So just what do I need to know?

If you are new to computer graphics and are trying to decipher the role of each software — and therefore deciding which programs you need for your projects — you'll first want to understand some terms. Specifically, Bitmap vs. Vector vs. Page Layout. A bitmap graphic is a graphic made up of a map of pixels. The more pixels there are, the more detail is available. Almost always, files taken from a digital camera or a scanner are bitmap. Bitmap is a good format for photography and artwork with complicated texture or lots of detail. The main drawback of bitmap graphics, is that you can't scale an image larger than the size it was captured without loosing quality.

Photoshop mainly deals with bitmaps. It's great for retouching photos, compositing images, creating digital art in the bitmap format and making web graphics. For web sites, Photoshop is an excellent tool for creating mockups of the site and exporting the graphics to be used into Dreamweaver or HTML. Adobe Fireworks is an alternative to Photoshop for web graphics.

A vector graphic is "resolution independent". That means you can scale it to any size without loosing quality. Unlike bitmaps, vector graphics are made up of many sets of mapped coordinates. Between each set of coodinates (points) a line is drawn (path) by the computer. Each path can be straight or have a curve and fills can fill the shapes created by the paths. Text, logos, pop art and line art and good candidates for vector graphics, due to their need of maintaining sharp, crisp edges...both on the screen and in print. Adobe Illustrator is a program that is especially good for working in the vector format.

Page layout software includes Adobe Indesign and QuarkXpress. Page layout software allows you to combine files from both Photoshop and Illustrator (bitmap or vector) with text, and has tools to manage multi-page documents. If you have a newsletter, catalog, newspaper, book, long brochure, etc., you're going to want a page layout software. There is some overlap... you can create a page layout in Illustrator and that's fine for a page or two. However for anything larger, you wouldn't have the multi-page tools that would make your job a heck of a lot easier. Photoshop should not be used for most layouts, as text (especially small text) usually prints low quality and fuzzy.

Lastly if you are into web design, you'll probably be interested in Dreamweaver, Photoshop or Flash. Flash however, is not the first software I would recommend learning if you are a beginner. Flash can be very cool, but if neccesary it should be used sparingly. The problems with sites  built entirely in Flash include poor search engine rankings (it's very hard to get your site indexed properly), they are much harder to maintain, and adding dynamic features are more complex. That said, some Flash or javascript effects can go a long way. More important to a beginner would be to focus on Dreamweaver, Photoshop and/or HTML/CSS. If learning how to add interactive features like ecommerce, social networking, blogs, forums and giving your clients the ability to manage their own content interest you, I highly recommend either Joomla or Wordpress. This type of software is open source (no cost) and requires little, if any programming experience (html/css is helpful). Depending on your paticular needs and preferences there are other choices, and you could consider learning a programming language like PHP and MySql (database).

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Jenise  - web site newbie 12-03-2008 9:02am Thanks Jason, Your input has been helpful! ReplyQuote

Jason Gallagher 12-23-2008 1:42pm You're most welcome! ReplyQuote

Cynthia Hovey  - marketing 06-12-2009 1:59am I am completely unfamiliar with any design programs. primarily a writer and administrator, I've worked with WORD, Excel, Quicken mostly. My company is purchasing Ilustrator though I don't know if they'll be buying the Suite or the individual program. We have hired a graphic designer who is creating a new website and a deck of sales sheets, spec sheets, etc. My boss wants me to be able to replace place logos on sales sheets, edit copy on those sheets, maybe even move things around. I got a free program to try it out and was basically completely lost... didn't even know how to size the logo to fit the space. I'm thinking of getting tutored by someone like yourself, or taking a cla**. I don't want to learn everything about the program though, at least not now. I really just want to know how to edit files as described. (Adobe's cla**es on the web have been over my head - at least the ones I've dropped in on. I live in Sausalito, though will be moving to probably Novato in 6 weeks. Do you recommend I go to a school first? if so, what one? If I hired a tutor, who is your competition and why are you better? PS I like your photo! ReplyQuote

Jason Gallagher 12-29-2009 5:52pm Cythia, you left this note ages ago! Sorry about the delay. I don't always pay as close of attention as I should to my comments, so if I don't answer here after a while, a guaranteed way to attract my attention is always to contact me here. Well... I certainly hope you've found a the right route to take by now. But learning is a lifelong occupation... so if you find yourself still in need of some advice, feel free to drop another comment here or contact me. I'd be happy to try and offer some more thoughts. I will say that I don't think there's a "best" way to learn. If you're not in a hurry and have enough time to spare, there's nothing like having the resources and thoroughness of an institution like a college or university. That's where I got my start. But many people these days either don't have the time or their needs are pretty simple. That's where private lessons or workshops can be a great value. As for my competition, I don't really keep track to be honest, so I can't offer much there! But I'd like to think I'm the best ;) Seriously though... the best advice I can give when choosing a private teacher is to take a good and careful look at their work, consider both their professional AND teaching experience (do you really want to learn from the college kid who needs a little income on the side?), then call them up and get a feeling for how they work and their personality. If that checks out, scheduling a first lesson isn't too much of an investment. You'll know after that if the service delivers as advertised. There's one thing I'll come clean on right now though: in real life I don't really have the straw hat. ;) Cheers, Jason ReplyQuote

Daddy_Design  - Adobe suites and other software 11-20-2009 5:37am I have been designing for about 10 years now. I get many pieces of art to print from new designers. I tend to cuss them out in the privacy of my office. But I do understand it is because they are not as familiar with the software. So thank you, Jason, for taking the time to explain it. I would, however like to add some input. Adobe makes a couple of different design suites. They have a creative suite which is targeted at the print design. They also have the web suite targeted at the web site gurus. Both of these suites have almost everything you need. The print based suite does not have flash or dreamweaver. The web suite does not have Indesign. They both come with Illustrator and Photoshop. Illustrator and Photoshop are two essentials for graphic design. And the best part about the adobe suites is all the software works really well together. Illustrator is highly misused by the industry. A jpg placed into an illustrator file does not make it a vector piece of art. Illustrator is a powerful tool. To give you some examples of what illustrator can do, here is a link to my site http://www.wheresdaddy.hostoi.com/illstration. There are/were some other companies out there that produced comparable software. Some of those programs are Macromedia Freehand, Corel Paint, Corel Draw, and there are a few others but they escape me this early in the morning. And just to reiterate what Jason said about flash... It is very cool with all kinds of possibilities, but don't go overboard. I am currently working on a site that was created entirely in flash by an amatuer, and now I have to convert it to html. Thanks for reading. Jarid Bloemker www.wheresdaddy.hostoi.com ReplyQuote

Jason Gallagher 12-30-2009 1:29am Jarid, yep I would certainly agree there's a ton of confusion about vector graphics. Good point for people to take in about placing bitmaps into vector programs like Illustrator. I've met my share of people that just don't understand the garbage in, garbage out reality of bitmaps. If you don't capture at a high enough res, there's not much you can do about it unless of course you want to turn it into an art piece or something with live trace. And Flash... yes indeed. Flash is real cool if a) you don't care about SEO (which should really be the #1 priority of most businesses, but that's for another blog post) or b) you have the lofty budget it takes to make Flash more search engine friendly and to hire your designer to maintain the beast. That narrows it down to maybe 3 major groups: Car companies, big Hollywood Studios and of course designers for their personal portfolios. When I say this about Flash, I'm of course referring to having the entire site navigation and all in Flash, not certain areas. A little Flash here and there is perfectly fine. Just avoid a "Flash Site" at all costs unless you're very sure of what you're doing. Do a quick search for jQuery and you'll see that it's not the end of the world anyways... ReplyQuote

glucosamine 12-21-2009 9:47pm Your post is so informative and should be known to everyone.As i was not aware of such information,your post is so helpful for me.I will look forward for more such post.Keep up. ReplyQuote

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