Merging shapes in Illustrator, and the hairline gap intersection

If you have an issue with hairline gaps appearing between two shapes you've merged, or wonder why merged shapes still have two editable shapes grouped, instead of becoming one object, I think you're using the wrong tool. I've been working to get rid of this hairline stroke/gap between two objects I merged. They're letters I've created from other letters. I don't think I've ever really paid attention in Illustrator, I think my main problem is that the Merge "tool" is for paths, not shapes. It will work for shapes, but not quite the way you intend.

Instead of using "Merge" under Pathfinders, use Add to Shape Area under Shape modes, and immediately hit "Expand" in the same palette. This will create one shape out of your objects, instead of just grouping two objects together leaving behind artifacts. This will remedy the white gaps appearing between your two shapes.

Reference:
http://www.bittbox.com/illustrator/pathfinder-explained/

Need that logo in vector?

If you're like me, companies and brands seem to never want to give you their fonts, logos and other assets on time. So you end up either having to work with some bitmap you found on Google Images or you try your luck at Best Brands of the World (http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/). Best Brands can be a lifesaver (although it's legality is questionable), and most designers know about it and use it. The problem is, often the logos are very good, but even more often, they're missing the exact one you need or it's a bit off.

A technique I've learned lately is pretty much spot on. Basically, Google the name of the company and limit your file type to PDF (filetype:pdf). If you keep an eye on the URL, you'll often end up snagging a PDF document off of their website, in which their designer obviously used the official version of their vector logo. Download the file, and open it in Adobe Illustrator, deleting everything you don't need (or just copy and paste where you want it).

I realize this can also be abused, but as a designer, this holds priceless value. Now if only you can be lucky enough to find a true RGB version of that vector logo. Google doesn't let you limit your search to colorspace yet.

Transparent artwork is rasterized - SVG and Adobe Illustrator

I'm working on a mobile interface that is requiring the use of SVG-T 1.2. I've created an interface that's going to overlay video, so I've added some transparency to my shapes in Illustrator. They're simple shapes, rounded rectangles and rectangles, no stroke. I export to SVG-T 1.2, and Illustrator hits me with the message "Transparent artwork is rasterized". Illustrator is taking my semi-opaque shapes and is converting them to PNG32, which then gets embedded into the file, increasing the size of my SVG, but also causing some issues with the handset's ability to display PNGs.

So, I google the term "Transparent artwork is rasterized", which is what Illustrator shouted at me. NO HITS. Not one hit. So you're telling me that no one in the history of this earth has even written "Transparent artwork is rasterized" on a website? A phrase I've actually seen quite a bit in Illustrator? That's kind of the purpose of this post, so there's at least one.

I know that SVG-T 1.2 supports opacity, but it's "fill-opacity". When I export as SVG Full, the attribute Illustrator uses is "opacity". I figure I could export everything at full opacity, then open up the SVG in Notepad and edit the opacity by hand. But I'm not really sure what the true attribute is, and this seems like an unnecessary workaround.

After some research done by my handy assistant (a guy who's title automatically makes him way smarter than me), we found that when adjusting transparency in Illustrator, it adjusts the entire object. SVG-T 1.2 supports transparency in either the fill or stroke, but it didn't seem to like when you apply transparency to an entire object. Illustrator allows you to specify which part of an object you want to adjust by using the Appearance panel, and selecting either the fill or stroke. Doing so, you isolate where the transparency is applied.The following image shows what the appearance panel looks like with both an object's transparency adjust AND the fill's adjusted:


Choosing to adjust my transparency using this method, SVG-T 1.2 took to my transparency without needing to rasterize anything. BAM!

Thanks, Alan. And yes, you are the man.