How can vector art be used to diversify marketing and design?
What differentiates this art from other similar forms and why marketers and designers might want to opt for it in their strategies?
Marketing leader Shawn Rubel spoke to our team about the integration of AI in creative content and the future of design, explaining how vector art will remain useful in producing impactful visual content through 2024.
Who Is Shawn Rubel?
Shawn, pursuing a passion for internet marketing, delved into the eCommerce world ignited by a vision to democratize access to quality graphic resources. In 2007, he founded Brusheezy, a platform offering free Photoshop brushes and design tools, which quickly resonated with the design community. Building on Brusheezy's triumph, Shawn expanded his vision with Vecteezy, providing an extensive array of vector graphics and building his reputation for empowering creatives.
Vector art and raster art are the two primary types of digital graphic formats with distinct characteristics. Unlike regular art, vector art is created using mathematical equations to define shapes and paths.
Instead of pixels, vector graphics use points, lines, and shapes based on mathematical expressions. Examples of vector file formats include:
- SVG – used in icons for websites and apps
- AI – used for transparency, layering, and pristine typography in design
- EPS – used in high-quality image printing
According to Shawn, vector art's scalability and editability are among its biggest advantages.
"Designers often want to use vector graphics instead of raster graphics because of their scalability. They can be resized to any extent without losing image quality, making them ideal for everything from small icons to large banners."
This adaptability is essential for marketing campaigns that span across various mediums and sizes.
Moreover, the ease of editing vector art allows for unparalleled customization, aligning perfectly with brand identities.
"Vector graphics can also be easily edited with precise control over colors, shapes, and sizes."
"For large print jobs, designers often prefer vector files because they are typically smaller than raster images, so they can be more easily shared and stored without taking up a lot of memory."
The process of selecting the right vector art is crucial for achieving the desired impact in marketing and design projects.
Start with the end in mind. When you begin your search, think about what you're trying to accomplish
“If you want to promote your business on social media, you should start by looking for templates of similar businesses in your niche and then filter by the platform where you want your social media to appear.”
Powerful search filters and AI reverse image search assist users in narrowing down their choices, ensuring a more targeted approach to selecting vector art that aligns with their marketing objectives.
Examples of tools include Google Lens and Bing Images.
Once the right vector art is chosen, personalization plays a key role in making designs stand out, particularly in marketing.
"It’s important to make your template look authentic."
"The easiest way to do that is to replace the graphics or imagery with personalized visuals from you, or your business or brand."
“You should also customize the colors to match your brand or personal preferences."
"Change the font styles to align with your brand or the mood you want to convey. Add your logo and incorporate other branding elements to reinforce your brand identity.”
It’s important to make your template look authentic
“Your goal should be to make the template uniquely yours while maintaining a professional and cohesive design. Balance is key — personalize enough to stand out, but don't compromise usability or coherence.”
This approach ensures that vector art captures attention and conveys the intended message effectively.
When talking about the use of vector art in today’s contemporary designs, the discussion of generative AI and its overall implications on the design industry is on everyone’s lips.
With nearly 45% of marketing executives already using generative AI for content creation, setting up clear parameters around its use has become imperative, with many agreeing that we need to prioritize "humanness" in design and photography.
“It’s really difficult to argue that generative AI doesn’t have a place in the future of creative content and our industry."
"To that end, we feel there’s absolutely a place for it but we don’t want to emphasize AI-generated content over real photography and artistic talents.”
Artists have grown increasingly weary of utilizing generative AI in their designs due to plagiarism concerns.
We’ll reach a point where all AI-generated content is inherently unique
“Transparency is a critical expectation when we’re reviewing AI-generated content.”
“AI content that blatantly infringes or copies other works is unethical and will not be accepted. We see that the way content is created is changing fundamentally, generative AI tools are improving, and the design industry as a whole is moving away from concerns about plagiarism."
Commenting on the ongoing design trends in the B2B market, Shawn told us that his company looks forward to quite a few exciting developments this year.
“We see eclectic maximalism having a big moment, where vibrant colors and exciting designs are used more to bring life to a space that has typically been overwhelmingly 'safe' when it comes to design.”
“Data visualization is going to transform and become more digestible and shareable. This isn't a time to create infographics that require a Ph.D. to comprehend.”
“As technology becomes more powerful, personalization will find its way into the B2B world. Designers will need to think about how to work hand in hand with ABM strategies.”
The themes that have continued to grow in importance with each passing year – inclusivity, accessibility, sustainability, and diplomacy – will still be relevant as we delve deeper into 2024.
READ MORE: 5 Generative AI Trends We Need To Keep an Eye on in 2024
