Make a logo transparent

At a glance

How to do it

1. Start from the biggest copy you can findThe logo in an email signature is often under 200 px wide. Look for the original in a brand folder, a press kit, a PDF or the site's own image files. A cutout can't add detail that isn't there, so a 2000 px source gives clean edges and a 150 px source gives soft, jagged ones.
2. Remove the background and check the holesRemove the background, then zoom in on letters with closed shapes such as O, A, B, e and g, and on gaps between icon and wordmark. Those inner areas must be transparent too, or the slide or header colour won't show through them. Switch the preview to a dark background to spot any leftover white.
3. Export for where it will liveDownload a transparent PNG for slides, documents and merch mock-ups, or WebP for a website, where it is smaller. Make square versions for favicons and social profiles, with padding around the mark so a circle crop doesn't cut it.

Tips and common mistakes

• White halo on dark backgroundsEdge pixels in a logo saved on white are blended with white, so after the cutout they show as a pale outline on navy or black. Fix it by cutting from a larger source, or make a separate light version of the logo (white or reversed colours) for dark backgrounds. Many brands ship both.
• Use SVG when you have itFor a header logo on a website, MDN recommends SVG when a vector version exists, and lossless formats for raster logos because fringes around sharp edges are very visible. A transparent PNG is the fallback when all you have is a photo or a JPG.
• Favicons need the mark, not the wordmarkA favicon is shown tiny in browser tabs and search results. Crop to the symbol or first letter, keep it square (Google requires 1:1), and give it a solid or high-contrast shape so it reads on both light and dark tabs.
• Slides and documentsPowerPoint's widescreen slide is 13.333 x 7.5 in (16:9). Insert the logo as a PNG, not a JPG, so the slide colour shows through and you don't get a white rectangle on a coloured template.
• Merch and printPrinters can only print a raster logo as sharp as its pixels. Send the vector file when one exists; use the transparent PNG for mock-ups, store listings and quick proofs.
• Logos with text on social sitesFacebook notes that profile pictures and cover photos containing a logo or text may look better as PNG. Lossy JPG compression blurs and fringes sharp edges, which is most visible on text.