Branding Package: What You Should Receive

You paid for a logo and received three files: a JPG, a PNG and maybe a PDF. They look fine on screen. Then the signboard vendor asks for a vector file, the printer asks for CMYK codes, and the person making your Instagram posts asks which font you use. You go back to the designer, who has moved on, or who quotes again for files that should have come with the job.

A branding package is the full set of files, rules and permissions that lets anyone use your brand correctly without calling the original designer. This article lists what a complete handover looks like, so you can check what you have, ask for what is missing, and write it into the contract next time.

Why a few logo files are not a brand kit

A JPG or PNG is a picture of your logo at one size. It works on a website or a WhatsApp display picture. Blow it up for a shop fascia or a flex banner and the edges go soft, because these formats are made of pixels. Shrink it for a browser tab icon and the details disappear.

The bigger gap is decisions. A logo file does not tell a printer which shade of green to use, or tell a new staff member whether the logo can sit on top of a photo. Every vendor guesses, and after a year your visiting card, hoarding and Instagram grid all look slightly different. Fixing that later costs more than getting it right at handover.

If you are still weighing whether to bring in a specialist at all, when a business needs a branding agency covers the usual signs.

The logo versions and formats you should have

Ask for the logo in several versions and several formats. Versions are about layout and colour. Formats are about where the file will be used.

• Primary logo. The main version, usually the symbol and the business name together.
• Horizontal and stacked layouts. A wide one for website headers and letterheads, a compact one for square spaces like a social media profile picture.
• Icon or symbol only. For browser tab icons, app icons and small stamps where the full name will not fit.
• Single colour versions. All black, all white, and a reversed version for dark backgrounds, used for embroidery, engraving and one colour printing.

Each version should come in vector formats such as AI, EPS, SVG or PDF. Vector files are built from shapes, not pixels, so they stay sharp at any size. You also need PNG files with a transparent background for everyday digital use. Many printers and sign makers in India still work in CorelDRAW and may ask for a CDR file, so ask your designer to export one if your vendors need it.

The most important file is the editable source file from the design software. Without it, any future change means redrawing. Ask for files named clearly, such as brandname-logo-horizontal-white.png, and sorted into print and digital folders.

Colour codes, fonts and the guidelines document

The guidelines document, sometimes called a brand book or style guide, is the rule book for your brand. What matters is that a printer, a web developer or a new social media person can open it and get things right on the first attempt.

• Colour codes in every system. HEX and RGB for screens, CMYK for printing, and a Pantone reference if you print signage or packaging in spot colours.
• Typefaces. The font names, which weights to use for headings and body text, and where to get them.
• Logo rules. Clear space around the logo, the smallest size it can be used at, and examples of what not to do, such as stretching, recolouring or adding shadows.
• Examples in use. The logo on a card, a signboard and a social post, so people can see how it is meant to look.

If your package came with colours but no codes, ask for them. 'Our blue' means nothing to a flex printer in another city. Colours also look different on a screen and on paper, which is why the print codes need to be written down separately.

Usage rights, ownership and font licences

Paying for a design does not always mean you own it outright. In India, as in many countries, the person who creates a design generally holds the copyright unless it is assigned to you in writing. A clause in the contract, or a signed letter assigning the rights in the final logo to your business, settles this. If the brand matters a lot to you, have a lawyer read it.

Copyright and trademark are different things. Owning the design does not register it as your trademark. Registration is a separate filing, and it helps if your designer has checked that the mark is not too close to an existing one before you file.

Fonts and images carry their own licences. Many fonts are free for commercial use, but some are paid and licensed per user or per type of use. If your brand font is a paid one, ask who holds the licence and what it covers. The same applies to any stock icon or illustration built into the logo. A mark built on a stock icon may not be yours to register at all.

Templates you will use every month

Beyond the logo, a useful package includes the pieces you will reach for again and again. What is included varies with scope and budget, so agree on the list before work starts.

• Visiting card and letterhead, print ready with bleed marks
• Invoice or quotation header for your billing software
• Social media post and story templates in an editable format
• Email signature and a WhatsApp Business profile picture
• Signage or packaging artwork, if it was part of the brief

Editable templates matter more than finished samples. A finished Diwali post gets used once. A template your team can update gets used all year.

If you are a startup on a tight budget, you can phase this: logo files, codes and a basic guide first, templates as your needs grow. Branding for startups walks through what to prioritise early.

Getting the handover before the final payment

The simplest protection is to list every deliverable in the quotation and tie the final payment to receiving them. Ask the agency up front what their handover includes. A clear, written answer is a good sign. A vague one deserves a follow up question, and how to choose a branding agency has more questions worth asking at that stage.

When the files arrive, test them. Open a vector file and zoom in close. Send the print files to your printer and ask whether they work. Check that the fonts install on your computer. Then save everything in a drive your business controls, because agency share links can expire.

If you only have a few loose files, you do not have to start over. A designer can usually redraw a clean vector version and build guidelines around it. If you want help with an incomplete kit or a new one, our branding and design page explains how that work is scoped.

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