Animated icons are essential tools used by UI/UX designers and web developers to drive engagement and create converting pages.
In this post, we compare the SVG file format with Lottie when using animated icons. After reading you will understand the key differences and why using Lottie files are a significantly superior choice.
Challenges of Utilizing Animations
We all understand why animated icons are advantageous to web pages and applications.
This post is dedicated to how SVG and Lottie files overcome the challenges of including animations on a web page.
Size
Because web pages and apps need to load quickly, incorporating animations can be problematic. Complex content is weighted down by files, API calls, and video.
Slow page load speeds can dramatically affect your user’s experience and even search engine rank position. Size becomes an essential component when developing online content.
Customization
If you choose to use a traditional file format like GIF, your animation can’t be easily customized. You will have to completely redesign the animation making a completely new file to make a small change.
Say you are working with multiple companies that need similar animated icons, creating a completely new animation for a commonly used icon can be tedious and time consuming. You need a scalable solution that can be customized easily when making minor changes like color and movement variations.
The Rise of SVG Files
SVG was developed to make animations more adaptable for the needs of modern internet consumers. Animations made pages less boring than static designs but slowed down page load speeds.
Animations formatted into SVG files utilizes CSS or SMIL to create the movement, dramatically reducing the file size. Incorporating code into the animation is an example of how modern web development techniques have evolved.
Raster vs. Vector
SVG stands for scalable vector graphics. The most significant advantage in using an SVG file is that its size can be increased without reducing the quality. Vectors are based on mathematical formats as opposed to pixel-based raster graphics.
SVG Paved the Way for Lottie
SVG was revolutionary in the early 2000s and the solution is still widely used today.
So why do we need a new file format for animated icons?
The demands of web users continue to change. What was considered engaging a decade ago doesn’t make the cut today. Web development needs to consist of lean design elements that can be incorporated across all devices.
Lottie animations are the next progression in how animations are incorporated to online content.
Advantages of Lottie
All the advantages of SVG are increased when working with Lottie files. The format is smaller and offers scalability. In addition, Lottie is much easier incorporate in web design and offers more customization options.
Below are why Lottie animated icons are a much better option than SVG.
JSON-Based
JavaScript Object Notaion (JSON) is a “lightweight data-interchange format,” as described by its developers.
JSON is an incredibly fast way to exchange data online because its parsers are simple with minimal overhead. Packaging an animation in JSON is a genius and by far the most efficient way to incorporate motion graphics on a web page or application.
Scaleable
Lottie, like SVG, is a vector-based format, meaning no matter how small or big you want your animated icon, the quality will not diminish. As a web or UI/UX designer, you must create content for a variety of devices and screen sizes. Therefore, a flexible format that offers scalability is essential.
Customization
Changing an animated Lottie icon is incredibly easy. Instead of redesigning the animation and uploading a new file, you can change the code to alter the color and basic movements. If you are working with a Lottie animation library like Creattie, you have access to an editor on their platform and can change the animation and embed new code in just a few clicks.
Lottie animations can be easily manipulated even if you don’t have a background in animation or code. If you are using WebFlow or Wordpress, a Lottie editor is built into the interface offering a seamless process for developers and UI/UX designers.
Exponentially Smaller Than SVG
The most significant advantage of Lottie vs. SVG is size. Keeping page load speeds down is the biggest challenge you face when incorporating animations in your web pages and applications.
JSON allows Lottie to be much smaller than SVG opening the opportunity to include more complex animations without having to worry about slowing down your project.
SVG vs. Lottie
One of the advantages of SVG has over Lottie is there are more icon libraries available online. SVG is still more widely used because Lottie is a relatively new technology. More options means designers have a greater selection of animations to choose from and because SVG is an effective format, the icons are work relatively well on web pages and applications.
However, it is clear that Lottie is the future and will be industry-standard in the next couple of years. Creattie is one of the few Lottie libraries online that features a comprehensive selection of animated icons. There are already thousands of icons to choose from and hundreds are added every month.
Final Words
Lottie represents the latest evolution of how animations are incorporated online. We’ve been moving away from including entire animation files in directories because it takes up far too much space. Lottie provides a solution that is light weight and easily manipulated, perfect for the needs of modern web developers and UI/UX designers.
If you are interested in utilizing the revolutionary technology in your next project, visit Creattie. Our library features an extensive selection of animated icons and illustrations.
