My Design Gear

So, since I've told you all about what I use for photography, my hobby, I thought I'd let you in on what I use for design, my job. 

Hands down, Adobe rules the graphic design software industry.  In my limited knowledge of software, nothing comes close to Adobe Creative Suite.  However, when I first started getting into design, I didn't have any Adobe programs.  So I used Microsoft Word.  Now, I think Word is a great program for, well...words.  If you're going to write a paper or an outline or a list, it's the obvious choice.  But for design, it leaves a little to be desired.  Or a lot. :) 

So after my Word era, and until a month or two ago, I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.  Elements is, in my experience, a great starter program for photographers and designers.  It's not the "real" Photoshop, but it has strong photo editing tools as well as a user-friendly interface, and tools enough to do some nice design.

However, there are things that it doesn't do well, like drawing.  You can draw in PSE, but the tools are nothing compared to the sophisticated ones you would find in the Adobe Creative Suite.  Really, Elements is designed more for photographers than designers, and while it's a great program and I still love it, I wanted something a little more design-oriented as I began starting my business.  So I got Adobe CS5 Design Standard.

There are still countless things I don't know about the three programs that came with it, and I have so very, very much to learn.  I really don't know my way around all that well yet, but from what I have learned, these programs are absolutely great.  There doesn't seem to be much, if anything, you can't do in these programs.  I'll take a look at each program one by one. 

First off, Photoshop CS5.  It's basically Elements on steroids.  In addition to all the great tools Elements has, the full version of Photoshop can run actions, do a greater variety of image adjustments, and has better text control tools for design.  I tend to use Photoshop for all my photo editing, as well as some design projects that include photos, like blog headers.

Photoshop is really a great program that I love using.  It's also been an easier transition from Elements, since it's pretty similar in the way the controls and interface work.

I also got Adobe Illustrator CS5.  This program is basically for what it sounds - illustrating things and creating images.  I like to use this for most of my design work these days.  It's drawing tools are excellent, and I'm beginning to get a bit more comfortable with it as I use it more.

I've liked using Illustrator so far, but I know there is still so much more to uncover about it!  I'm looking foward to continuing to explore it in the days to come.

The third and final program I use for design is Adobe InDesign CS5.  Even though I haven't used it too much yet, I can already see the benefits of InDesign.  It's made for layout purposes, and is really good at maneuvering text and arranging things like brochures, newsletters, and magazine layouts.

So those are the programs I use for design!  I absolutely love Adobe, and if you're interested in exploring graphic design, there's no other programs I could recommend more.  Photoshop Elements is a great place to start, or even before that, start experimenting with graphics in Word!  It does leave more than a little to be desired in the way of design software, but it can do a lot more than you'd think.

I did not take any of the pictures in this post. They are from Google.