How to Make a Logo Less Pixelated in Photoshop

Your logo is important, whether you have a band logo, company logo or even a school logo. If you want to prominently place your logo on stationery, websites or promotional images, you should make sure that it looks as good as it possibly can. A pixelated effect -- where an image looks blurry as a result of visible dots or "pixels" between color transitions -- can ruin an otherwise perfect logo, but you can use Photoshop to bring a sense of clarity to the image.

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop. To open the image containing your logo, click "File" followed by "Open" on the menu bar and select the image file.

2. Click an appropriate selection tool from the tool bar on the left side of your screen. If your logo takes up the entire image, or if it has a perfectly square or rectangular shape, you can select the "Marquee" tool (a broken rectangle image). If your image contains a rounded or oddly shaped logo, select the "Lasso" or "Magnetic Lasso." The "Lasso" allows you to draw selections freely, while the "Magnetic Lasso" clings to edges automatically while you draw.

3. Draw a selection around your logo using your chosen selection tool. If your logo takes up the entire image, you can drag your mouse over the entire surface. If it takes up only a portion of the image, you must select it carefully to avoid highlighting outside pixels.

4. Click "Filter" followed by "Sharpen" and "Unsharp Mask" on your menu bar. A new window will appear with two versions of your image shown side by side. The image on the left remains the same, while the image on the right reflects any changes made by the "Unsharp Mask" filter. Use this as your preview image.

5. Drag the "Amount" slider on your filter window to determine the amount of contrast on your logo. If you choose a high number on the "Amount" slider, the light and dark pixels will became extremely pronounced with a high level of contrast, whereas a low number brings a more subtle contrast. Watch your "Preview" window, and adjust the slider as needed.

6. Drag the "Radius" slider to determine the extent to which the pixels will sharpen. If you choose a very low radius, only pixels along the edge of your selection will sharpen, while a high radius will sharpen the pixels near the center of your logo as well.

7. Drag the "Threshold" slider to determine which parts of your logo will see the greatest amount of change. For best results, choose a high threshold to ensure that your filter applies the sharpening effect only to the areas with the highest amount of color contrast. If you apply it to low-contrast areas as well (with a low threshold), your logo may look too animated or grainy. Use your "Preview" window as your guide to determine the best balance.

8. Click "OK" to save your changes. Click "File" followed by "Save" on the menu bar to save your updated image.

References

• Adobe: Sharpen Using Unsharp Mask
• Photojojo: Unsharp Mask: How Do You Actually Use That Thing?