Vector graphics

From ArticleWorld

Vector graphics are images which are made up of simple shapes lines and points, as opposed to the bitmap format used in raster graphics which use different coloured Pixels.

Advantages

When enlarging, filling, scaling or zooming in on a raster graphic, the pixels start to become visible as dots of colour, meaning that the image loses definition and quality. For example, a curved line in a raster graphic is really not a curved line at all, but a sequence of pixels stringed together to form something close to a straight line. When enlarged, edges and corners would become visible. When performing a similar translation on a vector graphic however, quality is not lost, because the shapes, lines and points used in the image simply become larger, and shapes like curves, really are curves.

Vector graphics are an economic use of disk space. Their file size compared to a similar raster graphic is much smaller.

Common uses

Vector graphics are frequently used in advertising, possibly because (as research has shown) the human brain stores images in a vector format. Logic follows, that the product being advertised will be remembered better by the person viewing the logo or publication, because the image will be stored better in their mind.

Other information

Old screens used to display data by printing all of the pixels on the screen many times per second. This often caused screens to be power-consuming, a strain on memory and prone to “flicker”. A new generation of screens was introduced, using a vector graphics system. Instead of painting pixels of every colour, whether they are important to what is being displayed or not, the new system only prints the vital shapes, while areas not used remain black. This type of screen-display system is also known as an X-Y display.