Abstract: Systems and methods for representing and displaying graphical images that tend to minimize the storage and processing requirements for representing such images on devices with limited storage capacity and processing power are provided. Graphical images may be represented and displayed using the follow techniques: the use of vector shapes and bitmap brushes, primitive shape descriptions, hierarchical structures, shape property storage, and small or variable number representation. These techniques may be used independently or in combination in various embodiments, and may lead to small file sizes, fast view rendering, graphical capabilities similar to raster formats, zoom capabilities similar to vector formats, and attribute storage capabilities.