How vectors describe artwork
Instead of a grid, a vector file lists instructions: draw a line between two points, fill this closed path with a color, curve this segment through a control point. Coordinates and attributes, not pixels.
A viewer follows those instructions at whatever resolution it needs. The same source can render as a tiny favicon or a wall-sized banner with identical, clean edges.
Where vector images fit
Logos, icons, typography, charts, maps, and technical drawings are natural vector subjects because they are built from clean geometry and often need recoloring or resizing.
Photographs are a poor match. Reproducing the subtle variation of a real scene as shapes would demand an impractical number of instructions, so pictures stay raster. Coordinates are stored as numbers, which keeps the file small and the artwork editable at any later date.
- Logos that must work from business card to billboard
- Interface icons and symbols
- Diagrams, charts, and line drawings
- Artwork that needs precise recoloring
- Print pages that must output at press resolution
Vector files and Filekind
Filekind does not convert vector files today. Its converter handles JPEG, PNG, and static WebP, and its compressor reads JPEG and PNG, all of which are raster. Export settings that fix a pixel width give a predictable starting point for the raster version.
To use a vector here, export a raster copy from design software first. Once it is a PNG or JPEG, conversion and compression run in the browser without uploading the file.