# DesigNet: Learning to Draw Vector Graphics as Designers Do

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06494 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.06494/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 21 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 7 Apr 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 21 of 21)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.13456/) (2020)
- [Estimating or Propagating Gradients Through Stochastic Neurons for Conditional Computation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1308.3432/) (2013)
- [Point Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.00931/) (2020)
- [An Introduction to Variational Autoencoders](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.02691/) (2019)
- [NVAE: A Deep Hierarchical Variational Autoencoder](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.03898/) (2020)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks: An Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.07035/) (2017)
- [Understanding Straight-Through Estimator in Training Activation Quantized Neural Nets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.05662/) (2019)
- [DeepSVG: A Hierarchical Generative Network for Vector Graphics Animation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.11301/) (2020)
- [Im2Vec: Synthesizing Vector Graphics without Vector Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.02798/) (2021)
- [VectorFusion: Text-to-SVG by Abstracting Pixel-Based Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.11319/) (2022)
- [StarVector: Generating Scalable Vector Graphics Code from Images and Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.11556/) (2023)
- [A Learned Representation for Scalable Vector Graphics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.02632/) (2019)
- [Text-to-Vector Generation with Neural Path Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.10317/) (2024)
- [DeepVecFont-v2: Exploiting Transformers to Synthesize Vector Fonts with Higher Quality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.14585/) (2023)
- [VecFusion: Vector Font Generation with Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10540/) (2023)
- [NIVeL: Neural Implicit Vector Layers for Text-to-Vector Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.15217/) (2024)
- [DualVector: Unsupervised Vector Font Synthesis with Dual-Part Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10462/) (2023)
- [FontCraft: Multimodal Font Design Using Interactive Bayesian Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11399/) (2025)
- [Spline-based Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.02797/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

AI-driven content generation has made remarkable progress in recent years. However, neural networks and human designers operate in fundamentally different ways, making collaboration between them challenging. We address this gap for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) by equipping neural networks with tools commonly used by designers, such as axis alignment and explicit continuity control at command junctions. We introduce DesigNet, a hierarchical Transformer-VAE that operates directly on SVG sequences with a continuous command parameterization. Our main contributions are two differentiable modules: a continuity self-refinement module that predicts C0, G1, and C1 continuity for each curve point and enforces it by modifying B'ezier control points, and an alignment self-refinement module with snapping capabilities for horizontal or vertical lines. DesigNet produces editable outlines and achieves competitive results against state-of-the-art methods, with notably higher accuracy in continuity and alignment. These properties ensure the outputs are easier to refine and integrate into professional design workflows. Source Code: https://github.com/TomasGuija/DesigNet.