Designing a vector graphic

Computing · Choosing the right tool

Which technique does the job?

Choose a branch to walk. Each end names the technique and what it does.

What kind of job? → What exactly do you need? → Then

On Which technique do I need?. 4 branches to choose from.

You're building an animal icon. Pick the job that's in front of you and follow the branches to the technique that does it.

Computing · Three kinds of vector product

Logo, illustration or icon?

Which kind of vector product does each brief ask for?

6 of 6 still to sort.

Every brief asks for one kind. Sort each one, then read why.

Predict, then check

Commit to an answer before you look. Most people expect something else.

A small vector logo is enlarged until it fills a huge banner. What do you see?

What you need to know

• Vector drawings are often used for logos, illustrations or icons, and each project is set for a purpose and audience, with requirements to meet.
• A logo represents the organisation it belongs to, and is often designed to be memorable and quickly recognised.
• An illustration clearly represents the thing it shows, and helps explain or support an idea, object or concept.
• An icon is relevant to the navigation or menu it represents, and is designed to be easily recognised.
• Have a goDev says: "Logos and icons are the same thing. They're both small pictures." Tell Dev what each one actually represents.

  A logo represents its organisation; an icon represents the navigation or menu it belongs to.

  Dev is going by how they look. What each one represents is what tells them apart.

• Plan by sketching ideas or listing the shapes and tools you will use. Research develops those ideas.
• Annotate the plan with specific shapes or tools. It makes your design decisions purposeful and evaluation easier later on.
• Have a goYou're planning a one-colour penguin icon. Write one annotation you could add to your sketch.

  Any specific shape or tool, such as 'circle for the head'.

  Naming the shape turns 'draw a penguin' into a decision you can build and check later.

• Don't make it up as you go. Without a plan, it is easy to miss the goal or waste time on unnecessary changes.
• You build a vector image from a mixture of shapes and tools, and each one is chosen for the job it does.
• Vector drawings scale up without looking blurry, because they are made of shapes resized with mathematical equations, not pixels.
• To evaluate, check the final design against the goal you planned: every requirement, how it looks large or small, what to improve, and what someone else thinks.
• Have a goYou've finished a logo for a school sports day. What is the first thing you check it against?

  The goal and requirements you planned at the start.

  Evaluation means checking the final design against the goal you set, not against how much you like it.

The big picture

A vector product is designed for a purpose and an audience, with requirements to meet. Plan it first by sketching or listing shapes and tools, research to develop ideas, then choose each technique for the drawing job it does. Vector drawings can be scaled up without blurring because they are made of shapes resized with mathematical equations. At the end, check the finished design against every requirement you started with.

⚠ Watch out

Starting to draw before there is a plan. It feels quicker, but without a plan it is easy to miss the goal or waste time making unnecessary changes. Plan first, build from the plan, then check the result against the brief.

Memory hook

Brief, plan, build, check. The brief you start with is the checklist you finish with.

Check yourself

Pick any brief and talk it through: what it is for, how you would plan it, which technique does each job, how you would check it. Why is a vector logo sharp on a banner?