Long time ago I used to create my vector graphics thanks to Corel Draw. I think it is a great software but commercial. Fortunately those days are over because now we can enjoy Inkscape, a open source tool, standard oriented and cross platform.

I'm not an expert in vector graphics design but I consider Inkscape as a professional application. Lot of choices can be found, compatibility with other formats (like Adobe Illustrator) and of course support for the SVG standard format. Current stable version is 0.46 but in short the version 0.47 will be out with many enhances.

The SVG format is getting better and better supported by browser, so luckily we can use this format for web design, no need to export to image formats. SVG is also ready for movement (like GIF) although this feature is not supported in Inkscape yet.