A Short History of Vector Graphics

You are working with them every day, but did you ever stop and consider how old vector graphics really are and what a tremendous impact they have on the world of graphics in general? You know that they are extremely useful when you need to resize an image from business card size to billboard size. You know that, unlike raster images, they are not composed of a fixed number of pixels, but represent a path between two points, thus being able to scale without losing quality. But most certainly, you never got the chance to theorize about them, so here is a quick and comprehensive guide.

The Early Beginnings

Vectors have not always been design related. At their inception, they were used mainly by the military and the civil air traffic control authorities to map the skies and make sure all planes stay on their proper course.

Back in 1963, Ivan Sutherland, a pioneer of computerized graphic design, used vectors in his patented software, Sketchpad, which we can consider the grandfather of Corel Draw.

A Question of Scaling

Vector graphics made their grand debut in the world of graphic design together with the evolution of advertising. Small leaflets and catalogs turned into large outdoor billboards, posters, and branded household items such as coasters, table tops and towels.

Raster images were no longer a designer’s best friend in this situation, so vectors stepped boldly in and became king of the scaling design world. Every item of printed design, of any size, on any physical support, first started out as a vector image.

King of the Design World

Right now it is impossible to do any kind of graphic design without vector elements. This is mainly due to the fact that right now most design work is done for the web, where the concept of responsive web design requires website to offer optimal browsing experience on any device (computer, laptop, smartphone). The only way of creating graphic elements of any kind which automatically resize to any device size is by using vectors.

Also, the idea of corporate branding has extended beyond business cards and brochures. These days almost every item in a business office is branded – from the large display screen to ballpoint pens. Graphic vectors are used for designing all kinds of branded visuals which need to be resized to any given size in a few minutes.

Finding Great Vectors at Affordable Prices – The Challenge

At the present, there is a huge offer of graphic vector files, covering the whole specter of themes and subjects. The quality of vector files depends very much on the talent and skill of the designer who is creating them. The best types of vectors are highly detailed and represent complex scenes or characters ready to be used in various designs, from card illustrations to logo elements and artistic compositions.

At VectorVice, we believe in quality at affordable prices. Our graphic vectors are created from pure passion for the art of graphic design. The only thing that motivates our work is to challenge ourselves and find news ways of expressing our creativity. Each item in our shop was carefully hand drawn and is 100% original. We aim to prove that great quality can be affordable. And because we really put our money where our words are, we are giving away a free vector pack for all the readers of this article. Follow this link and get our complimentary set of graphic vector files prepared in celebration of the spring season. Play around with them and get back to us to let us know what you think of our graphic vectors.

Author bio: VectorVice represents a group of graphic designers who believe that good quality graphic vectors should be outstanding and affordable. We’re the alternative to big stock photo companies – a small team with great ideas and friendly prices. Why Vector Vice? Because we are passionate about graphic design. Our artwork is royalty free and includes only original designs. We believe in providing designers with top quality graphic vectors to help them become even more awesome than they are.