Adobe’s Creative Suite – An Overview

In the design industry, whether its web or graphic design, the programs are our modern tools in creating design. I have worked with the greatest programs today has ever seen – Adobe’s suite. Every single program they have created and developed is a masterpiece – to say the least. I know there are other great programs, such as Coral Draw and the like, but I haven’t had the need to try them out. Everything I have ever needed to do is possible through Adobe’s programs.

I am going to be discussing each of the programs I use and the importance of each, in every part of the industry I work for. Some have their strong points, but I think they work best together (if you have enough RAM in your computer to handle them all!)

I will be discussing: Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash and InDesign. As I write, CS4 has recently been released - a mind-blowing edition from Adobe.

Adobe Illustrator
First let me say – FreeHand is dead. If you are still using it, you need to seriously upgrade. Illustrator (and FreeHand) are strictly vector-based software programs. (Read my vector article if you don’t know what I am talking about). People all too often get stuck in Photoshop and forget the great effects of vector. Illustrator is so advanced now that it allows you to create vector drop shadows and 3D objects, which weren’t possible in previous programs and versions. I often make nice graphics in Illustrator and bring them into Photoshop to combine/add to my other design work. Photoshop has an option to leave the vector object as a Smart Object allowing you to stretch it later, without going back to your vector file.

Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is probably the most well-known program, even to those who don’t design or work in the industry. It handles pretty much anything you can think of. It is the base of all raster graphics or non-vector graphics (such as logos and corporate stationary). I usually design websites, pamphlets, newsletters and edit photographs in it. (I usually use it for single page designs and that sort of stuff – for multipage editorial and layout design, I would use InDesign – to be discussed). I use Photoshop hand in hand with Illustrator, I use it to colour in, edit etc.

Adobe Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver used to belong to Macromedia, but was bought out by Adobe. A lot of people argue that Dreamweaver isn’t that good and that it just creates a lot of useless code... well then you aren’t using it correctly. If you expect the program to do everything perfectly for you, then stay away. Dreamweaver helps me to do what I know, faster. I then go into the coding myself and make the correct indentations and remove the ‘useless code’. Anyone who prefers to go in and type code from scratch is being stupid. It’s the same as going into Microsoft Paint and doing graphics from that. The programs are here to help! I use Dreamweaver mainly to build my websites, of course. I design in Photoshop with Illustrators help, cut it up in Photoshop and build up the website in Dreamweaver. What a team!

My website is my best example of a design done in Photoshop and built in Dreamweaver.

Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is another exceptional program and creates animations that are thrown at us constantly all over the Internet. There is no other program that comes close to Flash. I use it for animated banners and adverts for websites - usually a nice extra for any professional looking website, if used correctly.

To view my basic flash examples, please visit my websites flash section, by clicking here

Adobe InDesign
I am no pro at this complex program, but if you know InDesign well, anyone will take you. It is the ultimate program for editorials and magazines. It can import Photoshop and Microsoft Word documents straight in, make interactive PDF’s and handle and create vector graphics. I use this mainly to make tiny PDF files (it handles PDF so well) that can be downloaded on my website or sent through emails. It has FAR more use and potential.

To view my interactive portfolio, done in InDesign, please visit this articles' original source on my website, by clikcing here

I believe you should be taught the basics of the above programs by a professional. You will learn the most thereafter by working with and in the programs, constantly. The more you know and understand, the more unstoppable you become – I know this first hand. I also make use of a lot of online tutorials – I take some of the things I’ve learnt and apply it to my own designs. You can only get better.

If you see anything in my website that you would like to know how it was done, please visit my website and contact me, and I will either give you some tips or write a tutorial. Adobe all the way!

(To view the entire article and the examples included with the article, please visit my website and the articles original source - click here)

The Basic Fundamentals of Graphic Design

When I started studying for my Graphic Design degree, I had little knowledge of what I was getting myself into. First year was tough, as my drawing talent was very limited. Second year was even more painful; as we got into designing on computers and learning the programs, I really struggled. I thought I had gone into the wrong field and that there was no hope for me in the industry.

Then my third and final year came. The programs were becoming more familiar now and once I was over that milestone, I began grasping graphic design and its basic rules and guidelines that resulted in design harmony. I was behind, don’t get me wrong. A lot of students had grasped it long ago, and were just excelling, but I now understood and could start on my own journey.

Below I will outline some basic pointers I picked up while studying. As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous articles, some people are just born with design talent, but those who aren’t can still excel with a great love for the field.

• Adobe: get to know her in all her beauty. The best programs for a Graphic Designer should include: Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. The Internet is full of generous people who share guides and tutorials on any and all programs. I’ve learnt the most from mimicking someone’s design tutorial and implementing what I’ve learnt into my own designs
  


• Corporate design: it’s ALL about the logo. If it hasn’t become obvious by now, a company usually has continuity from their logo through their stationary (I’m talking about business cards, letterheads etc,). Take their logo and strip it into elements. Use those elements in the stationary and keep to its colours and colours that compliment the logo. (A nice grey or black usually compliment any logo, or white for the brighter, busier stuff). See my example below:
  
  

  
  
  This was my logo designed for Organa. The most obvious element to pull would be the butterfly, but instead I chose the swirl and bubbles, as seen below:
  
  
  
  I then added the chosen elements to my entire corporate identity for Organa. Below is how it was applied to the Business card and a close-up of it used on a Letterhead.
  
  
  
  
  
  To see Organa's full corporate identity, please click here
  

• Look at existing work - inspiration is so important. Take different aspects from different designs that you like and combine it. Be creative; no credit goes to ideas that have been killed or designs that have been copied outright, but simple or original is timeless.
  


• Look for criticism: If you aren’t studying, try finding someone who is advanced in the field, someone with whom you can consult with and just show your work to every now and then. A second eye is always good (even if they aren’t in the field, most people, even those who cannot design, can tell a bad design from a good one). Sometimes we also get a bit bigheaded and stop seeing our flaws, but it is vital that we are constantly reminded that we are still learning.

If you really love designing but are struggling, keep at it. The programs aren’t easy! The road ahead is not easy! But once you grasp that special understanding in design, you will be unstoppable.

Below I have included previews of my first attempt at designing my website, up till it's current design. You will see how bad I started out and where I excelled to, in just a couple of months. We all started at the bottom!