You pay vendors, such as our company, to create logos, branding, and templates for you. I’ll repeat it – you PAID them to make these FOR YOU. The vector files are YOURS. Make sure this is clear when you hire a company or individual.

Before you hire someone to create these assets for you, make it clear to them what you will be given before they are paid.  One of the reasons for this is exactly what this post is titled, “My designer is no longer around.” This phrase has a lot of variations, but it’s the same result. You do not have access to the stuff you paid for. You want VECTOR, LAYERED files of your branding and templates. This means you want them to give you the AI, LAYERED PSD files. Not a png, not a jpg, not even a PDF. You need something pure and editable – scalable – vector. Not CANVA, either. You need something universal.

If your logo uses specific fonts, do you, not the designer, have the right to use that font in your branding, on your site, etc.? You also want them to give you the licensing information for the font. Just because they have it in Canva or Adobe doesn’t mean you can take it and continue to use it without the same licensing.

My friend, Albert, had this happen to him. I will help him rebuild his logo for his office in a file he will be given. I probably do this five or more times a month for people in the same predicament. The good news is that the photos he uses are his, so there are no worries about licensing.