How to vectorize a PNG logo in Affinity Designer

The short answer

Affinity Designer 1 and 2 do not include an automatic image-trace command. To turn a PNG logo into vector artwork, you place the PNG as a reference and redraw it with the Pen tool, the shape tools and Boolean operations. Then you delete the PNG and export the drawing as SVG, PDF or EPS. A raster image such as a PNG is a fixed grid of pixels, so its edges blur or turn jagged when it is enlarged. Vector artwork is described by paths. A path is a line or outline defined by anchor points, called nodes, and the curves between them. Vector artwork can be scaled to any size without losing edge quality, and it can be edited shape by shape.

Check the version you are using. This guide describes the manual redraw workflow in Affinity Designer 1 and 2. It does not confirm whether newer Affinity releases have added a tracing feature. If you are on a later release, look through its menus and official documentation before you start. The manual method below works in any version.

Another route is to auto-trace the PNG in a separate tool, such as Inkscape's Trace Bitmap, and open the resulting SVG in Affinity Designer. Automatic traces usually contain many unnecessary nodes, wobbly curves and slightly rounded corners. They are best treated as a rough draft that needs cleanup or a full redraw. Auto-tracing works best on simple, high-contrast marks.

Saving or exporting a PNG under an SVG, EPS or PDF name does not make it vector. Those formats can contain embedded pixel images, so the file extension proves nothing about what is inside. A vector file also does not grant permission to reuse a logo. Confirm that you have the right to redraw and use the mark before you start.

Before you start

• Ask the logo owner whether an original vector file exists. Recovering the original is more accurate than any redraw.
• Get the largest, sharpest PNG available. More pixels along each edge make curves and corners easier to read.
• For a scanned print, straighten the image, crop it, and raise the contrast in a photo editor first. This makes edges easier to follow. Ink spread, paper texture and print defects are not part of the design, so do not copy them.
• Identify the typeface if the logo contains lettering. Setting the real font is more faithful than tracing letters by hand.
• Record the brand colors from official guidelines if they exist. Colors sampled from a PNG or a scan can drift because of compression, scanning and screen display.

Step 1: Set up the document

Create a new document with File > New. If the logo is mainly for screens and SVG, pixel units are convenient. For print work, millimeters, inches or points may suit your workflow better. Units do not limit how large vector artwork can be scaled later.

Step 2: Place and lock the PNG

• Use File > Place to bring the PNG into the document, then scale it to a comfortable working size.
• In the Layers panel, lower the image's opacity so your new paths stand out against it.
• Lock the image layer so it cannot be selected or moved by accident while you draw.
• Create a new layer above the image for your vector shapes.

Step 3: Build the geometric parts with shape tools

Draw circles, rectangles, rounded rectangles and polygons with the shape tools instead of the Pen tool. Primitive shapes give perfectly even curves and straight edges that are hard to match by hand. Turn on snapping and use guides so that centers, baselines and edges line up. Wherever the original logo is clearly symmetrical, draw one half and mirror a copy so both sides match exactly.

Step 4: Draw organic curves with the Pen tool

Use the Pen tool (P) for freeform outlines. Click to place a corner node. Click and drag to place a smooth node with curve handles. Then use the Node tool (A) to adjust node positions and handles.

• Place nodes at the extremes of each curve: the topmost, bottommost, leftmost and rightmost points. Avoid putting nodes in the middle of an arc.
• Use as few nodes as the shape allows. Fewer nodes produce smoother curves and paths that are easier to edit.
• Keep the handles on a smooth node aligned. Use sharp nodes only where the design really has a corner.
• Draw closed shapes for filled areas so they can be filled and combined cleanly.
• Follow the intended design rather than every pixel. Blurry or stair-stepped edges in a PNG show where the true edge lies only approximately.

Step 5: Combine shapes with Boolean operations

Boolean operations build one shape out of several overlapping ones. In Affinity Designer they are available on the toolbar and under Layer > Geometry: Add, Subtract, Intersect, Xor and Divide. For example, you can cut a counter out of a letterform or merge overlapping circles into one outline. Strokes are not part of the final filled geometry. If a part of the logo is drawn as a stroke, convert it to a filled shape with Layer > Expand Stroke. This keeps it scaling consistently and means it does not depend on stroke settings in other software.

Step 6: Handle the typography

• If you know the typeface and have a license for it, set the wordmark with the Artistic Text tool. Then match its size, letter spacing and baseline to the reference.
• Adjust kerning between specific letter pairs where the original logo was spaced by hand.
• When the type matches, convert it to curves with Layer > Convert to Curves (Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter). This gives you outlines, so the logo looks the same on computers without the font installed.
• Keep an unconverted, hidden copy of the text in your working file in case the wording or spacing needs to change later.
• If you cannot identify the typeface, or the lettering is custom, redraw the letters with the Pen and shape tools as in Steps 3 to 5.

Step 7: Apply colors

Apply the brand colors to the fills, using the official values you recorded if there are any. If you have to sample colors from the PNG, note that they are approximations. Ask the logo owner to confirm them before the artwork goes to print. For print delivery, ask the printer or the brand guidelines whether the job needs specific spot colors or a particular color mode.

Step 8: Clean up and remove the reference

• Switch to outline view from the View menu in Affinity Designer 2 to see bare paths without fills. This shows stray nodes, unwanted overlaps and gaps. Menu names may differ between versions.
• Delete any duplicate shapes and any empty or hidden objects you no longer need.
• Group related parts and give the layers clear names.
• Unlock the PNG and delete it, or move it out of the export area. It should not end up in the delivered file.

Step 9: Export for the intended use

Use File > Export and choose the format. The format-specific settings are under the dialog's More options. Option names and defaults can change between versions, so check them in the version you use.

Format | Typical use | Settings to check

SVG | Websites, apps, digital delivery | Set rasterizing to nothing, so no part of the artwork is converted to pixels; export text as curves if the type was not already converted

PDF | Print shops, general sharing | Make sure nothing is rasterized; ask the printer for any required PDF standard and color settings

EPS | Older print and sign workflows that request it | Confirm the recipient actually needs EPS; check that nothing is rasterized

PNG (exported from the vector) | Places that only accept raster images | Export from the finished vector at the exact pixel size needed

How to confirm the logo is truly vector

• Check the Layers panel. It should list curves, shapes and groups, with no Image or Pixel layers left.
• Zoom in far on the exported file. Edges should stay crisp at any zoom level, with no pixel stair-steps.
• Open the exported file in a different application and confirm that the paths can be selected and edited.
• If the type was converted to outlines, check that the lettering looks correct on a computer that does not have the font installed.
• Open an exported SVG in a text editor and search it for image elements. A redrawn vector logo should contain path or shape elements and no embedded image data.

<image href="data:image/png;base64,..." />   <- pixels are still embedded
<path d="M 10 20 C ..." />                  <- vector geometry

If an image element appears, a pixel layer or rasterized effect was still in the document when you exported. Go back to Step 8, remove it, and export again.

Gaps to be aware of

No version-specific documentation was supplied for this guide. The menu paths, shortcuts and export option names above reflect Affinity Designer 1 and 2 as generally documented, and they should be checked against the version you have installed. Whether later Affinity releases include automatic tracing was not confirmed here. The guide also does not assess the accuracy of third-party tracing tools or the file requirements of any particular printer. Ask the recipient for their exact specifications before final delivery.