svg-professional

Professional SVG Creation

This skill produces SVGs that look like they came from a senior information designer using Visio or Figma — not like auto-generated markup. The difference between amateur and professional SVG comes down to five disciplines: connector routing, spatial math, typographic hierarchy, color semantics, and text-fit awareness. Master all five and every SVG you produce will look polished.

Before writing any SVG code, read the two golden reference files in references/:

• references/golden-flowchart.svg — A 4-flow horizontal diagram with orthogonal routing, forked paths, metric badges, section backgrounds, and a legend. This is the canonical example for any diagram with boxes and arrows.
• references/golden-quadrant.svg — A scatter-plot quadrant chart with axes, gridlines, data dots with leader lines, and a 4-item legend. This is the canonical example for any chart with plotted data points.

Study whichever reference matches the requested SVG type. If the request doesn't match either exactly, blend techniques from both.

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1. Planning Phase (before writing any SVG code)

Every SVG starts with spatial math on paper, not in code. Skipping this step is the #1 cause of overlapping elements, clipped text, and misaligned arrows.

1.1 Choose canvas dimensions

Pick viewBox dimensions that give breathing room. Typical sizes:

Type	viewBox	Orientation
Flowchart (3-4 columns)	0 0 1120 720	Landscape
Flowchart (5+ columns)	0 0 1400 720	Wide landscape
Vertical flow	0 0 720 1100	Portrait
Quadrant / scatter	0 0 1200 1800	Tall portrait
Timeline	0 0 1200 600	Wide landscape
Matrix / table	0 0 1100 800	Landscape
Org chart	0 0 1000 1200	Portrait

Set both viewBox and explicit width/height attributes so the SVG scales predictably.

1.2 Define the spatial grid

Before writing a single <rect>, calculate every element's position on paper:

1. Reserve margins: title block (top ~90px), legend (bottom ~60px), section labels (left ~100px if rotated), metric badges (right ~130px if used).
2. Compute center lines: for each row/section, calculate center_y. All boxes in that row share this value. Example: section background y=232, h=130 → center_y = 297.
3. Size boxes to fit text: estimate text width at ~7.5px per character at font-size 13. A label "Terraform / Bicep" (17 chars) needs ~128px, so the box width should be at least 148px (128 + 20px padding).
4. Compute anchor points: for a box at (x, y, w, h), the four anchors are:
   • right-center: (x+w, y+h/2)
   • left-center: (x, y+h/2)
   • top-center: (x+w/2, y)
   • bottom-center: (x+w/2, y+h)
5. Verify no overlaps: ensure the rightmost box + gap doesn't collide with the badge column. Ensure forked paths have enough vertical spread between target boxes (minimum 40px center-to-center).

Write these calculations as comments in the SVG before drawing anything.

1.3 Text-fit rule

This is critical: never break a word across two lines. If a label like "CONTAINERIZATION" won't fit horizontally in the available space, you have three options (in order of preference):

1. Rotate the text -90° using transform="rotate(-90 cx cy)" with text-anchor="middle" so it reads vertically.
2. Use a shorter synonym ("CONTAINERS" instead of "CONTAINERIZATION").
3. Increase the available space — widen the gutter, section, or box.

Never split "PROVISION" / "ING" across two lines. Apply this same rule to box labels, axis labels, legend text, and any other text element.

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2. Connector Routing (for diagrams with arrows)

This is what separates amateur from professional diagrams. Every arrow follows these five rules:

2.1 Orthogonal routing

Arrows follow paths at 90° angles only (horizontal + vertical segments). Never use diagonal lines between boxes. Use <path> elements, not <line>, because paths support multi-segment routing.

2.2 Smooth corner routing

At every 90° turn, use a quadratic Bézier curve (Q) instead of a sharp corner. Standard radius: 8-10px.

Pattern for a right-then-down turn at point (cx, cy) with radius r=8:

... H(cx-8) Q cx,cy cx,(cy+8) V ...

Full example — horizontal exit, turn down, turn right into target:

<path d="M553,157 H598 Q608,157 608,167 V173 Q608,183 618,183 H659"
      stroke="#B4B2A9" stroke-width="1.3" fill="none" marker-end="url(#arr)"/>

This path: goes right to x=598, curves down (608,157→608,167), goes down to y=173, curves right (608,183→618,183), then goes right to x=659.

2.3 Anchor point discipline

Every arrow starts at the exact center of a box edge and ends at the exact center of the target box edge. Compute these from the box's (x, y, w, h) — never eyeball them.

2.4 Endpoint snapping

End the path 1px before the target box edge. The arrow marker's refX positions the triangular tip exactly at the endpoint, so it touches the border without overlapping.

2.5 Arrow marker definition

Use a single reusable marker in <defs>. The canonical marker:

<defs>
  <marker id="arr" markerWidth="9" markerHeight="8" refX="8" refY="4" orient="auto">
    <path d="M1,1.2 L8,4 L1,6.8" fill="#B4B2A9" stroke="none"/>
  </marker>
</defs>

The marker color (#B4B2A9) is deliberately muted — arrows are guides, not the focal point.

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3. Visual Design System

3.1 Color palette

The default palette uses Microsoft brand colors for accent and warm grays for structure. Adapt the accent colors to the client's brand if needed, but always keep the neutral grays.

Accent colors (Microsoft default):

Name	Hex	Usage
Blue	#0078D4	Primary accent, Azure services
Green	#7FBA00	Success, outputs, production
Yellow	#FFB900	Caution, generated artifacts
Red	#F25022	Security, alerts
Dark amber	#BA7517	Text variant for yellow (better contrast on white)

Neutral colors (always use these):

Name	Hex	Usage
Near-black	#2C2C2A	Primary text, titles
Dark gray	#5F5E5A	Axis titles, secondary headings
Medium gray	#888780	Subtitles, descriptions, muted text
Light gray	#B4B2A9	Arrows, borders, axis lines, leader lines
Pale gray	#D3D1C7	Gridlines, dividers
Off-white	#E8E6DF	Separator lines, legend borders

3.2 Section backgrounds

Group related content with faintly tinted rectangles. The key is extreme subtlety — opacity between 0.03 and 0.05. These create visual lanes without competing with the actual content.

<rect x="40" y="92" width="1040" height="130" rx="8" fill="#0078D4" opacity="0.03"/>

3.3 Accent bar

Place a 4-color bar (3px tall) under the title to add brand polish:

<rect x="60"  y="74" width="60" height="3" rx="1.5" fill="#0078D4"/>
<rect x="124" y="74" width="60" height="3" rx="1.5" fill="#7FBA00"/>
<rect x="188" y="74" width="60" height="3" rx="1.5" fill="#FFB900"/>
<rect x="252" y="74" width="60" height="3" rx="1.5" fill="#F25022"/>

3.4 Metric badges

Use pill-shaped badges with tinted backgrounds to highlight KPIs. Align all badges in a vertical column at the right margin, vertically centered on each row's center_y:

<rect x="920" y="143" width="110" height="28" rx="14" fill="#0078D4" opacity="0.07"/>
<text x="975" y="162" text-anchor="middle" font-size="12" font-weight="600" fill="#0078D4">~85% faster</text>

The column alignment is essential — all badges share the same x position.

3.5 AI-assisted node indicator

When a box represents an AI/copilot step, add a small circle with a star icon inside:

<circle cx="393" cy="157" r="8" fill="#0078D4" opacity="0.15"/>
<text x="393" y="161" font-size="9" fill="#0078D4" text-anchor="middle" font-weight="700">✦</text>

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4. Typography

4.1 Font stack

Always use the system font stack for cross-platform rendering:

font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif

4.2 Type scale

Role	font-size	font-weight	fill color
Main title	24-28	700	#2C2C2A
Subtitle	14-16	400	#888780
Box primary label	13-14	600	#2C2C2A or accent
Box secondary label	11	400	#888780
Section label (rotated)	10	700	accent, opacity 0.40-0.45
Axis label	14	400	#888780
Axis title	15	400	#5F5E5A
Legend text	12-13	500	#2C2C2A
Badge text	12	600	accent color

4.3 Vertical centering in boxes

For a box at (x, y, w, h):

• Single-line text: text_y = y + h/2 + font_size/3 (approximate visual center).
• Two-line text: line1_y = y + h*0.43, line2_y = y + h*0.74 (for h=46 and font-sizes 13+11).

Always use text-anchor="middle" with text_x = x + w/2.

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5. Chart-Specific Patterns

5.1 Quadrant / scatter charts

See references/golden-quadrant.svg for the full pattern. Key elements:

• Quadrant backgrounds: 4 rectangles with semantic colors at opacity 0.04.
• Dividers: dashed lines (stroke-dasharray="6 4") in #D3D1C7.
• Axes: solid lines in #B4B2A9, with gridlines at stroke-width="0.4" and stroke-dasharray="3 5".
• Data dots: <circle> with fill=accent, stroke=white, stroke-width=3. This gives a floating-dot effect.
• Leader lines: subtle lines (stroke-width=0.7, opacity=0.4) connecting dots to their labels. These prevent labels from cluttering the chart.
• Quadrant names: large text (font-size 20, font-weight 600) in accent color at opacity 0.35 — visible but not dominant.

5.2 Timeline diagrams

• Use a single horizontal axis line with labeled tick marks.
• Place event cards above or alternating above/below the axis.
• Connect cards to the axis with vertical leader lines.
• Use sectio

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