What is a vector image?

There are two main kinds of image types: raster images and vectors. Raster images are the typical images made up of pixels that we all are familiar with.

But what is a vector and why would we want to use it? I'll do my best to explain it in this post. If you have any questions after reading, feel free to get in touch!

Normally, the photographs we take and the images that we see online are raster images: they are formed by many small squares -pixels-, each containing a specific color. When a lot of them are arranged together, they form an image.

Vectors, on the other hand, aren't made of pixels. They are made of mathematical equations that determine te position of points, lines and curves.

Because raster images are made of pixels, when we zoom in very close we can start to see those individual little squares: the image becomes "pixelated".

Vector images on the other hand can be scaled to any size we want without becoming pixelated or blurry.

So which type of image should we use?

It depends on the use we wat to give them.

Vector images are very easy to edit and scale, so they are great for logos or other images that we might want to print in multiple sizes or colors. However, it's a bit of a learning curve to learn the software that allows us to do so.

Raster images are not as easy to edit, but they are more common and can be opened in default image viewers that we most likely already have on our devices.

I hope this was helpful! If you have questions about image files, illustration and design, feel free to get in touch. I'll be happy to help or write a new blog post about your question in the future.