Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics. “Vector”, in this context, implies more than a straight line.

You know, I really love Wikipedia.

I try my best to keep illustrations vector, and with the seam-busting amount of tools in Illustrator, it’s a fairly easy task. I will agree, however, that raster images do have their place. But, when it comes to developing content that needs to be scalable, without the loss of quality, vector is where it’s at.

I probably spend 80% of my time in Illustrator, designing logos, box artwork, labels, trade show booths, and thousands of other items. If at all possible I can replicate a raster-technique using Illustrator, I do it.

Recently, I was asked to create a logo where an element of the design had an iridescent finish. Iridescent is that rainbow reflection you get from stones and other materials. Most of us probably see it when crude oil and water are mixed. When the sun’s light reflects off the surface of the oil, the light radiates a rainbow shine that moves when the oil moves (or we move).

Now, accomplishing this in vector format might seem impossible, and given that this is a static image, how could we truly portray an iridescent appearance? It’s not important that the element look exactly like a real world example, rather that it portray itself as such. Thinking outside the box, or inside Illustrator, is where we need to focus. I chose to use varying shades of the iridescent colors to create boxes of increasing size on an arch, or more clearly, in a half-circle, where the boxes become increasingly larger the further they get from the bottom center. What we are left with is not a mixed gradient of the colors, rather a unique image that presents a multi-surface appearance.

So, in the end, we are left with a purely vector image that can be scaled to several thousand feet in width, if needed, with no loss of quality.

This has been today’s Clarified Butter.