Why Are Vectors Important in Web Design?

The abundance of different products and services makes it difficult for businesses to differentiate themselves from others. When a product’s price, quality, and customer service are never enough to win over customers, business owners turn to other methods, such as website UI and UX. 

User-friendly and visually appealing web resources are now as important as quality and useful products. And what helps make them that way? Designs with vector graphics. They maintain their quality at any size and allow pages to load faster. Curious to learn more? Keep reading to find out other benefits of vector files in web design.

What are vector graphics?

Vector graphics are digital images built with the help of mathematical formulas that establish points on a grid. Their mathematical nature allows creators to infinitely stretch pictures without loss of resolution and quickly modify different design elements. As a result of their versatility, these files are often utilized in print media and digital graphics.

Typically, vector designs are created using vector-based computer software like CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, or Affinity Designer. .SVG, .EPS, and .AI are the most common file extensions used for vector graphics. Unlike raster images (JPG, PNG, or GIF), vectors can only be opened with certain programs that handle this file type.

What are vector designs used for?

Vector graphics can be utilized as standalone art pieces, as well as to augment larger design concepts in both offline and online projects. Let’s take a closer look at the purposes they can serve.

Print purposes

Many content creators use vector designs in print media, advertising, typography, clothing prints, and stationery. The scalability of vector visuals allows producing both large designs for banners and billboards, as well as small graphics for business cards and brochures. These math-based files are also suitable for geometric designs, such as line art images, which are often utilized in postcards, book covers, and notebooks.

Digital purposes

Digital-oriented creatives typically make use of vectors when creating designs for websites, mobile applications, computer programs, and desktop icons. Vector images will adapt to any screen size and not get distorted, providing the viewer with a crystal-clear picture on any device.

Why use vector graphics when creating web designs?

Vector images play a crucial role in web design and can help your web resource become more appealing and user-friendly. Find out why below.

Scalability

Scalability is one of the most significant advantages of the vector format. With advances in technology, screen sizes vary, creating demand for responsive web design that ensures quality user experience on any device. Vector graphics can be infinitely stretched and adapted to any size without distortion.

Small size

Unlike raster graphics, which consist of pixels, vectors are created with the help of mathematical formulas. Therefore, they take up less space and usually come in small file sizes. This peculiarity influences loading speed despite all the lines, points, shapes, colors, and text that vector designs consist of. If you don’t want to sacrifice quality or the number of visual components on your website, you should choose vector-based graphics.

High resolution

When you create vector art for your website, its quality will not change, no matter how many edits you make afterward. In addition, your design can be zoomed in on or stretched up to large sizes without loss of sharpness or any distortion. The mathematics of vector images allows them to retain high resolution under all conditions.

Attractiveness

Vector graphics allow for augmenting web resources with colorful and dynamic visuals that catch the eye. While simplicity and minimalism are preferred for informative web sources, bright elements can add some interest and charm to your site.

Where to find cool vector designs?

Some designers create vector art from scratch. However, not all creatives have the time or resources to do so, especially when project deadlines are looming. Therefore, some visual artists turn to stock vector images to either modify them to suit their needs or incorporate them into existing formats or creative concepts. 

If you’re a creative looking for ready-made pictures for your next commercial, personal, or creative project, check out stock content marketplaces like Depositphotos. They offer millions of royalty-free visuals on a wide range of themes, including business, technology, nature, family, holidays, beauty, fashion, and abstract graphics. You’ll also find rich, handpicked collections of original vector art and graphics on the platform, including illustrations, infographics, templates, landing pages, booklets, icons, logos, and clip art.

In addition, Depositphotos has free file collections with hundreds of vector graphics suitable for your next design for business and noncommercial purposes. Go to depositphotos.com/stock-vectors.html to find high-quality paid and free vector images. The green Free tag is commonly used to identify free files.

What if I want to create my own vector art?

In case you want to create vector artwork yourself, here are five vector graphic illustration software options.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is one of the most well-known and widely used design software tools on the market. It is suitable for both beginner and professional designers. Adobe Illustrator has its own file format called AI, which is extensively utilized in print media and digital graphics.

CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is a user-friendly graphics software that is primarily used for branding, marketing, and advertising. Designers utilize it to create logos, business cards, brochures, and other print materials. 

Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor that is most commonly used for creating web designs, logos, icons, concept art, and print projects. It is suitable for beginners and can serve as a low-cost alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

Sketch

Sketch is an all-in-one digital design platform native to iOS, meaning it can only be used with a Mac or iPad. It has an easy-to-use interface and allows for easy collaboration.

Inkscape 

Inkscape is a simple vector graphics editor suitable for hobbyists and aspiring designers, as it’s free to use. The program is mainly used for vector illustrations, but it can also be utilized to make web designs and logos.

To sum up

Vector graphics can be a good option for web designs as they are easy to create, small in size, high in resolution, and can scale to whatever screen size is needed. Use them whenever you need to add style and functionality to your website. 


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