SVG

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is an open, XML-based vector format, an image written as readable text describing shapes, paths, colours and text. Because it is vector, it scales to any size with perfectly crisp edges, and because it is XML, it can be styled with CSS, animated, and even searched or edited in a plain text editor.

That text-based nature is what sets SVG apart from raster formats. A logo as an SVG is a few lines of markup that render sharply on a watch face or a billboard from the same file, and the shapes can be recoloured or animated without re-exporting. It is ideal for logos, icons, charts and line illustrations, the kind of crisp geometric artwork that loses quality the moment it is rasterised, and it stays compact for such work.

SVG is a native web format rather than a print or document one, so moving SVG artwork into a PDF involves rendering those paths into the PDF's own vector drawing model. Conceptually the two are close relatives, both describe pages as math, which is why the conversion preserves sharpness, and doing it locally keeps your source artwork private.