The client brand handoff checklist for designers and studios
A brand handoff checklist for designers and studios: every file to send, how to explain each one to a client, and how to stop the logo emails.
A brand handoff is the moment a client goes from "we love it" to "we can actually use it." A good brand handoff checklist covers nine things: logo files in every version and format, labeled by use; color codes for screen and print; fonts and their licenses; a one-page guide; the approved words; a clear policy on source files; one place where it all lives; a short walkthrough call; and a note the client can forward to printers. Send all nine and you'll rarely get the "can you send the logo again?" email a year later.
Below is the full checklist as a table you can copy, what to say about each file to someone who isn't a designer, and the habits that keep a handoff working long after the final invoice.
The brand handoff checklist
| Item | What to send | Why the client needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Logo files | Every version (primary, stacked, icon, wordmark), each in full color, black and white, as SVG, PNG and PDF or EPS | So they never have to screenshot their own logo |
| Color codes | Each color's name, HEX and RGB for screens, CMYK and Pantone for print | So the website, the business cards and the van all match |
| Fonts | Font names, where to get them, the license, and a free fallback | So nobody swaps in Arial when they make a flyer |
| One-page guide | Logo do's and don'ts, clear space, smallest size, which color does what | The rules, short enough to actually be read |
| Approved words | Tagline, short bio, boilerplate, voice words (if they were part of the project) | So the copy matches the look |
| Source files policy | Whether AI, Figma or InDesign files are included, and on what terms | No awkward surprises later |
| Where it lives | One link or one folder, labeled, that the client keeps | So they can find it in two years |
| Walkthrough call | 20 to 30 minutes, screen shared, recorded | So the files make sense, not just exist |
| Printer note | A short message with the print files and print color codes | So the first sign or sticker order goes right |
Logo files: every version, labeled by use
Send each version of the logo in three colorways (full color, all black, all white) and three formats:
- SVG for websites and anything that needs to scale. (More on that in SVG vs PNG.)
- PNG with a transparent background for slides, documents, social posts and email.
- PDF or EPS for printers, sign makers and embroidery shops.
Add a square icon for social profile pictures and the browser tab (the favicon). Then name every file by what it's for. "fern-field-logo-stacked-white.png" explains itself. "Logo_Final_v7 (2).png" does not. Group files into folders a client can follow:
Fern & Field Brand
1 Logos
For screens (SVG and PNG)
For print (PDF and EPS)
2 Colors
3 Fonts
4 One-page guide
Read me first.pdf
Our guide to logo file formats has the full list of which file goes where, and Tabitha's file-naming guide has a naming pattern you can borrow.
Color codes for screen and print
Write each color down with its name and every code someone might need: HEX and RGB for anything on a screen, CMYK for everyday printing, and a Pantone match for merch, signage or packaging. For Fern & Field that starts with Moss #5B6B3F, Forest #2E3A2A and Wheat #C9A66B, each with its print codes beside it.
Tell the client that screen and paper colors never match perfectly, and that's normal. This post on hex, Pantone and CMYK explains why, in words you can forward.
Fonts and their licenses
List the heading and body typefaces, where to get them, and who holds the license. Google Fonts can simply be installed. Commercial fonts are usually licensed per person or company, so your license often doesn't cover your client's computers. Say so plainly, and add a free fallback for anyone making a quick slide.
A one-page guide
Skip the 40-page manual. One page covers what a small brand needs: which logo to use where, how much space to leave around it, the smallest size it works at, what each color is for, and which font does headings. Our one-page style guide shows what fits on it.
Source files: decide before the handoff
Some designers include the master files (AI, Figma, InDesign), some charge for them, some keep them. Any of those is fine if it's in the contract and repeated in the handoff email. Most clients will never open an AI file; the PDF and EPS cover printers. If they do get stuck, here's how to open AI, EPS and PDF files without Illustrator.
Where it all lives
One link, not fourteen attachments. Transfer links expire, and a folder in your own drive vanishes the day you tidy up. Choose a home the client can keep and forward without asking you.
The walkthrough call
Book 20 to 30 minutes, share your screen and record it. Open the files together, show which logo goes where, and point out the white version. Clients forget emails; they remember being shown.
The printer note
Give the client a short message to paste into an email to any printer or sign maker (with the real codes filled in):
Hi! Our print-ready logo is attached as a PDF and an EPS. Our colors: Moss, Pantone [number], CMYK [values]; Forest, Pantone [number], CMYK [values]. Please send a proof before printing. Thanks!
How to explain each file to a non-designer
A folder of SVGs and EPS files can feel like a test. One plain sentence per file fixes that; put these in the "Read me first" page.
| File | What to tell the client |
|---|---|
| SVG | "Your sharpest logo, for your website. If an app won't open it, use the PNG." |
| PNG | "Your everyday logo, for slides, documents, social posts and email. The background is see-through." |
| JPG | "Only for places that won't take a PNG. It has a white box behind it." |
| PDF and EPS | "For printers and sign makers. You may not be able to open the EPS, and that's fine. Just forward it." |
| AI or Figma | "The master file, for designers only." |
| White logo | "Looks blank on a white screen. It isn't broken; it's for dark backgrounds." |
| HEX codes | "For your website and anything you make on screen." |
| CMYK and Pantone | "For printers. Send these with any print order." |
How to stop the "can you send the logo again?" emails
Clients don't lose logos because they're careless. The files arrived in an expired download link or a folder named "Final." A few habits prevent it:
- One permanent link. Put it in the final invoice, the handoff email and your project notes.
- Labeled by use, not by version. "For dark backgrounds" beats "white_v2."
- Forwardable without a login. The client's printer, web developer and new marketing hire should be able to open it.
- A "Read me first" page with the explanations above.
- A check-in a year later. Two lines: "Still have everything you need? Anything new coming up?" It's kind, and it's often how the next project starts.
Doing the handoff in BrandTab
If you hand off brands often, BrandTab was built with this checklist in mind. Each client's logos, colors, fonts, approved words and photos live in their own brand as the project goes. At the end, on Creative and Studio plans, you make a brand package: pick the parts that go in (logos, colors, typography, photos, plus any media kits or mood boards), and the client gets one page with all of it and a "Download everything" button. The zip comes with a Read Me listing what's inside, logos download as the image files you uploaded (SVG, PNG or JPG), and an SVG logo also downloads as a PNG for apps that can't use SVG. AI, EPS and PDF logo files stay out of the package, so send any print files the client needs alongside the link. The link is off until you switch it on, and switching it off takes the page down straight away.
On Studio, you can also invite clients to their own brands with free view-and-copy access: they don't use a seat, and they can copy a color or a bio any time without emailing you. Handing a brand over to the client's own BrandTab account, with all its files, is coming soon.
There's more on how it fits your work on the pages for freelance designers and agencies.
Questions people ask
What files should a designer give a client at the end of a branding project?
Every logo version in full color, black and white, as SVG, PNG and PDF or EPS; color codes for screen and print; font names and licenses; and a one-page guide. Source files depend on your contract.
Should designers give clients the source files?
It's up to the designer, as long as it's agreed in writing up front. Clients almost always need print-ready PDF or EPS files, which aren't the same as source files.
How do you hand over brand files to a client?
Put everything in one labeled place the client can keep, send one link, and walk them through it on a short recorded call.
What should a client send to a printer?
The logo as a PDF or EPS, the CMYK and Pantone codes for each brand color, and a request for a proof before printing. A short printer note in the handoff makes this easy to forward.
How do I stop clients losing their logo files?
Give them one permanent link that doesn't need a login, label every file by where it's used, and include a "Read me first" page.
