Graphics and Design Software

In the old days of print media, it tooks hours of careful clipping, pasting and preparing before even getting a periodical off to the printing press. Complex kerning and tracking methods could lead a graphic designer to waste valuable time shrinking and expanding text to make it fit properly on a page. No more do designers have to take such pains to perfect minute details. Indeed, computers will do that job for them. Modern graphic design programs  have revolutionized the design process, from photo editing to layout to publication. Desktop publishing lets designers and writers focus on the big stuff, while the computer takes care of the details.

Layout and Design Programs

When the first edition of PageMaker  came out in 1985, it was actually less useful than old fashioned publishing. Frequent crashes, the inability to manipulate text and discrepencies between display and printed output hurt the usability of early programs. However, twenty years later, its difficult for a graphic designer to imagine returning to non-computerized layout methods.

There are two main competitors in the layout and design software market. Each has a storied history and each has its own special functions and utility. There are a few third party manufacturers, but their software is lacking and can generally not be considered a replacement for either of the big sellers (though Apple's Pages program is a good place for home users looking to learn the basics).

Adobe InDesign

Adobe first produced PostScript in the early '80s, essentially founding the desktop publishing movement. Now, after a few years scraping the bottom of the market barrel, they are back on top. Adobe's latest offering, InDesign CS2 is comprehensive and user-friendly. Both beginners and design gurus will find its features useful. Adobe is currently at work on InDesign CS3, but there is still plenty to celebrate about InDesign CS2. 
  • Instantly compatible with other Adobe products.
    • Import files from Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat with ease.
    • Convert old Pagemaker templates and fonts.
  • Features intuitive design and controls allows for easy switching between text editing functions and layout functions.
  • Most often used for newsletters, newspapers and other short form publications.

Quark XPress

Though Adobe may've invented the desktop publishing market, it was Quark XPress that perfected it. In the early '90s, XPress ushered in the modern age of publishing. Its complex kerning and tracking abilities, wrapping and transparency features, graphic capability and more put XPress years ahead of the competition (which has only recently been able to compete). XPress 7  is the latest offering from the company.
  • Handles text and images as different objects to be dropped into user-designed boxes and templates.
  • Features color design catering to printing press features.
  • Remains the top choice for graphics specialists and publishers of larger print media (books, journals, etc.)

Illustration Programs

Though there may never be a proper digital replacement for paint and canvas, computer-based illustration programs have developed their own unique functionality. The features at an artists fingertips are near limitless with these applications. They are particularly useful for editing scanned or uploaded images and performing need effects tricks. Cropping, airbrushing and blurring have never been such easy tasks.

There are essentially two types of illustration software: vector-based programs and bitmap graphics programs. Vector-based editors and bitmap graphics editors are suited as complimentary programs as opposed to competiting ones. Both can have some animation capabilities.

Vector-based Editors

  • Vector-based editors are best suited to deal with typography, logos, technical illustrations, diagraming and flowcharting.
  • EPS, PDF, WMF and SVG are the most popular vector-based formats.
  • Popular vector-based editors include Adobe Illustrator  and ConceptDraw. 

Bitmap Graphics Editor

  • Bitmap graphics editors are best suited for retouching, photo editing and artful illustration.
  • Popular bitmap or "raster" formats include JPEG, GIF, PNG and TIFF.
  • Adobe Photoshop  and Corel Painter  are popular bitmaps graphics editors.

There are also applications that can function in both program types. These applications have grown increasingly popular and most competiting non-Adobe programs are of this nature. Even within Adobe, their vector-based and bitmap graphics editors have moved increasingly closer to each other in terms of functionality. The most famous of these is Corel PaintShop Pro.