After working for an Adobe Authorized Training Center for 10 years, I often ask students what the difference between Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
Let me first say that these three programs are in fact owned and developed by the same company, Adobe Systems, the worldwide leader in web development, graphic design and e-learning software. The three programs are also available in Adobe Creative Suite, which grouped an excellent and inexpensive way, this software is to buy.
I think part of the confusion is that some tasks can be performed more than one of these programs. For example, see vector drawing program tools available in Photoshop and InDesign, Illustrator, even if the dominant vector-drawing program. The key to the best of these three programs is to understand what are their main functions and how they can be used together.
Okay, so take each program individually. We will work with Adobe Photoshop, which is probably the best start of the three known. Photoshop is an image-editing software business primarily for bitmap editing and image manipulation used. Bitmap images are images that are defined by their pixel structure. In other words, digital bitmaps can be broken down into millions of small pixels and each pixel has its own characteristics. Bitmap images are sometimes also called raster images.
The most common type of bitmap image is a photographic image. Whether on film and scanned into the computer or shot digitally, the images are made of millions of tiny pixels. So Photoshop is simply a tool used for editing of photographic images. It also has the ability to do many other things, but the most important function of Photoshop to edit photographic images.
If you are at your local newsagent to pick up and go magazine, chances are very good that the pictures were to be deleted or altered using Photoshop in this journal. Sometimes minor adjustments, like a subtle lighting adjustments or sharpening, and other times it can be important when applying a filter or special effects. Photoshop is used for touch – ever wondered why models and movie stars have never cellulite or a double chin – the answer is Photoshop. Often a picture can contain multiple images were combined to form an assembly. This effect can also be created in Photoshop.
Adobe Illustrator, on the other side is a vector-drawing program. Vector graphics are the main other type of digital image. In contrast to bitmaps, vectors consist of a series of lines and shapes that are defined as mathematical formulas. The vectors are very good for creating images that contain much of the same color. For example, a navigation button on your site, your company logo or a non-photographic image would be better defined as a vector. Illustrator is a vector world’s first drawing tool, so if you have been responsible for creating any kind of ‘flat’ art as a business profile, including logos, signs of labor, stationery, etc. Chances are that you are with the Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe InDesign is the newest of the three programs and a layout or image editing program. InDesign is used together things such as company brochures, documents, magazines, newsletters or advertising. InDesign documents other specialty is that a large quantity of type or text work.
Designers often use all three programs on the same project. For example, we have recently outlined a new course, Illustrator, we used our logo and some pictures of other vectors produce, we used Photoshop to apply a shadow effect to certain bitmap images, and finally we have all the imported elements from Illustrator and Photoshop InDesign, where we added copies and defined the schema.
