I really & truly dream of designing my own stationery professionally. Right now I have a(n only-slightly-embarrassing, definitely ghetto-fab) creativity outlet, but it's nothing like I want it to be. I think I want to take the plunge and invest in some software to help me digitally design (and ultimately professionally print) cards.
A good friend of mine recently suggested that I invest in Photoshop instead of something like InDesign (way too advanced for my needs) or Illustrator (which I have always assumed I would invest in eventually). Truth be told, I really don't know what to do. Do any of you have any thoughts? (Esp. if you stumbled on this blog and either design stationery or work with either program on a frequent basis -- I'd love your opinion!) Steven thinks that Photoshop (and we're talking CS3, not Elements) can do everything I want to do in terms of graphic design and more. I haven't used Photoshop or Illlustrator, really... so I just don't know. I guess I'm nervous because I've never heard of Photoshop being used for anything like that, whereas Illustrator is primarily designed (at least in my mind) to do those sorts of things.
Ok, enough of my rambling. I seriously need to know what you think. After all, we're only talking about my FUTURE.
And now, back to more important things.
9 years ago
8 comments:
If you're going to put down a chunk of change on something Photoshop is the way to go, definitely. When I did freelance design, nothing could beat it, and it's only gotten better. There will be, of course, a learning curve. So, my endorsement comes with a warning.
CS3 is unnecessarily expensive. They really could sale it for cheaper than what they do. In other words, it's a commitment. The learning curve may discourage you... don't let it. If you go through with this, stick it out. Your investment will be worth it. If you don't... well... that's a lot of money. My advice is to play around with the program first. Find someone that has it and will show you some basics. Look at tutorials online on how people have created their works. Get a feel for it before taking the plunge.
Honestly, I would love to have photoshop again (I had it back in my BC days where I pirated the software... obviously not an option), but it just simply isn't worth the investment because I can do whatever I want with the free program GIMP. I doubt that GIMP would be an option for you because it's learning curve is pretty steep, and it's not as intuitive as Photoshop.
So, in summary form: If you stick with it, photoshop is invaluable. However, try it out first, because if you don't go forward with design you've just spent money that could have bought other stuff, like books (admittedly, my preference ;) )
I have access to at least InDesign -- it's on my computer in my office. I may also have some of the others. The girl who had my office before me was a graphic design whiz; she designed all the North Carolina Language and Life Project's stuff. I'll check tomorrow and let you know what I have -- then you'll have an excuse to visit and play with them!
no advice...too over my head! lol!
just wanted to say that i would totally buy your stationary! :)
Bryan has a good point about the expense of Photoshop. I'm looking into CS3 (and not CS4) for that exact reason. Steven located CS3 NIB on Ebay for $100. That's what I'm talkin' about. :)
Beth,
Hey! I use Photoshop (CS3) on a daily basis at work and have CS2 on my home computer. I absolutely love it and you can use it for so much other than the design of your stationary. Definitely an investment, but worth it in my opinion. InDesign is nice, my colleague at work uses it, but I'm not a fan of it, at all. But then again I love the graphic design and manipulation freedom I have with Photoshop! check out www.newegg.com and see what you can find there, the IT guy at work, swears by it!
Good luck!
Photoshop is all I know and I LOVE it. There are so many programs out there and I am sure they are good, but Photoshop has been perfect for my needs :o)
I am sure you will end up with something great!
If you design anything printed, you need illustrator or some other vector program. Photoshop is great for photos...thats pretty much it.
As a professional designer I would say take the time to learn Illustrator for a stationery endeavor. You will need to use vector based graphics when printing ESPECIALLY if you start to do wedding suites or anything that needs to be sent out professionally. A lot of people love Illustrator and there's classes on line you can take PLUS if you are a student you get a really HUGE discount on the software. Good luck to you!
Say something...