As we get used to limiting our exposure to the outdoors and work-from-home practices in place over the last couple of months, many of us find ourselves with extra time and the need to fill up these blocks of time.
Looking to make the most of the added time we have, many of us turn to learning and enrichment in hopes of picking up a new set of skill that we can utilize over the long run, whether to apply on our current jobs, or out of pure interest. Without a doubt, one of the most common and sought-after skillsets in this digital age is design skills. It is instrumental in creating visuals seen everywhere from social media posts on your mobile phones to advertisements you see on the TV, billboards at bus-stops etc. Adobe Photoshop vs Adobe Illustrator
You might have heard of this term “Photoshop” as an editing tool to create the aforementioned images and visuals, but have you heard of “Illustrator”? Do you know their difference and when to use them?
It is important that you grasp the capabilities of the 2 software, namely Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator especially if you are just starting out as a designer or thinking of picking up a new set of skills. Without further ado let’s get right into it.
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop was initially created to help photographers enhance their photos (thus the name “Photoshop”), but over time, it has become bigger and that and it now constitutes millions of designers’ and artists’ creative process and workflow.
Adobe Photoshop is a very popular program for creating and editing images. Adobe Photoshop is a raster-based software that uses pixels in the process of image editing. Pixels determine the clarity of the images when the images are scaled up or down. In Adobe Photoshop, once the pixels are defined in the image it cannot be adjusted. In other words, the image quality will be affected when you enlarge or reduce its size. In the marketing world, Adobe Photoshop has the capability to give users the power (filters, different effects, lighting adjustments etc.) to create web pages, GIFs, static images, brochures, pamphlets, posters (and more) right at their computer with a fairly simple process.
While Adobe Photoshop is a very well-rounded tool, it might not be the best for all the types of design and creative work, and that’s where other software like Adobe Illustrator comes into the picture.
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is another powerful and popular too used by designers around the world. It works with vectors, it uses mathematical algorithms to create smooth lines. As compared to Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator has a lot more flexibility when it comes to the adjustment of the size of the images. Vector based images do not lose quality when it is scaled up or down and maintains its clarity and resolution.
Adobe Illustrator has the capability to create image assets like static images, brochures, pamphlets, posters, booklets and more, but where it pales in comparison to Adobe Photoshop is its limited set of tools of augment and enhance the final product.
Which is better, Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator?
The better question to ask is “When should I use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator”. If Adobe Photoshop is the “Yin”, then Adobe Illustrator is the “Yang”. Many a time the two software work best together. Say you are designing a brochure, it might be best to make use of Adobe Illustrator’s capability to create vector-based images that you can resize as you work to provide you more flexibility. However, there are also instances to choose one over the other. In the instance of creating a logo, it is highly recommended that you use Adobe Illustrator so that your logo can be resized without its quality being compromised for placement across collaterals and materials of all sizes. From large format posters to leaflets, logos created on Adobe Illustrator will ensure that they look the best maintaining the highest quality.
On the other hand, it will be better to choose Adobe Photoshop if you need to rely on effects and tools that allow you to create different looks and finishing for your products. Adobe Photoshop is perfect for situations where you may need to enhance your photo or create web banner. Adobe Photoshop also works well with images that will not be subjected to any resizing, as any adjustment to files created with Adobe Photoshop will lose some of its quality.
In conclusion, your work requirement should determine which software you use for the best effect, and provides you with the most efficient process. By understanding the differences between the two software, you will be able to make a better decision for your requirement.