If you need to show something animated on a website, you have probably thought of a GIF, an SVG or a Lottie animation. There is now also .oim. None of them does everything. This comparison says where each one fits, and where .oim does not.
First, a clarification. .oim does not replace the other formats. It is a PNG with interactive layers inside. What sets it apart is that the text, the languages and the actions travel with the image, and they are signed.
What each format is, in one sentence
- GIF: a sequence of frames in a palette of 256 colours. It plays in any
<img>, without a script. - SVG: a drawing written as XML. It scales without losing sharpness, and it can be animated with CSS or JavaScript.
- Lottie: a vector animation described in JSON and played by a library in the browser. It is common for interface micro-animations.
.oim: a PNG with the baked image and a metadata layer with texts per language, shapes, animations and actions. To move and respond, it needs<oim-player>.
What .oim does well
Think of a shop poster sold in five countries. With a GIF or a JPG, that is five files. With .oim, it is one file. Each text carries its translations inside, and <oim-player> switches language without reloading the image.
It does other things well too:
- Text is text. It can be selected, read by a screen reader and indexed. In a GIF, the text is pixels.
- The base image is lossless. The pixel layer is stored without loss. A gradient or a thin edge does not degrade on export.
- It can be verified. The ECDSA signature covers the metadata and the base image too. If someone changes one pixel, the player does not show the file.
- It adapts to the theme. Semantic colours follow the light or dark mode of the site.
What .oim does not do
Being honest here matters more than selling.
- It is not a video. There is no continuous video timeline. For that there is
.ovm, the video variant of the same family. - Without a script, you only see the base image. A GIF animates anywhere. An
.oimneeds the player. If the page does not load JavaScript, the reader sees a still PNG. - It does not cover the whole world of animation. It is a design format with layers, not a film production engine. The guides do not describe sound or complex 3D effects.
- It does not say who made the image. The signature proves that the file came from OIM and has not changed, not who the author is. Authorship lives in a separate registry.
- It does not say the content is true. It is a proof of integrity, not of accuracy.
The table to decide
| You need | Simplest format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An icon or logo that scales | SVG | It is code, sharp at any size |
| A short loop that works everywhere | GIF | It shows in any <img>, no script |
| A polished interface micro-animation | Lottie | Made in design tools, light |
| A piece with texts in several languages and buttons | .oim |
One file, real text, signature |
| A photo with text layers that change | .oim |
Text is changed in the editor without redrawing the photo |
| Video from start to finish | MP4 or .ovm |
.oim is not a video |
A practical rule: if the result must look the same in an email, a social network and a website without scripts, a GIF or a JPG is still the safest choice. If the same design must change language, respond to a click or prove where it came from, .oim makes sense.
An everyday example
A shop wants a sale banner with the price and two buttons. With a GIF, every price change means redoing the animation. With SVG, the price is text inside the code, but the banner cannot be signed and does not change language without writing code. With .oim, the price and the buttons are edited as layers, each language has its own text, and the file can be checked. What you do not gain is compatibility with email: there you will only see the base image.
To understand why the file can prove its integrity, read the signing protocol. For the starting idea, read the image that knows what it is. And if you are looking for small animations without libraries, vector micro-interactions without a framework shows another option.
File size, memory and performance numbers depend on each case. The guides do not publish a benchmark with figures, so we do not include any here.
Frequently asked questions
Is a .oim heavier than a GIF?
It depends. A high-definition image with layers can weigh more than a small GIF. A GIF with many frames can weigh more than an .oim with a single image. Compare two real files from your case.
Can I convert my GIF into a .oim?
No automatic conversion is documented. An .oim has layers, not frames. What you can do is rebuild the piece in the editor, with its text layers and animations.
Is SVG not interactive too?
Yes, and it can be very interactive. The difference is that .oim is designed for texts per language and for a signature that proves nobody touched the file. A hand-edited SVG is code, and code has to be reviewed.
What happens if the browser does not load the player?
The user sees the base image as a PNG, without texts or animations. So it is worth making sure the base PNG already says the essentials. If the page depends on interaction, put a text alternative around it.