OS X graphic design app that supports vector graphics?

Question

I'd like to start working with vector graphics instead of normal image files for my app icons. As screen resolutions get higher and higher, so do file sizes. I'd like an OS X app that supports creating and editing vector graphics.

Must:

• Support editing and creating vector graphics
• Be able to export to a .png of various sizes
• Run natively, not in an emulator

It would always be nice for it to be free, but I'm okay with paid options.

Answer 1

Try Inkscape. It's free and open source.

• It can edit and create vector graphics (in SVG form).
• It can export as .png (shift+cmd+e or File -> Export Bitmap...)
• It's cross-platform.

Answer 2

Sketch ($79.99, on the Mac App Store) is a new Mac application for vector graphics. Because it's a native Mac application, it runs very smoothly and supports Mac-specific things like Retina displays. The fact that it's a young application has two sides: on one side, it's made with (modern) usability in mind, so it much more user friendly than most other vector applications; on the other side, it has some bugs.

• "PDF, EPS and SVG importing and exporting supported".
• "Artboards and Slices for exporting multiple images out of a single document"; "Automatic @2x export for Retina graphics".
• It's a native Mac-only application; I doubt there's another vector application that runs better on Mac.

They offer a free trial on their website. I think you should just give it a try and see whether you like it. If you're new to vector editing, I think this is the best app to use (due to its simplicity).

Answer 3

Napkin is the ultimate tool for concise visual communication. Painlessly annotate images or create diagrams and share the results quickly.

Article of interest: Napkin: The Simplest Way to Sketch Your Thoughts On Your Mac.

It is a Premium App however available on the Mac App Store $39.99

Answer 4

The two I use most often for vector graphics:

• Sketch is probably the best actively maintained Mac vector graphics tool. It's the one I use for regular old vector work.
• OmniGraffle is a fantastic vector graphics tool with a heavy focus on diagrams, flowcharts, wireframes and such. It's the best tool available for these kinds of jobs.

Both of these support exporting as PNGs, and run natively on OS X.

Other options:

• There's always Adobe Illustrator, of course, but it's expensive and doesn't feel very native.
• Intaglio is another option that I used to use, though it seems to not have been updated in a while.
• I haven't used iDraw, but it looks interesting.
• And of course, both Acorn and Pixelmator have basic vector tools, even though they're focusing on pixel graphics.

Answer 5

Super Vectorizer is a good auto-tracing utilities that will save you hundreds of dollars. It has an easy interface that feels like a step-by-step. It automatically Trace and Vectorize Your Bitmap Images

Modes

Super Vectorizer features two modes, Edge and Color.

Edge

When using “Edge”, Super Vectorizer will trace the edges in black and white. With this option you will can change the threshold.

Threshold

Changes the threshold for drawing the edges. The higher the threshold the more tolerant the image is to “edges”. You would typically use a higher threshold in brighter images

vectorized image by edge vectorized image by color

Original

vectorized

How it meets your requirements:

• Support editing and creating vector graphics: Creating yes, editing no.
• Be able to export to a .png of various sizes: Hrm, hrm: No – that's not a vector format AFAIK ;) It exports to Ai, SVG and PDF vector format
• Run natively, not in an emulator: Yes (see also my other answer here)