Illustrator, and can contain multiple pages and images.

PNG

Ideal for use in Microsoft Word documents.

Developed as a patent-free alternative to GIF, Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format is used for lossless compression and for display of images on the World Wide Web. Unlike GIF, PNG supports 24-bit images and produces background transparency without jagged edges; however, some Web browsers do not support PNG images. PNG format supports RGB, indexed-colour, grayscale, and Bitmap-mode images without alpha channels. PNG preserves transparency in grayscale and RGB images.

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How to Copyright your Logo

There isn’t an official registration procedure or place to register your copyright ownership, as copyright is an unregistered right requiring no official action to effect. Copyright comes into effect immediately as soon as something is created.

Copyright is automatic in the UK. Unlike some other forms of intellectual property, you don’t have to apply for it and there’s no register of copyright holders.

In practice, however, it can be difficult to enforce legally.

Ways in which you can help prove your authorship of an original work, and so underpin your copyright, are:

  • leaving a dated copy of your work with a bank or solicitor.
  • posting a copy of your logo to yourself by special delivery and leaving the dated package unopened.
  • registering your work with The UK Copyright Service.

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Information required on stationery

Your stationery is used to project your personal or business image to your suppliers and customers. However, you must take into account that there are also legal requirements about the information that your stationery must include, for example your VAT number and your company’s registered address.

When developing your business image, the types of stationery most businesses are likely to require include:

  • Letterhead paper – A4 stationery containing your logo and contact details for your correspondence with customers and suppliers
  • Compliments slips – usually cut-down versions of your letterhead paper, typically attached to documents or cheques that you’re sending out
  • Business cards – a handy credit-card sized format for your logo and contact details

Legal Requirements – There are also legal requirements depending on the type of business that you run.

Sole Traders

There is no requirement for sole traders to register a business name. They can trade under their own names or choose a different business name. However, if as a sole trader you choose something other than your own name for the business, you will have to include your own name and the business address on all business letters, orders and receipts. Invoices must state your VAT registration number if applicable

Partnerships

Legally a company must state on letters, orders, invoices and receipts the names of all partners and the address of the principal office or alternatively indicate where a list of partners may be inspected. Invoices must state your VAT registration number, if applicable.

Limited Companies

Limited companies must show the name of the company, the country of registration, the company registration number, the address of the registered office and the address of its place of business, if different. If you decide to list the names of the directors, every director must be shown.