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I created my logo in Adobe Illustrator and i'm happy espect that when i need it smaller, it looks pretty ugly and fuzzy. Like pixels are getting squeezed.

Here is a screenshot of the original on the right and the smaller one on the left:

enter image description here

I am sure i am doing something wring in Illustrator since i don't have much experi

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2 Answers

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The 'fuzz' is called anti-aliasing. It's a raster image method to smooth lines that fall in between pixel boundaries.

But since this is Illustrator, it's likely not raster, but vector, and what you are seeing is simply Illustrator's on screen rendering. If you zoom in, the anti-aliasing will likely disappear.

The issue may return, however, if you try exporting your file as a raster image of some sorts. Given the simplicity of the logo form, however, I'd suggest just sizing it the way you want, export it, then open it in PhotoShop to tweak the pixels as you see fit.

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Yes when i zoom in they disappear but when i save them for web as JPG or PNG it is fuzzy again. So the solution is to export it and then modify it in photoshop? Is this the common way to do it? – drale2k Jul 12 '12 at 17:08
That's one way to do it. I think you can set up a pixel grid in illustrator so that every line will end up on the edge of a rasterized pixel. But I don't usually trust AI's exporting much, so typically do all the raster conversion in a raster app like PhotoShop. – DA01 Jul 12 '12 at 19:44
@drale2k I personally find it somewhat unnarural to save anything to raster from illustrator, so what I quite of then do, is either I have something like pdf saved from illustrator (vector) which I open in photoshop if I need raster version of it, or I just copy from illustrator and then paste in photoshop and most likely choose to keep it as Smart object, there is no need to export it in between, if there is no need for extra file laying around. – Joonas Jul 12 '12 at 19:57
So you would "Save it for web" in illustrator and save it as PNG or JPG, then go into PS and cut pixles or half-tone pixels or what do you mean by "do all the raster conversion in a raster app like PhotoShop". Thank you very much – drale2k Jul 12 '12 at 20:06
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it comes down to if you want sharp edges on low-resolution, geometric based images, you gotta get in there at the pixel level and tweak. – DA01 Jul 12 '12 at 21:38
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The best way is probably to go through Photoshop (like suggested by DA01) with your file. If you are unsure how much to tweak, here is an excellent tutorial on downsizing logos for smaller use: http://methodandcraft.com/videos/pixel-hinting-vectors-in-photoshop

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That helps a lot! Unfortunately i can't vote up answers yet. – drale2k Jul 14 '12 at 0:43
haha, ok. but thanks for the feedback that it helped. – KMSTR Jul 14 '12 at 6:34

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