The Differences Between Illustrator and InDesign

There are so many programs out there for graphic designers to use but the three most popular are Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. In order to be a good graphic designer, you have to know the differences between the three and when is the best time to use each program. For the purpose of this blog, we will mainly be focusing on InDesign and Illustrator.

What is Adobe InDesign?

InDesign is a vector based program, meaning that it uses a mathematical grid to map artwork and the artwork is scalable, meaning that you can resize the file as small or as large as you want without losing the quality of the image or making it grainy.

InDesign is great to use when you need to create multiple pages that you want to look uniformed. InDesign allows you to create “master pages” so you can easily create a booklet or magazine layouts with consistent design and automatic page numberings.

The great thing about InDesign is its ability to combine artwork from Illustrator and Photoshop to create multiple page spreads and layouts. InDesign should be used for larger, multiple page documents, or PDF presentations.

What is Adobe Illustrator?

Illustrator is also a vector based program so it uses the same foundation concept as InDesign, but it is used for different types of projects. Illustrator is best used for Website designs, logos and full page designs. It is also good to use when you want to make your company logo very large, as Illustrator and InDesign will not distort the image. When it comes to resizing photos, it is best to use Photoshop.

Illustrator is great to use when you want to create depth perception because it allows you to create multiple layers. It also has more powerful drawing capabilities than InDesign.

A slight downfall to Illustrator is it cannot automatically implement multiple page or page numbers. This is generally not a problem, unless you have a document that happens to be 30 pages long and you decide to insert a new one after page 3 – then you have to manually re-number the pages.

If you’re thinking about venturing into the design world, be sure you know how to efficiently use each of these programs. Adobe offers tutorials on how to use InDesign and Illustrator, as well as how to buy the programs, right on their website. The chart below shows a quick checklist of when to use each program.

Should I use Illustrator or Photoshop for my Creative Projects?

Whether you’re a freelance photographer, graphic design student, or web designer, you’ve likely heard of (or even use) both Photoshop and Illustrator. Both are widely considered to be industry standards for design software. So what are the differences between the two? Which one should you use for your next project?

In this blog post, we’ll be taking a closer look at the pros and cons of both Photoshop and Illustrator. Ultimately, you should better understand which software best suits your needs.

Overview of Photoshop and Illustrator Capabilities

Let’s start with the basics. Both of these software programs are provided by Adobe and are part of what’s known as the Creative Cloud Suite. Adobe is celebrating its 40th birthday this year and has been the industry leader in design software for decades. Here’s an overview of their two biggest successes:

Photoshop

As the most famous of all Adobe programs, Photoshop is primarily known as a raster graphics editor, meaning it’s used for working with digital images. It first launched in 1990 and has been through many different iterations over the years.

Photoshop is an incredibly versatile program that you can use for everything from photo editing to creating digital art. It’s also widely used in the world of web design and for creating User Interfaces (UIs). You can learn to use Photoshop for:

Removing Backgrounds From Images

With the help of Photoshop’s many different tools, you can easily remove the background from an image. This is a common technique used in product photography and for creating mocked-up designs.

Photo Editing

Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who just likes to take photos for fun, Photoshop is a great tool for editing your images. Adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation, and other settings of an image is a breeze with Photoshop. Photoshop can help you turn a good photo into a great one, from minor tweaks to complete makeovers.

Digital Art

With all of the different brushes, effects, and filters that are available in Photoshop, it’s no wonder that it’s a favorite tool among digital artists. The artwork will be pixel-based, but you’ll have a lot of flexibility when creating it.

Adding Text to Images

Photoshop is often used for adding text to images. Many people have recently used it to create ‘memes’ – often funny or topical images with text overlays. In a business setting, Photoshop can be used to add watermarks or labels to images.

As you can see, there’s a lot that Photoshop can do. However, its main strength is taking an existing image and manipulating it in some way. This is why it’s often referred to as an ‘image editor.

Illustrator

On the other hand, Illustrator is a vector graphics editor. This means that instead of working with pixels, it works with points, lines, and shapes – known as ‘vectors.’ Vectors can be resized without losing quality, which is why they’re preferred for things like logos and illustrations.

Illustrator was first released in 1987, just three years before Photoshop. It too has undergone many different iterations since then and is now on its 26th version. Due to its vector-based nature, it’s considered a more ‘precise’ tool than Photoshop.

Illustrator can help you with:

Logos & Icons

Perhaps the most popular use for Illustrator is creating logos. Since vectors can be rescaled without losing quality, they’re perfect for creating a logo that can be used in both small and large formats. Icons are another common use for Illustrator. Since they need to be small and precise, vectors are the perfect tool for creating them.

Zooming Capabilities

Have you ever seen a piece of artwork that looks great from far away but falls apart when you zoom in? This is often because it was created in Photoshop with pixels instead of Illustrator with vectors. Vectors don’t become blurry when they’re scaled up, so you can create detailed artwork without worrying about it losing quality.

Typefaces

Illustrator is often used by typographers for creating and editing typefaces. Typefaces are similar to fonts, but they contain a lot more detail. Since they are vector-based, they can be resized without losing quality.

Freeform Drawing

Unlike Photoshop, Illustrator isn’t restricted to rectangular canvases. You can draw anywhere on the ‘page’, which gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to creating your artwork.

Types of Jobs That Require the Knowledge

So, who should bother learning Photoshop and Adobe? Here are a few types of jobs that require the knowledge of Photoshop:

Photographers: Of course, photographers need to know how to use Photoshop. Even the best photographers can benefit from a little digital enhancement.

Of course, photographers need to know how to use Photoshop. Even the best photographers can benefit from a little digital enhancement. Graphic Designers: Many graphic designers use Photoshop to create everything from website designs to print ads.

Many graphic designers use Photoshop to create everything from website designs to print ads. Web Designers: Photoshop is often used for creating website designs, especially when it comes to the layout and graphics.

In the case of Illustrator, here are a few types of jobs that require its use:

Graphic Designers: As we mentioned before, many graphic designers use Illustrator for creating vector-based graphics.

As we mentioned before, many graphic designers use Illustrator for creating vector-based graphics. Fashion Designers: Fashion designers often use Illustrator to create sketches of their designs.

Fashion designers often use Illustrator to create sketches of their designs. Game Designers: Game designers use Illustrator to create 2D game assets, like characters and backgrounds.

Game designers use Illustrator to create 2D game assets, like characters and backgrounds. Motion Graphics Artists: Many motion graphics artists use Illustrator to create vector-based animations.

Many motion graphics artists use Illustrator to create vector-based animations. Architects: Architects often use Illustrator to create detailed plans and drawings of their designs.

Standout Features

Now that we’ve gone over some of the basics let’s take a more in-depth look at both Photoshop and Illustrator. We’ll compare and contrast their standout features, so you can get a better idea of which one is right for you.

Photoshop

Beginner-Friendly: Photoshop has a fairly intuitive interface, which makes it relatively easy to learn. Even if you’ve never used Photoshop before, you should be able to figure out the basics within a few hours.

Powerful: Photoshop is one of the market’s most powerful image editing programs. It can do almost anything you could ever want to do with an image.

Lots of Tutorials and Resources: Since Photoshop is so popular, thousands of tutorials and resources are available online. So, if you ever get stuck, you can always find the answer with a quick Google search.

Supports Layers: Layers are one of Photoshop’s most powerful features. They allow you to edit individual elements of an image without affecting the rest of the image.

Illustrator

Scalable Graphics: One of the best things about vector graphics is that they can be scaled up or down without losing quality. That means you can create a design once and then use it in any size you want. Vector graphics are also perfect for print because they can be printed at any resolution without losing quality.

Customizable Brushes: Illustrator comes with a wide variety of customizable brushes, which give you a lot of control over your artwork. You can also create your own custom brushes.

Live Trace: Live Trace is a handy tool that allows you to convert raster images into vector graphics. By using this tool, you can trace photos and other images to create vector-based artwork.

Wide Variety of Export Options: When you’re finished with your design, you can export it in various formats (PDF, JPEG, PNG, etc.). This allows you to use your design on almost any platform. It also integrates seamlessly with other Creative Cloud programs, like Photoshop and InDesign.

Which One Is Better For Photos or Videos?

This is a difficult question to answer, as Photoshop and Illustrator are both used for photos and videos. However, we would say that Photoshop is better for photos, while Illustrator is better for videos.

How to Choose the Right Program?

The best way to find the program for you is, quite frankly, to try both of them out. They each have unique strengths and weaknesses, so the only way to really know which one is right for you is to jump in and try them both. They both have free 7-day trial periods, so you can test them out and see which one you prefer.

Test each user interface, compare the final results of projects, and try out different features. If you find yourself using one program more than the other, then that’s probably the right program for you.

Available Plugins For Each

What if you could add even more functionality to your favorite image editor? Well, with plugins, you can! Photoshop and Illustrator have hundreds of plugins available, which can help you do almost anything you could ever want to do with an image.

Photoshop

Pexels: Pexels is a free plugin that gives you access to over 1 million high-quality photos. These images are royalty-free, so you can use them in your designs without worrying about copyright infringement.

Luminar: Luminar is a plugin that allows you to quickly and easily edit your photos. It comes with a wide variety of features, including an AI-powered sky replacement tool, which can instantly make your photos look more dramatic.

Aurora HDR: Aurora HDR is a powerful photo editing plugin that gives you all the tools you need to create stunning HDR images. It comes with a wide variety of presets, so you can quickly find the perfect look for your photo.

Illustrator

VectorScribe 2: VectorScribe 2 is a plugin that gives you a wide variety of vector editing tools. It includes a “smart” knife tool that automatically creates cut lines based on your image.

Symmetry Works: Patterns are a great way to add interest to your designs. With Symmetry Works, you can quickly and easily create complex patterns with just a few clicks. You can then replicate those patterns across your design with ease.

Texturino: Texturino makes it easy to add textured effects to your vector graphics. You can add realistic-looking textures like wood, metal, and fabric with just a few clicks. This plugin is perfect for giving your illustrations a more “handcrafted” look.

Software Compatibility With Mac/PC

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are compatible with both Mac and PC. However, there are a few things to remember when using these programs on a PC. First of all, you’ll need to have a fairly powerful computer to run them smoothly. Secondly, the shortcuts for each program are different on a PC than on a Mac. So, if you’re used to working on a Mac, you may feel a bit lost when using these programs on a PC.

Pricing

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are both parts of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which means they’re available for purchase as part of a monthly subscription. The individual subscription price for each program is $20.99/month with an annual commitment.

However, if you want to subscribe to the entire Adobe Creative Cloud, it will cost you $52.99/month. You’ll have access to over 20 different Adobe programs, which is a great deal if you plan on using more than just Photoshop and Illustrator.

Learn more about Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop by subscribing to CreativeLive’s online courses. With CreativeLive, you can learn at your own pace and get lifetime access to all of their courses.

Photoshop vs Illustrator

Difference Between Photoshop and Illustrator

In this article, we will discuss the difference between Photoshop vs Illustrator. Adobe Photoshop is the most famous and popular image editing software developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. worldwide. The program was constructed by two famous authors Thomas and John Knoll, in the year 1988. Since then, the program has been updated numerous times and has presently become a commercially accepted program amongst all the designers and artists. Not only, professionals but Photoshop is used by students, teachers and even hobbyists. Adobe Photoshop is a vast program that has an infinite number of tools, functions, effects, commands, and options to perform editing of an image. It is raster-based software; the quality of the image depends on the number of pixels present in the image. Presently, Adobe sells the latest version of Photoshop as a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud pack.

Adobe Illustrator is also a part of Adobe Creative Cloud pack and is marketed and developed by Adobe Inc. the creation of the software began in the year 1987, but first, it was made for Apple Mac only. Later, with up-gradation and advancement in technology, the program was made and developed for both Windows and Mac. Adobe Illustrator is the most used and desired vector graphic software used for creating and editing 2d artworks and materials. The program is resolution independent and does not pixelate at all. The program has a huge collection of tools and functionality that helps the user create stunning logos, business materials, brochures, advertising or marketing materials, and much more. The file is saved in the AI format. We can also import Illustrator files into Photoshop for further editing.

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Head to Head Comparisons Between Photoshop and Illustrator (Infographics)

Below are the top 12 comparisons between Photoshop vs Illustrator:

Key Differences between Photoshop and Illustrator

Let us discuss some of the major key differences:

Photoshop is a resolution-dependent program; hence the quality of the image becomes blurred and pixelates while zooming to a certain percentage. While Illustrator is a resolution-independent program and the quality of the image is clear even at the maximum level of Zoom.

Using the selection tool in Photoshop, the area around the object is selected. While in Illustrator, the object itself is selected.

In Illustrator, the user can easily work and create outside the area of the workspace. While in Photoshop, everything is created and designed inside the area of the workspace.

Photoshop is generally used for creating web graphics or editing images; it is not used to create print materials. While Illustrator is a pro in creating Print materials and artworks.

Photoshop vs Illustrator Comparison Table

Let’s look at the top comparisons:

Photoshop Illustrator It is a raster-based Image Editing Program It is a vector-based 2D Graphic Designing Program. It is used for editing Raw images, retouching, adding filters, and based complex editing. It is used to create various 2D artworks and materials used for web and printing purposes. Photoshop has the most basic tools for image editing and the most complex tools as well. Illustrator has the most useful and fundamental set of tools for creating 2D artworks. It is a raster-based program that works on pixels, and for this fact, the user can work on a single pixel as well. It is a vector graphics editing program that uses mathematical formulas for creating artworks. It is not used for 3D graphics. Illustrator can be used for creating 3D graphics as well. Organizing elements in Photoshop is much easier; it has a layers option that helps to do so. Managing things on an illustrator can be confusing sometimes. The quality of logos, text, and layouts in Photoshop is not worth it. Illustrator creates vector-based logos, text layouts, and creations that have 100% quality to them. The Pen Tool in Photoshop is sometimes confusing and difficult to handle. The Pen Tool of the illustrator is smooth and easier to handle. We can import any image format on Photoshop and edit the same using tools present in the program. Such as red-eye removal or spot healing. If an image is imported in Illustrator, we cannot edit the image with the tools present in the program. In Photoshop, the user can work on a single canvas at one point in time. In Illustrator, the user can work on multiple artboards simultaneously. In Photoshop, while using the clipping mask, the mask is created and applied below the object. In Illustrator, while using the clipping mask, the mask is created and applied above the selected object. Mostly, the RGB color model is used for creating web graphics in Photoshop. Mostly, CMYK color mode is used for creating print graphics in Illustrator.

Conclusion

Both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop stand equal for their different purposes and uses. While one is used for image editing, the other one is used for creating objects. Both programs are advanced and complex software and involve a great set of tools and functions required for different purposes and uses.

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This is a guide to Photoshop vs Illustrator. Here we discuss the Photoshop vs Illustrator key differences with infographics and a comparison table. You can also go through our other related articles to learn more –

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