Today I would like to cover a lot of misconceptions but most importantly the best practical
approach on using “three” basic design software systems created by Adobe. This article/tutorial
covers mostly the three practical software systems to use for art and design, which are, Adobe
Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. As more and more features get added from version upgrades
and update patches, it is important as a designer to understand which software is the best solution
to reach the optimal results in your freelance or personal projects.
Adobe Photoshop
There are a lot of tutorials on Adobe Photoshop. As a matter of fact, there are so many tutorials
that focuses on Photoshop that many people contact me or comment on this site stating that there
are not enough tutorials on Illustrator or InDesign. (One factual tidbit: My Illustrator tutorial section
is the most popular page in the tutorials section according to Google Analytics. To be even more
honest, it is the most popular page in the whole domain.) It is a good thing that there are a lot of
tutorials on Photoshop, but there are some negative side effects within widely vast available
information. These tutorials help you become an expert on this software, and to my honesty, that
is how I learned the majority of techniques used in Photoshop. The problem: The vast information
network on Photoshop tutorials also causes people to become too comfortable with Photoshop
and to try to do everything with Photoshop alone.
What is Photoshop?
The most important thing to know about Photoshop is that it is a pixel based program. Photoshop
was primarily created in the beginning as a photograph enhancing tool and not so much anything
else like it is used today. Adobe has recognized that many users were starting to use Photoshop to
create elaborate UI designs, web page graphics, banner ADs, text effects and more. Adobe then
started rolling out features that help designers create images for print, web, motion graphics, and
so on. However, again, the problem is that there are certain times when Photoshop is not needed
(gasp!) to create certain projects.
Photoshop is generally used for:
 Photo enhancement/Photo color correction
 Software/Web/Mobile UI design
 Web graphics
 Motion graphics
 Special effects
Common mistakes/misconceptions
One common misconception is the idea that it is good to use Photoshop to create stationary
systems and logos. For the sake of yourself, please take this idea outside the window. Let’s talk
about business cards as an example. There are an alarming number of tutorials online that show
you how to create business cards in Photoshop. These are what I call “bad tutorials” that teach
you the wrong way of creating a business card. Despite the result and outcome of these tutorials
being amazing, and perhaps even printable, you should not get in to the habit of doing this. Just
because the result looks fine doesn’t mean the practice is the best.
First off Illustrator type is by far superior in print output than Photoshop is. Yes Photoshop can
output type, and even in vector “paths”. Yes Photoshop can bring in vector objects as “smart
objects”. Yes Photoshop can draw paths using the pen tool. But the most important thing out of all
this is that IN THE END it is outputted as pixel data. Yes I am aware that it also depends on the
file output. For instance, .TIFF does not output vector data but does output layer information and
transparency. .EPS does support vector output, yet it still doesn’t mean that this is the best
practice. So should you never use Photoshop to create business cards? Actually there are times
you should use Photoshop to create business cards.
When it is justified to use Photoshop for business cards and other print projects
If your business cards contain any textures, photography, special effects, blurs (not that I am
encouraging this), or any type of pixel based design, Photoshop is obviously the best way to go.
When you should not use Photoshop for print projects
For the love of all things that you love, do not use Photoshop to set type in your print projects. It is
important to note that I am not saying you should never use the type tool in Photoshop. I am
stating that it is not a good idea to use it in print projects.
Never use Photoshop to create logos. The obvious reason is because pixel data cannot be
enlarged without distortion. If you create the logo in vector format, your logo will be scalable to any
size forever.
Adobe Illustrator
What is Adobe Illustrator?
Well as the program states, Adobe Illustrator is a vector based drawing program. It is primarily
used to create vector graphics that require being scalable in print and for future uses. Adobe
Illustrator is very similar to drawing programs like Adobe Fireworks (Macromedia Fireworks in the
early 2000′s), and Corel Draw. It is superior in creating logos and logotype, and has an awesome
type setting system within the program. Adobe Illustrator does one thing Photoshop can never do
as well: vector output. Whatever you create in Illustrator is scalable to the infinite power.
Illustrator is generally used for:
 Logo/Logotype/Monogram/Insignia design
 Type setting for stationary systems/print campaigns
 Web graphics
 Motion graphics
 Vector paintings/Illustrations
Common mistakes/misconceptions
Although Illustrator can be used to create websites in the fullest degree, Photoshop is still ideally
the best program for creating UI designs and other graphical elements for your website. Of course
using Illustrator will not be as harmful as creating business cards in Photoshop, but you will quickly
find that the snapping feature in Photoshop is much more precise in terms of pixels than Illustrator
is.
Illustrator cannot do animation. If you are looking to do flash animation, Illustrator will not do this
for you. The best practice is to create graphics in Illustrator and bring them into Flash for the
principle animation.
Illustrator filters do not work the same way as Photoshop filters. You will be surprised by how
many people think the filters work the same way as in Photoshop. This is false.
The prime time to use Illustrator
As stated above, Illustrator is excellent for logo design, trademark design, logotype, type setting
stationary systems, and creating greeting cards or wedding invitations.
After the release of Illustrator CS4, it is now possible to create simple to complex brochures,
annual reports, and even books in Illustrator CS4 and up. The only drawback to this is that it does
not have the master page utility that InDesign does. It also does not support book templates and
page numbers like InDesign. Although Illustrator CS4 and up has support for multiple artboards to
create “pages”, it is simply there to create short page brochures, or when you want to output
multiple PDF pages of your design variations to show your clients.
Illustrator also has cross platform compatibility with Aftereffects. Importing .EPS files that contain
text drawn in Illustrator is essentially better than importing .TIFF files that contain text drawn in
Photoshop. Aftereffects supports vector data to a certain degree during production (continuous
rasterize).
Adobe InDesign
There isn’t much confusion when it comes to Adobe InDesign, since it is pretty specific in terms of
what it can and cannot do. Photoshop and Illustrator share similar tools, interface, and abilities to
create web graphics to an almost identical level, while Illustrator is very specifically intended for
layouts.
InDesign is generally used for:
 Editorial design
 Book design
 Multiple page brochures
 Annual reports
 Interactive PDF documents
Common mistakes/misconceptions
Although it is possible to draw objects in InDesign, it is much better to do it in Illustrator. You
should not draw elements in InDesign, but instead, use programs such as Illustrator or Photoshop
to draw out the elements and import them into InDesign. InDesign also does not have filters like
Photoshop. Creating a logo in InDesign is next to impossible.
Although there isn’t much misunderstanding about what InDesign is meant to do, there is wide
spread debate about whether Illustrator has better layout support than InDesign. InDesign
however does have better layout support than Illustrator.
When to use InDesign
If your project consists of a print project that has multiple pages with the same layout, InDesign
has the master page function to do this. InDesign also has excellent support for 3 column layouts
and so on. Creating type wrap in InDesign is much more straightforward than in Illustrator.
Illustrator vs. InDesign
 Illustrator does not have master pages.
 Illustrator cannot define page numbers.
 InDesign cannot draw objects as well as Illustrator.
 InDesign does not have filters, as Illustrator does.
 InDesign has superior type wrapping tools, while it may be a bit confusing with Illustrator.
Illustrator vs. Photoshop
 Illustrator has superior vector support, while Photoshop has limited.
 Illustrator does better page layout than Photoshop.
 Illustrator does not handle pixel art the same way as Photoshop does in terms of effects.
 Photoshop is superior for photo enhancing.
 Photoshop creates precise pixel based UI designs compared to Illustrator.
 Illustrator supports multiple page output for PDF while Photoshop does not.
 Photoshop layers are much more straightforward than Illustrator. Organizing elements is much
easier in Photoshop because of this.
 Illustrator supports the “Place” (Importing graphics) command through dynamic file linking.
Photoshop’s “Place” command is strictly embedded into the .PSD file and is not linked. This
means that you can make changes to a certain file outside of Illustrator and you can reflect the
changes in Illustrator using the Links panel. In Photoshop, whatever you place is permanent
(credit to Kjell-Roger Ringstad for noticing this).
 Illustrator exports .EPS file formats better than Photoshop.
InDesign vs. Photoshop
 InDesign creates page layouts while Photoshop does not.
 InDesign links elements or design objects from various locations in your hard drive. Photoshop
does not. It is all placed in the document.
 InDesign supports multiple pages for PDF and print. Photoshop is all one document.
 Photoshop has filter effects while InDesign is limited.
 InDesign supports XML, Photoshop does not.
 InDesign supports vectors, imports .AI and .EPS with vector data encoded. In Photoshop this
gets converted to paths or pseudo vector. The final output is still pixel based.