In the world of design, just like any craft, Knowing what you’re working with will help you determine the best path to take when tackling a project. It may also save time and money when making the decision to use the right tool for the right job or in the case of this article, the right format for the right job.
Vector Art
Vector art, which are made of lines and curves known as paths, are composed of data and mathematical theory. Vector art is generally created with a software program. Within this program, start point curves and nodes are created using a variety of tools within the program to assign not only shape by anchor point and lines but you can also assign color to the stroke or fill. Any of the lines and curves in the image can be assigned a color value. Because the artwork is all data, it can be scaled infinitely without losing assigned detail or begin to look pixelated.
You can easily spot a vector art file as the edges are consistently crisp. No matter how large you make it or how close you zoom in, the edges will always appear sharp and smooth.
Another advantage of vector art is file size. Vector art contains no pixel data and does not have to hold the information of the entire workspace. It is due to this that vector art is generally smaller than raster art. Because it is line art the only information that the files hold are “coordinates” of where lines start and stop and what color attributes are contained on the stroke or the fill.
The flexibility of being able to be transposed into other formats is one of the reasons that designers prefer vector art when designing logos and other supporting elements. This will allow ease when transposing and scaling the graphic elements from vector source to final design piece.
Commonly used vector file types include but are not limited to: AI – Adobe Illustrator, EPS – Encapsulated post script and SVG -Scalable Vector Graphic.
There are a number of computer programs that can create and manipulate these files for use, and some have a custom extension for the file relative to the program. i.e. Corel Draw will create a .CDR file and although it is a vector file it is possible that you may need to export it to a different format in order to open or import into a different program. It is critical that you save as or export to a compatible file type when importing it into a different program.
Raster art
Raster images are often recognized as a bitmap image. This file type contains data that is composed on a grid. Within the grid there are squares that are filled with a specified color. The higher the resolution the more “squares” within a grid that are assigned color, hence more detail. This factor is commonly known as DPI (dots per inch) and/or PPI (pixels per inch).
Higher resolution means more detail and more data that has to be stored in order to render the image.
Photography is a good example of when raster art is exclusively used.
When you take a picture with a digital camera, what is rendered is a copy of the image data that is seen through the lens. The file that is created is pixel data on a grid that contains millions of squares assigned a color formula and collectively make up the image.
Conclusion
Starting with the correct file type will prevent you having to possibly rework the file at a later time. Evaluate the project in its full scope to gain an understating on the best way to compose your file.
Logos and illustrations are highly repurposed in a graphic campaign, therefore a vector format is the recommended file type. Photography, highly detailed images and background images are commonly raster format due to the ability maintain color data.
With Graphic Design in Melbourne FL and by following this information, you can also be on the right track to attracting your customers and becoming memorable. At The AD Leaf ®, we can create any design that any company would be proud of. For more information about our graphic design in Melbourne FL solutions, contact us today at info@theadleaf.com or give us a call at 321-255-0900.
