Vectr is a free vector image design and editing tool that you can use online or download to use on your Mac, Windows, or Linux desktop. Vectr provides some pre-made elements and templates that you can use in designing your own graphics.  You don’t have to use any pre-made elements as Vectr lets you design completely from scratch. You can also import existing graphics files to edit them. Completed projects can be exported in PNG, JPG, and SVG formats.

For folks like me who might be a bit intimidated by learning how to use a vector design tool, Vectr offers an extensive collection of tutorials in print and video formats.

If you’re wondering what a vector image is, it’s an image format that easily scales so that you don’t lose resolution quality when you expand or contract an image for use in a variety of places. For example, the logos for Practical Ed Tech and Free Technology for Teachers were created as vector images so that they could be used online, on business cards, and on coffee mugs without the image quality being affected by where the image was placed.

Applications for Education

Vectr could be a good tool for students to use to design logos for after school clubs or use to create a logo that represents their academic team. One of my old colleagues used to have his students make logos that represented the groups that they worked in in his classroom. I thought that was a neat way to have students take a little ownership and pride in group work.