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Uploading SVG file to adobe express and change color

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
January 5, 2024
14 replies
4354 views

I am trying to upload SVG files of my logos to adobe express to be able to quickly change the colors. However, when I use the effects tool to change the color it doesn't truly change the color, just the hue....

sos fix this please

Correct answer Rose DV

Hi @iamkate_OX (and @mssammaher along with anyone else tracking this thread) - an update now that I've confirmed the details with the team:

This is intended behavior, not a bug. When an SVG is uploaded to a Brand and then placed in a document, Express converts it to a PNG behind the scenes, on purpose. That's why the recolor options are limited on that path, it's a raster at that point, not a vector.

The reason: Express's SVG import doesn't always preserve an SVG's original appearance perfectly (colors can shift), so the team converts Brand-placed SVGs to PNG to protect how the graphic looks. That tradeoff is being kept until SVG import improves.

So for your brand-kit rollout, the clear guidance:

If you need to recolor graphics inside Express, use direct upload, upload the SVG into the file while you're working (not via the Brand Kit). That keeps it as an editable vector and gives you full recolor with your brand colors. This is the supported path for what you're after.
If you place from the Brand Kit, expect it to behave as a fixed-color image (PNG), not recolorable.

One more thing worth knowing: the team is actively weighing whether to support placing SVGs directly from Brands in the future. No timeline on that, but the demand from threads like this one is part of what's putting it back on their radar.

For now, build your workflow around direct upload and know that I’m still putting new comments and feedback from this thread in front of the team as they come in.

Rose

Rose DV

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hi @iamkate_OX (and @mssammaher along with anyone else tracking this thread) - an update now that I've confirmed the details with the team:

This is intended behavior, not a bug. When an SVG is uploaded to a Brand and then placed in a document, Express converts it to a PNG behind the scenes, on purpose. That's why the recolor options are limited on that path, it's a raster at that point, not a vector.

The reason: Express's SVG import doesn't always preserve an SVG's original appearance perfectly (colors can shift), so the team converts Brand-placed SVGs to PNG to protect how the graphic looks. That tradeoff is being kept until SVG import improves.

So for your brand-kit rollout, the clear guidance:

If you need to recolor graphics inside Express, use direct upload, upload the SVG into the file while you're working (not via the Brand Kit). That keeps it as an editable vector and gives you full recolor with your brand colors. This is the supported path for what you're after.
If you place from the Brand Kit, expect it to behave as a fixed-color image (PNG), not recolorable.

One more thing worth knowing: the team is actively weighing whether to support placing SVGs directly from Brands in the future. No timeline on that, but the demand from threads like this one is part of what's putting it back on their radar.

For now, build your workflow around direct upload and know that I’m still putting new comments and feedback from this thread in front of the team as they come in.

Rose

mssammaher

Participant

Hi @Tarun Saini

Has this been fixed yet? I want to transition my organisation to Adobe Express but cannot justify committing the resources while this remains an issue.

Rose DV

Community Manager

Hi @mssammaher!

SVG recoloring is now working! I just tested it with my own SVG and was able to edit colors directly.

For SVGs in a brand kit specifically, versus just dropping the SVG directly into a project, the best approach is using the duotone effect to recolor. A community member shared a great tip on this recently - the key is to make sure your brand kit icons are filled with pure black, then apply the duotone effect and select your desired color for the shadows. Because the icons are black, it correctly applies your chosen color. You can see the full details here on how to apply the colors!

Hope that helps as you evaluate Express for your org - let me know if you have any other questions!

Rose

mssammaher

Participant

Thanks for getting back to me, but I was already aware of this workaround through my own testing.

A workaround isn’t a fix. For example, this means that one click recolouring of a signed off template using brand colours doesn’t work.

When I upload all black icons to our brand library, I need them to act in the same way as icons in the Adobe asset library.

I

iamkate_OX

Participating Frequently

Hello @Tarun Saini do you have any more information on this bug please? We are in a testing phase and need to see if this feature can be used. We will have approx 50 different brand kits so we need to know so I can output the right files to be uploaded to the brand kits. Thanks for your help. Kate

Tarun Saini

Community Manager

Hi @iamkate_OX,

Thanks for your patience. I'd like to inform you that after checking with our product team, this is a known issue and once we hear anything from our product team, we will keep you posted.

Regards,

Tarun

I

iamkate_OX

Participating Frequently

Thanks @Tarun Saini I have tried uploading a few different ways and when using an SVG file from a brand kit you can only choose these options for a linked asset from a Brand Kit. If I upload the same SVG file into the AE file I get the option to recolour with any of the colours in our multiple brand kits.

The green arrow was uploaded to the file as black and changed.

Where does someone reviewing your brand kit settings ensure “recolour graphics” is enabled? Adobe CC app, Adobe Express...? I've done this while creating a file but it still doesn't seem to work.

I

iamkate_OX

Participating Frequently

The product team has done a great job and has been able to share that Adobe Express now supports the ability to recolor SVG's. I have found that you can recolour an SVG if you upload media when working on an asset. If I upload an SVG icon to my brand kit you don't get the same function. Surely you should be able to recolour SVGs in brand kits if you can elsewhere? Or is it the way the file is uploaded to Adobe Express that I need to do differently? We have 50 icons that we want to upload for teams to be able to recolour.

Tarun Saini

Community Manager

Hi @iamkate_OX,

Thank you for your thoughtful message and for bringing this to our attention. Have you checked the articles below?

Also, please try uploading a few test SVGs directly into a design to confirm they support recolouring, and reviewing your brand kit settings to ensure “Recolour graphics” is enabled.

Regards,

Tarun

R

rpvga

Participant

Upvote!

Same problem for me. I'm trying to upload SVG using fill:currentColor or Illustrator original files, but there is no option of changing colors.

chaimaa.7

Community Manager

Hi @rpvga. I'd suggest you to share your feedback here- https://adobe.ly/3YsBVWX, as this page is being monitored by our product team.

Regards,

Chaimaa

Marine D

Known Participant

Upvote!

I can't believe this functionality is not native, especially since there's an entire "brand" section to upload logo files.
I've had to export all my logo files in all my brand's colours in Illustrator and then manually import them into Adobe Express, one by one since it's not even possible to add several files in the same time... So if I have 5 logo variations and 5 colours in my brand palette, I have to upload 25 individual files and scroll through them whenever I want to use them. So not convenient.

Canva is doing all this for years, I don't understand why Adobe still doesn't.

lennartd36869052

Participant

Yes, please fix this.

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