Software
Software is something that’s so important to produce good design work, so I thought I’d talk a little about it today. As well as being educated in what makes good design, and gaining experience in design, it’s important to have the right tools for the job.
There are choices in software and cost can of course come into people’s decisions, but for me, as a professional graphic designer, Adobe is the software I’d always choose. It’s now in a subscription format called Creative Cloud, so I subscribe to the programs I need and also receive the supporting font and portfolio packages each month. Incidentally, Adobe were very supportive of freelancers at the height of the Covid pandemic and gave us several months payment free which was amazing of them at the time when I was most worried about being self employed.
I use Adobe Illustrator on a daily basis, supported by Adobe Photoshop for any images I need to edit, and I use Adobe InDesign for any multi page documents, such as brochures, leaflets etc. I’ll speak more about each of these programs over my next few posts.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is my ‘go to’ program; it is industry-standard vector graphic software used to create logos, illustrations, infographics, adverts, packaging and so much more! Because Illustrator is vector based, artwork can be scaled down for mobile screens and scaled up to billboard size and always remain sharp and clear.
Illustrator works with other Creative Cloud programs such as Photoshop, where images can be linked into Illustrator documents and then if the images are edited the links are updated and Illustrator document also amended. It also works with Adobe Fonts to ensure I always have a great choice of typefaces to use in my designs.
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is described on the Adobe website as ‘the world’s best imaging and graphic design software’. It’s the program I use to change the colour mode of any image I want to use for print into CMYK mode, or for on screen into RGB mode. It enables me to adjust colours of images, to create three-dimensional product mockups, and so much more.
Photoshop uses layers so that you can, for example, change the background behind an image, or change the colour of just one part of an image. You can combine images and alter photographs, make them black and white or crop their shape. There are so many ways it can be useful!
Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign is a layout and page design program, both for printed items and digital media. InDesign is the program I’d choose to create brochures, and even books, as it’s perfect to set up layouts for multipage documents. It links to the other Adobe programs, so I can design a brochure cover or page background in Illustrator and then link it to the InDesign document. You can also export files as multi-page pdfs which are perfect for digital brochures etc.
Adobe Fonts
Adobe Fonts is fab as it provides me with an extensive choice of beautiful fonts from the world’s top foundries. I often want a new font for logo design as a different style or appearance can make all the difference to a design, how boring would logos be if I always used the same handful of fonts?!
Sometimes people want their branding to match an existing website or a new website they’re working on, in which case my font choices might be limited to what they can also get hold of, however if I have free rein on fonts this is where I’ll head!
With my branding packages I provide the name of the fonts I use, and if they’re from Adobe Fonts they’re usually also available to purchase individually from the foundry’s own website, or if a customer doesn’t want to purchase the font I will of course provide them with the names of a font they can use use alongside their branding that will still work to keep them ‘on brand’.
Adobe Portfolio
With my subscription I also receive a digital portfolio platform where I display my design work. This is very useful to point people towards, as it’s so important that you’ve seen plenty of examples of a designer’s work to ensure they’re the right person for your design job. All designers will have different styles and interpretations and you need to choose a designer that’s the right fit for you and your business.
You can visit my portfolio site at https://stephbuncherdesign.myportfolio.com/
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud also includes a backup system which automatically saves files you’re working on to the cloud. This is fab if you’re working on different computers as you can access your work from anywhere. I also feel happy knowing that anything I’m currently working on is backed up on the cloud. Once I’ve finished a project I have my own external hard drive, but the cloud is much more convenient whilst I’m working on a project.
Adobe
So in summary, I couldn’t be without Adobe!! Their programs certainly make my life easier and all work seamlessly together to ensure my designs are always professional and of a high quality. I can’t really imagine the days before computer software, when designers had to individually typeset physical letterpieces into printing presses! I’m definitely lucky to be designing in the time I am... although I’d quite like a go at it just once maybe, I did enjoy printmaking at uni!!
