Vectors are from venus will be a reference source for all kinds of handy hints and tips to oil the relationship between client and design.er... Technical information described in simple English, advice on pitching and briefing and an insiders look at the industry from both sides of the fence.

However, as a starter we offer this simple explaination about the difference between vector and and pixel graphics and why a vector is always preferable. Vector graphics are based on mathematical formulas, and common file formats for vectors are either EPS or ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR files. Pixel graphics are based on a grid of squares and common file formats would be either JPEGS or TIFF. There are 2 reasons, if you are sending logo's to a designer, why it is better to send vector graphics that pixel based graphics.

#1. Because vectors are based on formula's which describe their shape, they can be increased in size, ad infinitum, without losing any of their quality. Because pixel based graphics are based on a grid, enlargement results in a deterioration in quality, as you are effectively trying to stretch visual information designed for a specific size space over a larger and larger area. Another thing to beware of is that screens (tv's, computers etc) have grids which are 72 dots per inch, whereas printing requires images which are at least 300 dots per inch. This means that if you copy something off the internet which is 10cm wide on screen - you will only be able to reproduce it at approx 1/4 of the size in print - trying to make it bigger than that would result in this deterioration of quality - what is commonly called 'pixellation'.

#2. Vector graphics generally have a transparent background which makes them very easy to lay ontop of a coloured background or image, whereas pixel graphics are self contained and the full contents of the file is completely opaque.

So to recap - when sending logo's etc always try to supply vector graphics to designers, but if you absolutely have to send a pixel graphic, make sure it's a big file, and that you can view it on screen at 4x it's intended print size without any loss of quality.