1. It’s a Good Investment: Overall, you’re going to save one heck of a lot of money by using Creative Cloud. And we aren’t kidding here. And whether you are a designer, or otherwise, saving money is always a good thing! We’ve seen some reports where clever chaps with calculators have done the math. You’ll be saving money on a Creative Cloud account in comparison to a full Master Collection license for a number of years. That’s a whole lot of bargain, and all while using the same programs that you need.
2. The Continuity is Great: Another factor that plays heavily into our liking Creative Cloud has to do with the fact that everything ties together so nicely. What we mean is this: With all of your data and storage kept on Adobe’s cloud systems, you can relay more heavily on the Net to keep track of all your data. We’re terrible about losing our sensitive data, so to us, this is a great thing. We’ve been using Kuler for years now to keep track of all our color schemes, and the Creative Cloud really just feels like an extension of that ease. So if tidiness is important to you, the Creative Cloud may just be the Holy Ark that you’ve been waiting for.
3. It’s the Future: On another note, don’t be surprised if Adobe starts to rely more heavily on the cloud-based approach to its software. You can expect to see a whole lot more of this pricing style in the future, and we wouldn’t be surprised at all if new softwares aside from those offered by Adobe start to do similar things. The cloud—and cloud accounts—really are the future, and the sooner you’re on board, the sooner you can start enjoying the benefits.

1. Photoshop is Essentially the Best Option: If money is tight and you simply want to upgrade to an all-purpose, user-friendly program, we recommend that you go with Photoshop. It doesn’t come with a whirlwind of new features, but a series of small, user-friendly adaptations make design work much easier to manipulate. For instance, there’s better layer editing as far as effects go, as well as some pretty hefty shape manipulations that we’re quite the fan of. As we said, it’s not the most advanced program in the world, but it’s functional for most people’s needs. We also have a feeling that if we went back to using Creative Suite 5.5, you’d miss a lot of the small improvements that come with Creative Suite 6.
2. Forget the Others: With a few exceptions—looking at you, Illustrator—most of the other programs within Creative Suite 6 seem to be about the same as their predecessors. We saw no real changes that make a difference within Dreamweaver, Fireworks, or After Effects. Some of the toolbars have been reworked, and everything might run a tad faster, but on the whole, you’re really not going to notice too much of a difference in these other programs.
3. Should You Get It? On the whole, we think investing in a Creative Cloud account at $50 a month is a wise investment. It will keep you updated with what’s coming out, and you’ll not be using outdated design software. But as far as buying a license for the entire new Creative Suite 6, you’re likely just better off updating those apps that you cannot live without—For us this was InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. This saved us a lot of money, and we haven’t yet felt like we’re missing out.

1. Throw it All Out: After about three months of solid working for our clients, we tend to find ourselves using the same ruddy textures, patterns and thoughts. This is a bad habit, as it not only makes all our designs look the same, but it’s also rather boring. You can avoid this though by doing what we do: Throw all those textures and patterns away! Just get rid of them. This ensures that you’ll actually go find new ones, as well as new ideas to use with them. This is a rough thing to do, and you’re really going to have to be committed. Obviously don’t do it during a big project, but in the in-between, go for it! You really won’t regret it.
2. Read the Blogs: If you aren’t already, follow a multitude of design blogs. These are places where other designers point out what they’re creating, as well as what they like in the work of other designers. This is a great way to catch up on what’s cool and trendy, as well as to learn what you haven’t yet. Get some really great ideas underneath your bonnet, and then use those to produce designs that will rock the socks right off of your clients.
3. Use Different Software: Recently we mentioned how we stopped using Photoshop to produce our page layouts. Instead, we’ve swapped to using InDesign, and the results may look the same, but we feel much better about the situation. Similarly, if you feel stuck in a rut, try a new piece of designing software! Use a different Adobe product, or maybe try a freeware edition that comes close in functionality. Don’t lessen the quality of your work, but if trying some new tools out makes things easier and more fun, then by all means! Go for it.

]]> http://www.designcontest.com/blog/how-to-stay-fresh-and-inspired/feed/ 0 http://www.designcontest.com/blog/top-reasons-to-use-indesign/ http://www.designcontest.com/blog/top-reasons-to-use-indesign/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:34:17 +0000 grace http://www.designcontest.com/blog/?p=2928 Until recently, Adobe InDesign had been one of those software items that we owned, but hardly ever touched, a sad mistake on our part. You see, when we started to peel back what the software could actually do, we discovered a lot of ways in which we could streamline our production line, increase our revenues, and gain super powers. Okay, so maybe that last one was a joke, but still, if you’ve not used InDesign to create your page layouts, you’re really missing out. If you need more convincing, though, we completely understand. Below, you’ll find our top reasons to ditch Photoshop and use InDesign for page layouts:

1. Text Editing: We’re going to just go ahead and say this out loud—Text editing in InDesign, when compared to what we’ve done in Photoshop, is like the difference between night and day. We’re really not kidding here, nor are we particularly exaggerating. You see, InDesign has a lot of built in functionality that’s aimed at improving the speed with which you crank out completely professional looking text effects and designs. This includes stuff like simple drop caps, auto alignment, rag definition, and even spacing containers that can be edited to the umpteenth degree. It’s so quick it hurts us.
2. Boxes: On a similar note, all of the text that you edit or create is contained within a simple text box. In fact, so are all the other graphics you throw in. The idea behind this is simple: You take those elements that you’ve put into your boxes, and you move them anywhere you want. Then, InDesign offers a quick set of tools that lets you align them properly in a snap. It’s so much faster than Photoshop, and though the end results are likely the same, you can bet that you’ll have scraped a few extra hours out of the day by using InDesign.
3. It’s Connected: And lastly, InDesign is completely connected to Photoshop. This means that you can create a wicked background in our favorite illustration software, and then immediately load it into InDesign without any fuss at all. It’s this connectivity that makes the transition from one to the other completely pain free, and easily worth pursuing. You don’t have to give up the old to enjoy the new!

1. Photoshop Has Real Vectors: First out of the box, one of the best things about Creative Suite 6 is the fact that Photoshop now has real bloody vectors. Yes, you can finally edit specific points on your shapes, add a stroke of a different color, change the fill hue, and otherwise modify your creations in a way that’s similar to Illustrator. In our eyes, it’s about time this change happened, as we’ve been pining for it for years!
2. Broken Lines Are Simpler: Another knock for Photoshop is the fact that it’s now painfully easy to create dotted lines within the software. If you’ve ever tried to do this before hand, you know just how marvelously complicated the whole process was before Creative Suite 6. Now, it’s as simple as applying a stroke effect, just like in Illustrator. And again, we say, thank God!
3. The Cloud is Here: In a move that we find particularly revealing, Adobe has also released a new method of obtaining Creative Suite 6. Instead of buying it in the box like we used to do, you can now pay $50 a month for the Creative Cloud, which serves as both a cloud-based hard drive and a way to download the individual Creative Suite 6 softwares themselves. It’s like a monthly membership that gives you full access to every software suite, as well as your own personal Adobe cloud, on which you can hang just about anything you like. It’s a smooth feature set, and if you’re not prepared yet to dish out several thousand for Creative Suite 6, $50 a month is not much to ask.

1. Photoshop: This one is a no-brainer, but if you’re using something else, we feel we should at least mention the power of the old workhorse. Photoshop is the go-to standby for all graphic designers. We’ve never seen a firm successfuly use another app to produce quality designs, and though we’re sure there’s some out there, they’re certainly few and far between. If you’re not using Photoshop to design your posters, layouts, or other printed material items, you’re missing out. The software suite is built from the ground-up to be powerful, fully featured, and breathtakingly simple once you know the ropes. If you haven’t got it, get it now: We’re deadly serious.
2. Illustrator: Another obvious one is Illustrator. If you’re using another, freeware vector illustrator, we strongly suggest you grab Adobe’s vector suite to compliment your workflow. The tools the software provides are infinitely more finessed than anything you’ll find on the freeware market, and provide a much more fluid drawing experience. In other words, the quality of what you’ll find with Illustrator beats the free price tag on, say, GIMP any day.
3. Fireworks: This one may not be as obvious, but it’s just as essential. If you do any sort of web design, no matter how casual, you need Fireworks. The app makes it easy to take the software you use on a daily basis and create web content. It’s quick, easy to learn, and endlessly powerful—just as we like all of our applications.

What is Muse?

If you’re much like us, you very likely do not fancy the entire web design process, or at least every aspect of it that doesn’t involve Photoshop. Typically, designing a website is a three step process: First, the designer must draw the sketch in Photoshop; then a programmer (or the same designer) cuts the sketch into web-friendly slices, which can be turned into CSS or jQuery-powered code; finally, the whole thing is uploaded to the web host and tested. At the least, this process will involve roughly three programs—Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Flash, though potentially more, depending on your workflow. Either way, you’re looking at a lot of moving for not a lot of results.

Muse, on the other hand, wants to be your bridge between these. Adobe understands that much of its market is comprised of graphic designers, individuals who would rather move pixels around a screen than mess with code. As such, they’ve created Muse to act as an InDesign meets Dreamweaver approach to web design. With little to no direct code contact, a graphic designer can layout a website just as easily as they might layout a page spread for a catalog. That’s fairly generic, so let’s dive into the specifics!

What Can Muse Do?

First and foremost, Muse simplifies the design process by allowing you to easily slice up your Photoshop files. Users can upload entire works for easy slicing, as well as various buttons and UI elements collected over the years. Muse also comes with a bevy of free HTML and CSS widgets which can be dragged and dropped to easily create fully-coded masterpieces. In essence, Muse is like iWeb with the doors kicked open. You can bring along all of the files you usually work with, but without the mess of the digital wheelbarrow, so to speak.

As great as being a graphic designer is, it can be quite the challenge to get things started. Thankfully, designing full-time to pay the bills doesn’t have to be an expensive investment. Use the following tips to create your own freelance design business on the cheap.

Save While You Experiment:

If you’re just staring out, you may not yet know exactly what kind of design service you’ll be offering, or what your specific designing style is. You’ll be sifting through methods for quite a while, and because of this, it’s best to avoid shelling out the big bucks for the most expensive design software you can find.

Start out with a few of the cheaper entry-level products, and then work your way up, purchasing tools you know you’ll use often, and will improve your workflow. This will not only save you money, but will help you to grow as an industry professional.

Go To School:

An even better option is to start off your design firm with an education. University isn’t for everyone, but there’s a plethora of benefits that can be had from pursuing a higher education in graphic design.

Right off the bat, being a design student gets you access to the top-dollar design products and hardware, even awarding you some discounts with specific manufacturers. Most major colleges sport the kind of high-end gear you’ll be using if you progress to a large design firm, and knowing how to use these products like a pro not only makes you a better professional, but it also makes you more attractive to employers. University is also a great place to establish contacts, get advice, and develop your own design style.

Buy Only What You Need:

If you want to bypass an education, be sure to only buy the bare necessities. This means a sketchbook, a scanner, and some kind of design software. A drawing tablet is nice, but you can get along fine using analog methods, if you need to save the cash. Save money on the front-end, and avoid products you won’t use on a frequent basis.

For starters, let us take a look at the Pen tool in Photoshop. It’s a very basic yet important tool that you will use over and over again with this program from Adobe. Basically, it is a tool which you can make virtually perfectly straight or curved lines with. Instead of ‘drawing’ (dragging your pointer to sketch on screen), you click to add ‘anchor’ points along the curve or length of the line you want. Then, you can either use these points to make a selection, or, as is commonly done, turn it into a pen stroke path. Users can adjust the width of the stroke path and the color through the Photoshop options. It’s a wonderful tool, perfect for turning rough lineart into graphic design masterpieces, and much more!

If my little description of the Pen tool in Photoshop left you a little confused, try your hand at several popular tutorials for this function. First on my list is the wonderful DeviantArt-hosted tutorial by Jo-Z, linked here. It’s very clear and quite easy to follow. The artist shows how to take a rough sketch and use the pen tool to turn it into a finalized image in Photoshop.  As one commenter states, it’s an especially important tool for artists who don’t have tablets!  For another excellent intro to the pen tool, try out Tutorial9’s great pen tutorial. It’s a little more in depth than the previously-mentioned DA one, but both are sure to help in increasing your understanding of this tool. This one also shows how to use the tool to create filled shapes, another useful feature of the pen tool.

Finally, if you prefer video tutorials for leanring Photoshop, let me point you to two excellent YouTube Pen Tool Photoshop tutes. First is this one, at almost 10 minutes. It’s fairly comprehensive and provides some excellent pointers for using the tool.  Second is Taunt.com’s fun-filled YouTube tutorial on the pen tool.  It’s a little shorter, at around 6 minutes, but is still super good.  Be sure to have Photoshop up and running when watching these tutorials and use the pause button to get the most information, when you need it!

Adobe Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks by Scott Kelby

This book teaches you how to produce the same exact visual effects you come across in magazine spreads, on television shows, the movies, and on the internet. It also covers the latest trends in special effects and design in Photoshop. With easy to follow steps and instructions, readers will be able to instantly re-create the same eye appealing techniques. Other features that this book includes are: tricks from professional photographers, tips on recreating famous studio shots, making 3D effects without the 3D program, turning regular snapshots into museum gallery quality prints, and the most popular graphic design effects in demand today. The author also includes time saving shortcuts and inspirational ideas for you to experiment with.

Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland

This book is geared toward those who would like to learn how to create and maintain their own professional websites via Adobe Dreamweaver. It will teach readers how to make their way through this sophisticated program with easy to understand instructions and guides. It will basically start from scratch and show you how to design your very own interactive website. This book also features advanced techniques, site maintenance tips, and up to date examples. Although more geared towards people who have a basic idea and some knowledge on Adobe Dreamweaver, beginners can also use this to jumpstart their journey in designing their own professional site.

Adobe InDesign CS5 Classroom in a Book by Adobe Creative Team

This book comes straight from the Adobe Team themselves. Packed full with fourteen project-based lessons, this book will instruct the readers with step by step techniques on how to use and make the best out of InDesign CS5. This suitable for those who are new to InDesign CS5 and also for inexperienced users whoa re looking to improve their skills with the program. Readers will also discover how to create engaging, and visually appealing page layouts. This book also talks about the latest tools for all sorts of different graphic design techniques. These techniques include: creating interactive documents, simplifying object selection, multiple page sizing, tracking text changes, production enhancing, and also print to digital capability. A CD is also included with the books and allows the readers to interact along with the lessons in the book.