Imogen Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Hi! Really hoping someone out there might be able to shed some light on the problem I've been having - I feel like I've exhausted all options, so you guys are my last hope! First things first, I am not an experienced designer in any respect, so I'm afraid I'll probably only understand basic terms. But always willing to learn! So, here the problem lies: I have been *trying* to create a logo within Affinity to be used on Instagram as the profile image. Everything goes without a hitch whilst I'm designing the logo and then exporting as a PNG/JPEG (the logo looks exactly as I would have expected when viewing the file on my laptop), but the problem arises when I upload the file as my Instagram profile image. There is clearly a loss of quality, with pixelation and blurring - This is less evident on a phone, although the lettering in my logo is still not sharp enough for my liking/the solid colour immediately surrounding the letters seems pixelated), but particularly evident when viewed on a desktop. I am aware that the quality may seem sufficient in the image I have attached, however the lettering is just not sharp enough - I have compared it to other logos on Instagram, in case I have had unrealistic expectations, but they have sharp lettering and backgrounds. I have tried all sorts of things, and have looked through all sorts of forums/websites for possible ideas. The main things that I have tried are the following: Tried different file sizes, having read up about Instagram's recommended sizing - i.e. experimenting with a 110px x 110px artboard/logo size, 180px x 180px, 500px x 500px and so on Tried exporting the logo as different file types (PNG and JPEG) Selected different options under the 'resampling' drop down, i.e. Bilinear, Bicubic etc Tried 'convert to curves' Have most recently tried changing the font colour and background colour, as I read that Instagram can have some problems with certain colours (red), however if anything, the quality worsened And plenty of other things that I can't remember! Uploading the exported file straight to Instagram desktop version, and also sending the file to my phone to upload via the Instagram app. It is quite possible that due to my inexperience in using programs such as Affinity, it could be something incredibly basic/simple that I was unaware was required, or perhaps this is an issue others have experienced. Either way, I welcome any ideas! Thank you in advance! Imogen Quote
Dan C Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Hi Imogen, Welcome to the forums I've recently covered a similar question at the following thread - From your description it sounds as though you're creating quite small images, which when uploaded to a website such as Instagram this will be re-sampled which can also cause reduction in quality. May I ask why you are exporting no larger than 500px x 500px? Quote
v_kyr Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Might also be used font and it's quality dependent. Quote ☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan ☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2
Imogen Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 3 hours ago, Dan C said: Hi Imogen, Welcome to the forums I've recently covered a similar question at the following thread - From your description it sounds as though you're creating quite small images, which when uploaded to a website such as Instagram this will be re-sampled which can also cause reduction in quality. May I ask why you are exporting no larger than 500px x 500px? Unfortunately I have also tried exporting much larger sizes, and that didn't seem to work - However, I will give it another go and follow your advice from the thread you have linked. Thank you! Quote
Imogen Posted December 14, 2019 Author Posted December 14, 2019 3 hours ago, v_kyr said: Might also be used font and it's quality dependent. Ah I hadn't thought of this! Could you possibly briefly explain this to me? What does it mean if a font is quality dependent, and is it possible to know which ones are/aren't? I'll trial some different fonts and see if this helps - Thank you! Quote
Jowday Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Perhaps it is time to add 'Output sharpening' options to export options like in so many other programs. Quote "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface." Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else. “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
markw Posted December 14, 2019 Posted December 14, 2019 Hello Imogem, I think your image sizes really need to be bigger. Instagram sizes start with aspect ratio and then max pixel dimensions. Try these dimensions for images; For photo posts try these Post with Square image - 1:1 = 1080x1080 pixels. Post with Portrait (vertical) image - 4:5 = 1080x1350px. Post with Landscape (horizontal) image - 4:5 = 1350x1080px or 1.91:1 = 1080x608px IGTV Cover Photo - 1:1.55 = 420x654px Stories Instagram - 9:16 = 750x1334px Quote macOS 12.7.6 | 15" Macbook Pro, 2017 | 4 Core i7 3.1GHz CPU | Radeon Pro 555 2GB GPU + Integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 1.536GB | 16GB RAM | Wacom Intuos4 M
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