File Format 101: The Only Image Cheat Sheet You Need
Unless you are a graphic designer, dealing with image file format specifications is confusing.
Clients ask for SVGs, social media sites demand JPGs, and web developers insist on PNGs. If you save the wrong format, your logo looks blurry, or your website takes ten seconds to load.
Welcome to File Format 101. We are going to cut through the technical jargon and give you a practical, straightforward file format sheet so you always know exactly what to use.
What is a JPG file format?
The JPG (or JPEG) is the standard for digital photography. It is a "lossy" format, which means it squishes the image data down to keep the file size incredibly small.
- Best used for: Photographs, complex gradients, and massive website background images.
- The downside: It does not support transparent backgrounds. If you save a circle logo as a JPG, it will always have an ugly white box behind it.
What is a PNG file format?
The PNG is the king of the internet. It is a "lossless" format, meaning it keeps all the original quality and crisp edges. Most importantly, it supports transparency.
- Best used for: Logos, icons, charts, and images with text inside them.
- The downside: Because it keeps all the data, PNG files are heavy. A full-screen photograph saved as a PNG will destroy your website's loading speed. You should always run heavy PNGs through an image compressor before uploading them.
What is an SVG file format?
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. This one is completely different from JPG and PNG. Instead of being made up of tiny colored squares (pixels), an SVG is actually made of math and code.
Because it is math, you can stretch an SVG to the size of a billboard or shrink it to the size of a postage stamp, and it will never lose quality or get blurry.
- Best used for: Company logos, website icons, and simple illustrations.
- The downside: You can't use an SVG for a photograph. It is strictly for flat, computer-drawn graphics.
The Quick File Format Sheet
Bookmark this quick reference for your next project:
- Camera Photo? → JPG
- Logo with a clear background? → PNG
- Logo that needs to scale infinitely? → SVG
- iPhone default photo? → HEIC
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a File format SVG?
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a file format based on mathematical formulas rather than pixels. This specification allows the image to scale infinitely without losing quality, making it the perfect file format for company logos and website icons.
What does file format specification mean?
A file format specification refers to the exact technical rules used to encode digital data. For example, the specification for a PNG requires lossless compression, while a JPG specification requires lossy compression to reduce file size.
What should be on my file format sheet?
A standard file format sheet states that JPG is for photographs, PNG is for graphics with transparency, SVG is for scalable vector logos, and HEIC is the default photo specification for Apple iOS devices.
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