As designers or merchandisers, one thing we cannot escape is graphic files. Along with various files come innumerable file formats that hold those pretty graphics. A piece of knowledge on these would always give us an upper hand and not to mention the troubles it will save us from while sharing files for a specific purpose.
Let us start with the easiest to the tough ones. But, before everything else, a small piece of information is mandatory for you to know. There is a classification of Vector vs Raster Images. In simple words, Vector images are those that quite flexible in terms that they can be stretched and manipulated without getting blurred, whereas Raster images are based on pixels and are set in specific sizes or resolutions which may result in blurring of images if pushed beyond its preset size.
Read below to get these formats at your fingertips:
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group or JPEG are the most commonly known file format used for photographs and images now more than often. They are Raster images which means they will pixelate or get blurred beyond the pre-fixed size if you scale it up.
PNG
Portable Network Graphics or PNG is one of our favorite formats, it provides good graphic details without a loss in quality which makes it an ideal file format for logos with a bonus of a transparent backdrop.
Portable Document Format or PDF is the next best thing in quality and printing. A popular format for prints and unmistakenly a preferred one for being exceptionally good at retaining quality and resolution for any required purposes.
GIFs
Graphics Interchangeable format or GIF is now more trendy than ever! It has attractive features, a bit of motion graphics makes it the most entertaining amongst the other file formats. Every brand loves one these days, and you cannot miss it on social media.
ZIP
This one is as direct as the name. ZIP can hold all the files and compress them together without losing any quality in one folder. This format is very convenient for transporting files especially when your content is too much. If we could rename it, we would probably go for Bag-it but the bag’s brand beat us to it!
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format or TIFF/TIF files are the most reliable and widely used formats. More popular in a professional environment, these are usually heavy files that contain images or artwork of high resolution that can be shared without losing its gloss.
SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics or SVG makes it to our list with its growing use and flawless ability to transport vector-based files for the web in whichever size requirement it may have, making it a standard format. It includes the clarity of the design, color ad even the scalability of the text in proportions.
Here goes our list of everything that you need to know to know the basics of the files while there are more on design file format extensions, we promise to cover it up in our next segment of design software. Let us know which one is your favorite!
We hope this article will be helpful to you. Stay tuned for upcoming articles.
READ MORE: Back to the basics with Color Fundamentals
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