Custom Typography in Vectors: Embedding Fonts & Tracing Text Paths

Rendering text in scalable vector graphics often presents a dilemma: should you embed the font, or trace the letters to path outlines? Here's an analysis of both choices.

1. Embedding Fonts

By including Google Fonts imports inside <style> blocks, you can render standard text tags (<text>) with custom styles. This retains search engine indexability. However, if the network fails, it falls back to browser serif defaults.

2. Tracing Text to Paths

Converting typography to outline paths (<path d="..." />) turns each letter into standard geometries. This guarantees identical rendering on all computers without network dependecies. However, it increases file size and strips text searchability.

3. Vector Code Example: Embedded CSS Font

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <defs>
    <style>
      @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@700&amp;display=swap');
      .custom-text {
        font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif;
        font-weight: 700;
        fill: #1e293b;
      }
    </style>
  </defs>
  <text x="10" y="50" class="custom-text" font-size="12">SVG Typography</text>
</svg>