[PremierPDS]

Originally Posted by Calibre Designs

Its easy when you know how

Thing is, learning how to use software is like learning how to use any other piece of kit. When it comes to designing, its having the creative thoughts behind the job that is the difficult part.

Kay

You took the words outta my mouth Kay and I couldn't have put it better myself

[Tigglet]

Does anybody use Adobe Illustrator? If so, I am interested to know what you think.

[Greg Findley]

Originally Posted by Tigglet

Does anybody use Adobe Illustrator? If so, I am interested to know what you think.

Yes, and I love it
I use...

Adobe Illustrator - for vector illustrations and logos
Adobe Photoshop - for web graphics and image/photo editing
Adobe InDesign - for print layouts

[Tigglet]

Thanks Greg.

Where is the best place to buy Illustrator?

[Greg Findley]

Direct from Adobe...
https://store2.adobe.com/cfusion/sto...ionmethod=FULL

It works out cheaper buying the full Adobe Creative Suite... but as Khalid said earlier in this thread its certainly not cheap!

I don't know of any open source vector based graphics programs, unlike GIMP which is the OS equivalent of Photoshop...

EDIT: Sorry just googled and found something called Inkscape... http://www.inkscape.org/
Not sure how good it is? But might be a good place to start before investing in Illustrator.

Couple more OS alternatives listed at the bottom of this page http://www.osalt.com/illustrator
Again, not sure on what they're like as never tried any of them.

[Calibre Designs]

Illustrator and Corel Draw - both vector based programs.

We use the Adobe suite - illustrator, photoshop, indesign etc...

[Pixels Ink]

Yep, Full Creative Suite 3 here.

I've used Adobe from the first version of Photoshop but buying the CS2 suite was the first time I had to purchase myself, was damned pricey but worth it. At least now i just have the upgrade price.

CS3.3 is out but I dunno if its worth the upgrade just to get Acrobat 9.

[Cracking Media]

Originally Posted by Greg Findley

Yes, and I love it
I use...

Adobe Illustrator - for vector illustrations and logos
Adobe Photoshop - for web graphics and image/photo editing
Adobe InDesign - for print layouts

We use the same tools as Greg for the same purposes. Adobe tools are industry tools and are excellent but they come at industry prices.

For an occasional user who wants to have a go at designing their own flyers etc I would recommend Serif's tools. They are excellent and I think intuitive to use too. PagePlus is their flagship product for DTP (similar to InDesign) and DrawPlus is a very well respected tool for vector illustrations (similar to Illustrator). They do have another tool called PhotoPlus (to do similar work to PhotoShop) but it is not on a par to the other two IMHO.

The latest versions are available on www.serif.com. They are all priced under £100, but if you want to try out earlier versions for free to get a feel for them and to see if they work for you, go to http://www.freeserifsoftware.com.

I fully agree with the comment though that using the tools is the easy part, getting design right is a lot more difficult.

Peter

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Greg Findley

Yes, and I love it
I use...

Adobe Illustrator - for vector illustrations and logos
Adobe Photoshop - for web graphics and image/photo editing
Adobe InDesign - for print layouts

Got all them and a whole heap more,but ain't got a clue how to use half of them apart from pretty basic stuff.

Alvin

[davewilkinson]

I can vouch for Inkscape. Used it a couple of years ago. And while my design skills were lacking, the product did everything I wanted. And it's free!