When you download an illustration from a tool or stock site, you're usually given a choice: JPG or SVG. Most people click JPG because it's familiar. This is a mistake.

Here's why SVG is almost always the better choice — and how to use it properly in your design workflow.

What SVG actually is

SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. Unlike a JPG, which stores your image as a grid of pixels, an SVG stores it as a set of mathematical instructions: "draw a curve here, fill this shape with this color, place this path at these coordinates."

This has two massive implications for designers.

Implication 1: Infinite resolution

A JPG illustration that looks great at 400px will look blurry at 2000px. The same illustration as an SVG will be pixel-perfect at 400px, 2000px, 10,000px, or on a billboard. You export once and use it everywhere — mobile, desktop, print, large format.

Implication 2: Editable in Figma

When you drop an SVG into Figma and double-click it, you get into the vector. You can select individual shapes, change fill colors, adjust strokes, delete elements, and recompose the illustration. A JPG illustration is a static image. An SVG illustration is a living design asset.