Add a Logo in KiCad: Image Converter or SVG Import?

If your logo is already a clean SVG, import it as graphics in KiCad instead of tracing it again. If the only source is a PNG or another bitmap, KiCad's Image Converter can turn that image into a symbol or footprint. A placed reference image is a third route, but it is only a design aid and does not become fabricated board artwork.

The right choice depends less on the file extension than on what the logo contains and where it must appear on the board.

Choose the route in 30 seconds

• You have a real SVG with editable paths: import the graphic directly into the PCB Editor.
• You only have a clean bitmap: use Image Converter, or reconstruct the logo as an SVG first when you need to clean the curves.
• You only need a visual guide while laying out the board: place a reference image, then replace it with board graphics before fabrication.
• Your source is blurry, textured, or photographic: simplify or redraw it. More tracing cannot recover missing geometry.
• Before ordering boards: check the logo at final physical size and apply your fabricator's current silkscreen or copper rules.

Image Converter, SVG import, and reference images are different

KiCad 10 includes Image Converter in the project manager. The official KiCad introduction describes it as a tool for converting bitmap images to symbols or footprints. That is useful when the source really is a bitmap and the destination needs KiCad geometry.

The PCB Editor also has Import Graphics. KiCad's current PCB Editor manual documents SVG among the supported drawing formats. This is the shorter route when your logo already contains usable vector paths.

The same manual distinguishes imported graphics from reference images. A reference image helps you position or trace something, but KiCad says it is not included in manufacturing outputs. It is not a shortcut for getting a PNG onto a finished PCB.

Starting point	Best first route	What to verify
Clean SVG logo	Import Graphics	Scale, layer, fills, holes, and path complexity
High-contrast PNG or bitmap	Image Converter	Threshold, polarity, final size, and the resulting footprint or symbol
Raster logo that needs curve cleanup	Reconstruct as SVG, then import	Shape fidelity, node count, closed paths, and one-color appearance
Photo used only for alignment	Place Reference Image	Replace it with real board graphics before output

Three logo routes

Route 1: Import an existing SVG logo

Use this route when you can open the SVG in a vector editor and select the logo as paths. Do not trace it again just because KiCad also has an image converter. A second trace can add nodes, soften corners, close small gaps, or change letter shapes.

Prepare the SVG before KiCad

Keep a copy of the original master, then make a PCB-specific delivery copy:

1. Remove hidden objects, backgrounds, clipping masks, and effects that do not need to reach the board.
2. Convert live text to outlines in the delivery copy so the logo does not depend on an installed font.
3. Reduce the artwork to the colors or filled shapes the destination layer can represent.
4. Confirm that counters inside letters and intentional holes remain open.
5. Simplify only obvious excess nodes. Do not change a brand curve merely to hit the lowest possible count.

Then use the PCB Editor's Import Graphics command and choose the destination layer. For a typical top-side printed mark, that may be a front silkscreen layer. Copper, solder-mask, and other treatments have different production consequences, so confirm the intended layer before placing the graphic.

Import at a known scale when possible. Once placed, measure the logo in KiCad rather than trusting how large it looks on screen.

Route 2: Use KiCad Image Converter for a bitmap

Image Converter is the direct option when the source is a clean, high-contrast bitmap. It interprets the visible image and creates KiCad content rather than preserving the original pixels.

A practical sequence is:

1. Start with the largest, cleanest version of the logo you have.
2. Crop empty margins and remove accidental background noise.
3. Convert the artwork to a clear light-and-dark image if the intended board mark is one color.
4. Open Image Converter from the KiCad project manager.
5. Load the bitmap and choose the output appropriate to the destination, such as a footprint for PCB placement.
6. Set the physical dimensions deliberately, save the result, and place it on the board.
7. Inspect the footprint at the final size and compare it with the source.

Do not assume that a preview which looks smooth at a large zoom will survive production. Check thin strokes, small gaps, letter counters, and tight spacing against your board manufacturer's current capabilities.

The KiCad community thread Correct use of Image Converter is also a useful reminder that symbols, footprints, and graphics serve different destinations. Choose the output for where the mark belongs, not simply for the file type you started with.

Route 3: Rebuild a raster logo as SVG first

Sometimes the bitmap is suitable for automatic reconstruction, but you want to inspect and clean the paths before they enter the PCB. This middle route is helpful for a lost flat logo, especially when it contains curved lettering or several shapes that must be simplified into one board color.

PerfectVector's logo vectorizer reconstructs supported PNG, JPG, and WebP artwork as editable vector paths. Compare the preview with the original, inspect the shape boundaries, and download only if the result is a useful starting point. Then make a PCB-specific copy, reduce it to the intended one-color geometry, and import that SVG into KiCad.

This route does not create PCB semantics for you. It recovers editable artwork. You still choose the KiCad layer, physical size, and production treatment, and you still apply the fabricator's rules.

Use a manual redraw instead when:

• the source is too small or blurred to reveal the intended edges;
• text must match an exact typeface and spacing;
• the mark contains hairlines or tiny reversals that cannot survive at board size;
• a photograph, texture, shadow, or gradient needs to become a simple production mark;
• brand approval requires exact geometry rather than a close automatic trace.

A reference image will not appear on the board

KiCad's Place Reference Image command is useful for layout and tracing. You might use it to align a board outline to a mechanical sketch or to compare a placed logo with a raster proof.

But a reference image is not manufactured. Before generating fabrication files, make sure the visible logo is made from imported graphics, a footprint, or another intentional board object on the correct layer. Hide the reference image and confirm that the production mark remains.

That one check catches an easy mistake: a design can look complete in the editor while the logo is absent from the output.

Check the logo before fabrication

Do these checks on the placed board artwork, not only on the source SVG:

• Layer: confirm the graphic is on the side and layer you intend.
• Size: measure the final width and height in board units.
• Line and gap survival: compare the thinnest strokes and smallest negative spaces with the fabricator's current published rules or its answer for your job.
• Polarity: check whether filled and empty regions are reversed.
• Readability: view the board at roughly physical size and print a paper proof if scale is hard to judge.
• Geometry: look for open contours, unexpected fills, clipped pieces, and excessive points.
• Output: inspect the generated fabrication data in the appropriate viewer instead of trusting the editor alone.

KiCad's PCB Editor provides Simplify Polygons for removing superfluous points from selected polygons. Use it carefully. Fewer points can make geometry easier to handle, but aggressive simplification can alter the mark.

An older but concrete walkthrough from the element14 Community shows the bitmap-to-footprint route for silkscreen artwork. The interface has evolved since KiCad 6, so use the current KiCad 10 documentation for command names and behavior.

FAQ

Should I use KiCad Image Converter or import an SVG for a logo? Import the SVG when it already contains clean vector paths. Use Image Converter when your source is a bitmap and you want KiCad to create a symbol or footprint from it.

Can KiCad import an SVG logo directly? Yes. KiCad 10's PCB Editor documentation lists SVG as a supported format for Import Graphics. Check the imported scale, layer, fills, and geometry before fabrication.

Will a KiCad reference image appear in Gerber or manufacturing output? No. KiCad documents reference images as design aids that are not included in manufacturing output. Replace the reference with real board graphics or a footprint.

Can I put a color logo on PCB silkscreen? A normal silkscreen layer is not the same as a full-color image. Prepare the artwork for the actual process and colors your manufacturer offers, and ask the fabricator about any special full-color service.

Why did the imported logo lose small details? The source may be too complex for its physical size, or the trace may have merged small gaps and shapes. Simplify the design deliberately, enlarge it, or redraw critical details, then check the production output again.

Sources

1. KiCad — Introduction — Current KiCad 10 tool overview, including Image Converter's bitmap-to-symbol or footprint purpose.
2. KiCad — PCB Editor — Current Import Graphics, reference-image, polygon-simplification, layer, and fabrication-output documentation.
3. KiCad.info Forums — Correct use of Image Converter — Recent community discussion of converter output and destination choices.
4. element14 Community — KiCad 6: Adding logos and graphics to a silkscreen — A concrete bitmap-to-footprint silkscreen example, treated as older interface guidance.
5. PerfectVector — Logo Vectorizer — Current raster-logo reconstruction workflow, preview, supported input formats, and product boundary.

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If the vector master is gone and the remaining logo is clean flat art, reconstruct it as editable SVG paths, inspect every important shape, and import the PCB-specific copy into KiCad only after it passes the final-size checks.