As a graphic designer, you must be able to distinguish between Raster and Vector - the two major graphics formats. You should be able to determine the right type to use for different projects. A good explanation and understanding of these two types will help and guide you through your design process.
Vector graphics are created using mathematical shapes. They are usually small in size. They are not pixelated. If you increase the size of a vector graphics by any amount, it will still retain the same quality. The main formats used for vector graphics are PDF, SVG, and EPS. The most acceptable format worldwide remains SVG. SVG is also used for animated graphics and mobile devices. Vector graphics are used for logo design and Illustration. Most commonly used software for vector graphics are Illustrator (.AI is the traditional format in Illustrator), CorelDRAW (.CDR is the proprietary file format), Inkspace.
On the other hand, raster graphics are bitmap and photograph. They are pixelated and each of the building pixels will identify a color information about the image. Raster Graphics have either DPI (Dot per Inch) or PPI (Pixels per Inch) which defines the number of pixels count in the image. Raster images depend on the resolution. When you enlarge a raster image, (a process called interpolation) the image quality will be lost and it will be blurred. The major formats of raster graphics are PNG, TIFF, JPEG, and GIF. Common software used for raster graphics are Photoshop, Gimp, and QGIS.
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