Create Path-based SVGs (Inkscape)

This workflow ensures that SVG assets are robust, path-based (no text elements), and free of coordinate transforms (matrices). This is the gold standard for cross-browser compatibility and smooth CSS/JS animations.

If have multiple logos in a file, export each separately to a file and then …

1. Document Setup (Normalization)

To ensure the logo is responsive and uses a predictable coordinate system, normalize the canvas to a 100x100 grid.

1. Go to File > Document Properties.
2. Set Display Units to px.
3. Set Width and Height to 100.
4. Ensure Scale is set to 1.00000 (1 unit = 1 pixel).
5. Viewbox should be: X,Y: 0,0; Width, Height: 100, 100
6. Save as base-normalized.svg, for future use.

Design

• The “Micro-Nudge” Rule: For containers with asymmetrical accents (like a corner dot), apply a 0.5px to 1.0px optical shift in the opposite direction of the accent. This ensures the primary mark feels centered within the visual space rather than the geometric space.
• Use neutral colors to allow brand/theme coloring later (black for primary, grey for secondary, white for background)

2. Anchor Layout Workflow

Use a “Template” approach to ensure perfect spacing (kerning) between characters while keeping them as separate paths.

1. Create Template: Type the full logo string (e.g., “SD”) as one text object. Center it horizontally and vertically on the 100x100 page.
2. Overlay Individual Chars: Type each character (S, $, D) as separate text objects.
3. Align to Template: Use Align and Distribute (Ctrl+Shift+A) to align each individual character’s edges or center exactly to the corresponding letter in the “SD” template.
4. Convert to Paths: Select each individual character and go to Path > Object to Path (Ctrl+Shift+C).
5. Clean Up: Delete the original “SD” template object once the individual paths are positioned.

3. Semantic Naming (IDs)

IDs are required for targeting specific elements in CSS or JavaScript.

1. Open Layers and Objects (Ctrl+Shift+L).
2. Select an object, Ctrl-Shift-O (Object Properties), set ID
3. Convention: Use clear, alphanumeric names (e.g., path-s, path-dollar, path-d, path-leaf). Avoid special characters like $ and no # prefix.

4. Flattening & Matrix Removal

“Matrices” in SVG code cause jitter and positioning errors in browsers. They occur when objects are moved/scaled within layers or groups.

1. Remove Layers: Drag all paths out of their layers/groups to the root level of the Objects panel. Delete the empty layer folders.
   • or in Layers and Objects, select Layer X, press Ctrl-U (to ungroup)
2. Bake Transforms: If a path shows a transform attribute in the XML:
   • Select the path and Cut (Ctrl+X), then Paste in Place (Ctrl+Alt+V).
   • Group, then Ungroup (Ctrl-G, Ctrl+Shift+G)
   • Alternatively, apply Path > Union to the single object to force coordinate recalculation.
3. Set Stacking Order:
   • Items at the bottom of the list in the Objects panel are the back-most (e.g., the background leaf).
   • Items at the top are the front-most (e.g., the characters).
   • Use the End key to move a selected object to the very bottom (back).

5. Optimized Export Settings

Use “Optimized SVG” to strip editor metadata while preserving animation IDs.

1. Go to File > Save As… and select Optimized SVG (.svg). Set to 2 significant digits.
2. Settings - Options:
   • Uncheck: Keep editor data.
   • Uncheck: Create groups for similar attributes
3. Settings - SVG Output:
   • Check: Enable viewboxing.
   • Check: Remove metadata.
   • Check: Remove XML declaration.
4. Settings - IDs:
   • Check: Keep editor-assigned IDs.
   • Uncheck: Remove unused IDs.

6. Final Validation Checklist

Open the exported file in a text editor. It is correct if:

• viewBox is 0 0 100 100.
• There are zero <g> (group) tags.
• There are zero transform="matrix(...)" attributes.
• Every <path> has a clean id (e.g., id="path-s").
• No <text> tags exist; all characters are defined by <path d="...">.