How designers should send files to clients
A logo handoff isn't one file, it's a folder: the editable source, a few flattened exports, and the fonts that go with it. Email chokes on that combination, and a bare cloud link makes the client guess which file is which. Here's a handoff that survives contact with an actual client.
What clients actually need from a handoff
A finished export is not a finished handoff. Clients need the editable source file too, so a future designer, an in-house team, or you six months from now can open it and make a change without starting over. That usually means an AI or PSD file alongside the PNGs and JPGs, plus the fonts used in the design if they're not already licensed to the client.
Ask what the client's own team will do with the files before you package anything. A marketing team dropping a logo into a slide deck needs flattened exports. A developer implementing a brand system needs the source file, the fonts, and clear naming. Get that answer up front and you package once instead of twice.
The files that trip up standard sharing
Design source files are heavier and stranger than the files most sharing tools are built for. A layered PSD or AI file with embedded assets can run into the hundreds of megabytes, well past what email allows. Cloud drive links work but usually require the client to have or create an account just to open a folder, which is friction for a one-time handoff.
The other problem is trust. When a client downloads a mystery ZIP, they can't tell an AI file from an FIG file from a font without opening each one. On a ZappFiles download page, layered PSDs preview as artwork, right alongside your photos and image exports. Everything else is covered by icons for AI, FIG, and over 40 other file types, so your client can see what each file is before opening any of it.
Keep the folder structure your client expects
Package the handoff the way you'd want to receive it: source files in one folder, exports in another, fonts in a third. That structure only helps if it survives the transfer, which is something plenty of tools get wrong by flattening everything into one directory. We go deeper on building that structure in how to organize client project files before you send them, and ZappFiles preserves whatever structure you upload, covered in the folder support guide.
Package it so it looks like your work, not an attachment
A logo handoff sent through your own branded download page reads differently than a generic file drop. On paid plans, ZappFiles lets you put your own logo, colors, and message on the download page the client sees, so the handoff feels like the last step of your process instead of a random link. Details are on the customization page.
A simple designer handoff checklist
- Include the editable source file, not just the exports.
- Add flattened exports in the formats the client actually needs, PNG, JPG, or PDF.
- Package the fonts, or outline the text if licensing doesn't allow sharing the font files.
- Name the top-level folder with the client and project, not just "final assets."
- Set an expiry that matches the project. A quick logo delivery doesn't need a link that lives for a year; more on picking the right window in how long should your file sharing link stay active.
Send the whole handoff in one organized link
Source files, exports, and fonts, all in one folder structure that arrives exactly as you built it.