What’s the Difference Between Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign?

New to graphic design? Curious about Adobe Creative Cloud? Let me walk you through the differences between Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign and what applications are best suited for various projects.

File Types: Raster, Vector, Desktop Publishing

Let’s start at the beginning. Adobe offers a suite of programs called the Adobe Creative Cloud. Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are programs included in this suite.

First off, the programs each handle different file types. We’ve talked before about file types, now we’ll look at the programs that generate some of these file types.

Raster files (JPG, PNG, PSD, TIF), also known as bitmap files, are composed of millions of pixels. Photos and web content are a great example of raster files. Photoshop is used to create raster files. The issue with a raster file is that it cannot be enlarged past the size that it was created. You would never want to create your logo within Photoshop. Instead, use Photoshop for images within the other applications I’m about to explain.

Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG) are based on lines and shapes. This allows them to be used at any size without compromising quality. Illustrator is perfect for creating logos and design elements. The files can easily be produced on a multitude of mediums from offset printing, digital printing, screen printing, large format, and even easily converted for embroidery. Vector files can be scaled large enough to wrap the side of a building or small enough to imprint on an ink pen, all without losing the integrity and quality of the artwork.

As you can see from the example below, when a raster file is enlarged it becomes pixelated and the edges appear jagged. A vector file when enlarged holds the quality and the edges are crisp and clean.

This brings us to Desktop Publishing. InDesign is the ideal application for creating brochures, catalogs, flyers, posters, ads, books, and stationery. InDesign also has the ability to create interactive files. For example you can create a PDF file that contains links directing you to a specific URL. So let’s say you have a digital calendar where you want to feature specific products or recipes. You can add a hyperlink on the calendar that takes you right to the URL to view the complete recipe. This saves a ton of space in your layout by adding a link to more content. InDesign also gives you the ability to publish your design for electronic use, such as on a tablet, through Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Basically, any project that requires flexibility in page layout with text, graphics, and images, InDesign is perfect. Here’s an example of a simple page that combines text with both vector and raster files. The textured background is raster and the alligator is vector.

Raster Files: Pros & Cons

If you’re dealing with photography you are living in the raster world. Raster files offer a tremendous amount of flexibility for artists to achieve a wide range of effects. Color blending, smooth gradients, photorealistic images, are all easily achievable with raster files. Some of this is possible with vector files, but it’s very time-consuming and challenging. Pixels make photo manipulation easy.

On the down side, rasters are very limited in their scalability. As I mentioned before, you cannot enlarge a raster file past the size it was created at without losing quality. For this reason, we ask our clients to provide their image files at a minimum of 300DPI (dots per inch) at 100% of the size they intend the photo to be produced. This is the standard for most offset and digital printing. In cases of large format printing you can often get away with 75DPI at 100% scale. Billboards for instance, are a long distance read so you don’t notice the pixels when viewing at a distance. However, if you were to get up close and personal with a billboard, you would see the large dots that make up the image. If you’re setting up files to be produced, you should always ask the vendor for their printing specifications prior to setup. The most important thing to remember is that, while you can adjust the size and DPI, you cannot enlarge them both without losing quality. One or the other will have to give.

Color matching raster files can be very tricky as well. Because the image is made up of pixels where the color blends into each other, it may be near impossible to get color specific.

Vector Files: Pros & Cons

The greatest benefit to vector files is their scalability. They can be any size you wish without losing quality and you will not have to worry about pixelation. If you’re working on a design that will be used across multiple platforms and at all different sizes, such as a logo, you will want to create a vector file.

Color selection is very easy with vector files, as you simply choose the shape and choose your color from your swatch library or color selector.

So what are the downsides to vector files? Well, if you’re looking to create a photorealistic graphic you will be highly challenged doing so with a vector file. Not only is it very time-consuming, but the file will quickly become complex, making the file size large and less manageable to work with.

It is possible to combine raster files with vector files, but I urge you to be very cautious. Doing this means your file is no longer truly vector. If you try to enlarge your graphic you will run into the same issues as you would with enlarging a raster file.

Illustrator allows you to view your vector file in outline mode, meaning it shows the edge of every shape in your file. Think of a vector file as if you have a sheet of white vinyl and an X-acto knife. You can only make hard edge cuts. There is no blending them. This is perfect if you intend to use your art for things such as screen printing or a cut vinyl sticker for example. If attempting to create a photorealistic graphic, you will end up with many more shapes and points making for a very large file that will not be so easy to manage. Let’s say you want to create a sticker. The plotter is going to cut on your path lines. If your lines are not connected, the plotter will not cut through. It’s very important to view the outline mode in this case.

Outline Mode

If you’re creating a full color logo with gradients and blends for traditional or digital purposes you should be just fine. Well, all of a sudden the boss wants to order embroidered shirts with this beautifully blended logo. You will now need to create a simplified version that consists of only flat colors. Obviously you can’t blend thread colors as you can ink. Another thing to keep in mind, is that the more solid colors you have, the more thread colors, and the more expensive your logo will be to embroider. This also holds true for imprinting on items where you may have limited or single color options. Having a solid, one color version of your logo is highly recommended. Ink pens with your company logo is a perfect example in which case you may only be able to imprint one solid color. Learn more about creating an effective logo and branding.

Desktop Publishing: Pros & Cons

When it comes to desktop publishing, InDesign is king. There is a plethora of options for formatting and editing text, creating content within tables, producing forms, creating templates with master pages, and the ability to handle both raster and vector content all within one program.

The weakness of InDesign is the limited illustration capabilities. There is a pen tool similar to that in Illustrator, but it’s not nearly as refined. It’s very basic, but that’s ok because you should be using Illustrator for all your illustration needs.

The other downside would be the lack of photo editing tools. You’re able to add a few basic effects to photos, such as drop shadows and edge feathering, but anything more than that you’ll need to use Photoshop.

As you can see, all three programs have their benefits and compliment each other very well. At the end of the day, the program you choose to work in completely depends on what you intend to do with your file in the end. If you’re creating logos, package design, t-shirts, or stickers, use Adobe Illustrator. If you’re editing, adjusting, or manipulating photos, by all means use Adobe Photoshop. If you’re making posters, brochures, or catalogs in which you are combining your photos, logos, and graphic elements with text and multiple pages, your best bet is Adobe InDesign.

My advice is to always determine the intention for use before you begin creating your masterpiece. If you plan ahead and think of all the options and variables beforehand, it will save you from many headaches later.

What are the differences between InDesign and PageMaker, Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark?

Video transcript

So what is the difference between InDesign, and say Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, PageMaker, FrameMaker? There's all sorts of other programs out there. Let's quickly talk about where they all sit.

In terms of InDesign, it has some direct competitors. One would be Microsoft Word, which is-- its more of an amateur program, you're not going to get a design job with it, and it has quite a lot of limitations. You can do some nice stuff in Word, but really that's the kind of entry level program, and then you move in to InDesign.

Now, other competitors to InDesign would be-- the main one would be QuarkXPress. When I was learning, when I was doing my degree as a Graphics Designer, we all learned Quark. As soon as I left my degree, to get my first job, InDesign got launched, and all those tools that are-- I started actually teaching Quark way back then. And it just, it slowly, but surely, died a death. I'm sure that people who like Quark right now are-- they are still making versions, and there are people still using it but it's a very, very small percentage of work. Pretty much, any kind of new work is all done in InDesign. Some legacy files you stumble across occasionally are done in Quark, but we don't use Quark very much anymore. I don't use it at all. I haven't used it for probably about 10 years. It's a long time I did.

Now PageMaker is made by Adobe as well, and you're probably never going to touch it unless you are-- it's for really big things. Say I need to put together a scientific document about some sort of miracle treatment medicine that we're making, I might open up PageMaker because it allows many people to work on one document; it updates it, and tracks it. If I was going to build a nuclear reactor, I'd probably document how its made, and how its been maintained via PageMaker. It's a big old program, so not a lot of people using that one. Definitely not for creative design. It's all about InDesign.

The other products that might go hand-in-hand with InDesign, is Photoshop and Illustrator. Generally designers will know Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign altogether. Now where they separate out, Photoshop's nice, clear, different. InDesign is a layout program. You bring in images, bring in text, and you combine them in amazing designs. Photoshop, you open up photographs, and you manipulate them, make them better, change them, mess with them, fix them up. And when you're finished with them, you bring in to something like InDesign. If I was making a flier, its a 1-page flier, and I start making it in Photoshop, I could probably get away with it, and it would be fine, and I could make it work but that would be using Photoshop for what it's not meant to be used for. You can do basic stuff like that, but as soon as you have to have multiple pages, Photoshop just falls over. You can't do multiple pages, you can't have master pages, or headers and footers. And it doesn't deal with 'Type' very well, because it's mainly a photo editing program. So that's where Photoshop gets used.

Illustrator is the one that is-- its reasonably close to InDesign, it can do a lot of the same things. Illustrator is mainly for people illustrating. But what I use it for, mainly in the design field, is more logo work, and making icons. It's really kind of geared-- all the tool structure is around doing those things. But if I were to do a 1-page flier, it would look great in Illustrator, or InDesign, it wouldn't really matter to me. I'd have both programs open, check for the ones open. I'm good at both of them, so doesn't really matter.

Where InDesign gets used, if its-- if I have to start doing things, say its going to be a monthly newsletter or flier, then there's some tools in InDesign that may help the flow for doing monthly stuff. The other thing for InDesign is multiple pages. Illustrator can do it, you can have, what's called Artboards, but if you got a really image heavy document, and you start getting past three, four, or five pages, you'll find Illustrator starts grinding to a halt. Get to 10-20 pages of images, and text, it's quite hard to use. It starts struggling as a program, whereas InDesign, you can have a 400 pages document, and fly through it, and start working. Its engineered to deal with those lots of pages.

Same thing with InDesign, you can do some basic Illustrator stuff in there. There's a Pen tool, you can build shapes, and you can make icons, and import them. You can do that in InDesign, there's a bit of a crossover between those two. But if you've got to separate them out-- Illustrator is for doing things like branding, logos, and illustrations, and InDesign is all about Desktop Publishing. I hope that helps with some of the softwares, and which ones you should be learning. If you're completely new to this you can start with InDesign, and probably the next stop would be Photoshop, unless you want to start making your own infographics and those sorts of things then you look at Illustrator. I've got courses on all of those, so if you are keen, go check out those ones as well.

Alright, that will be it for the what, and where does InDesign sit in the world of Design.

Photoshop Vs InDesign – Differences Explained

Adobe offers several programs for creatives, including illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, filmmakers, digital artists, and more. When you have so many programs to choose from, it can be confusing to choose the right one. If you are deciding whether to get Photoshop vs. InDesign, I am here to help.

While both programs are great tools for graphic designers, the programs don’t offer the same functionality and purpose. You will find plenty of overlap between the two programs in terms of available features and tools, but one program may be a lot more useful to you.

Here I explain what both programs offer, who they are meant for, and compare the various features offered. Lastly, I will help you decide whether you should buy and use Photoshop or InDesign based on your profession and passion.

What Is Adobe Photoshop?

Adobe Photoshop is a professional raster-based photo editing software that allows users to manipulate, retouch, and edit photos, create digital drawings, and do some graphic design tasks.

Photoshop was developed by brothers Thomas and John Knoll in 1988 and has evolved tremendously over the years to become the subscription-based program it is today.

Photoshop is primarily seen as a photo editing platform because it allows users to edit individual pixels in a raster image, giving users a high level of control over the edits.

You can conduct standard edits on Photoshop to touch up images and correct lighting and color. You can also add creative edits, such as changing hair color, creating a glitch effect, and moving limb positions using Puppet Warp.

Photoshop also offers graphic design features and techniques, such as distorting text, slicing text, creating neon text, and adding a border to images.

The program is also an excellent tool for web design as it allows users to copy CSS text directly from designs and add it to a style sheet document. Users often create web layouts, banners, and clickable elements using Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop has many more uses, such as designing concepts for interior design and architecture too.

Pros Raster-based editing down to individual pixels

Layer-based editing capabilities

Complex editing tools such as background removal and adjustment layers

Non-destructive editing options Cons Text may become pixelated due to rasterization

Limited functionality for printables

Key Features Of Photoshop

Raster-based editing capabilities down to individual pixels

A wide array of intuitive selection tools

Layer masking features that streamline complex processes

Basic and complex image editing functions such as spot healing, color balance, and exposure adjustments

Who Is Photoshop Meant For?

Photoshop is the industry standard software for photography, graphic design, digital drawing, and other creative projects. The focus on image manipulation and high-level editing capabilities make the program perfect for the following:

Photographers

Graphic designers

Photo editors

Web designers

Digital marketing professionals

Videographers

Interior designers

Architects

What Is Adobe InDesign?

Adobe InDesign is a professional layout design and desktop publishing program focusing primarily on typography, text, and layout elements. The page design software creates advanced layouts for use in print and digital media.

InDesign was first released in 1999 by a company called Aldus but is now an industry-standard program owned by Adobe and offered as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan or as a stand-alone program.

The program is vector-based and offers several functions and tools to create layouts for brochures, posters, and informational documents. You can create marketing materials such as business cards, product packaging, and billboards using the program.

InDesign is often used in publishing as you can create interactive layouts for eBooks, digital magazines, and more. You can also produce high-quality layouts for printed magazines and books. The master-page feature efficiently manages various program functions, and there are automatic page numbering and formatting tools.

The interactive elements of InDesign expand to the ability to export the work as interactive PDFs that contain clickable links and even videos.

InDesign is the perfect program for heavy text documents that contain vector graphics, videos, and images. The program can handle multi-page documents with hundreds of pages while focusing on high-quality text, typography, and other layout elements.

Pros Master-page functions to create page templates

Multi-page design that can handle lots of text

Automatic page numbering

Quality well-suited for printables, including large-scale printing material Cons No image editing tools and functions

Limitations when creating vector graphics

Key Features Of InDesign

Vector-based layout program that can manage text-heavy pages

Multi-page design capabilities with master page functionality

Professional typesetting tools to create professional layouts for magazines, books, and more

Complex layout editing features to create an array of marketing materials

Who Is InDesign Meant For?

InDesign is the Industry standard software for layout-based graphic design, typesetting, and creating professional marketing materials such as brochures, business cards, posters, and flyers. The program is best suited for the following creative professionals:

Graphic designers

Publishers

Desktop Publishers

Web designers

Digital and print marketing professionals

Magazine and newspaper editors

Authors

Photoshop VS InDesign Comparison

Comparing Photoshop and InDesign isn’t a competition between two programs offering the same features. Since these two programs provide different functionality for different uses, comparing them is to find out which program works for you.

I will run through the program use, the available tools, and the ease of use for each program to help you decide which program you need for your workflow or whether you need both programs.

Program Use

The use of Photoshop is vastly different from InDesign, and you wouldn’t need to decide between one program or the other to do specific tasks. You would need to choose which program does the tasks you need. You may also find that you need both programs to complete your workflow.

Photoshop is used for digital images by creatives, especially photographers. The program offers high-level photo editing and manipulation capabilities. Photoshop works with raster-based imagery and allows you to edit pictures down to the pixel.

This means you can make various edits in Photoshop, such as removing an image’s background and replacing it with a new one.

You can also add creative effects to images, such as making an image look torn.

Editing individual pixels also lets you do corrective edits, such as changing clothing color.

While photo editing is the most common use of Photoshop, creatives also use the program for project layout, web designing, digital drawing, and GIF creation, amongst many other things. You can also use Photoshop to create product mockups.

You can use Photoshop to create text effects and attractive composites for magazines, brochures, and other marketing materials. However, you would use InDesign to combine elements and make the final marketing product.

InDesign is used to design layouts for both digital and print material. Marketers rely heavily on designed graphics and layouts for material, whether product packaging, flyers, posters, or large billboards. These materials are created on programs like InDesign.

Using InDesign, you can create scalable vector graphics that can be printed at large scales. The program works with vector graphics and text to produce stunning compositions. Using the program, you can make high-quality printed materials, interactive digital graphics, and PDFs.

You can use InDesign to make tri-fold brochures using text layouts, images, and vector graphics.

You can work with pages side-by-side to create elements such as double-sided business cards.

You can also use the elements you made in Photoshop to create your various layouts in InDesign. The program supports multiple file types, including JPG, PNG, PDF, AI, EPS, and more.

Available Tools

As with most Adobe products, you will find an overlap between the available tools you can use for your projects. While you may come across a few of the same tools in the two programs, there are also plenty of tools that you can only find in one program or the other.

The common tools you will find in both programs include the Type Tool, Eyedropper Tool, Shape Tools, Frame Tool, and more.

In Photoshop, you will find several tools in the lefthand Toolbar, plus more in the hidden menus. While I won’t explain every tool in Photoshop now, there are a few to note that you won’t find in InDesign.

The Selection Tools are a major part of Photoshop and can be used to select areas of an image for selective editing, removing objects and backgrounds, and more. The selection tools, such as the Quick Selection Tool or Object Selection Tool, are some of the best features of Photoshop.

Another set of essential and commonly used tools only found in Photoshop are the retouching tools, such as the Healing Brush Tool, Clone Stamp Tool, and Patch Tool. These tools are used to remove blemishes from the skin, correct slight inconsistencies in the image, or remove certain features.

Photoshop also contains brushes you can use to draw freehand in the program. These brushes are also used for various edits and can’t be found in InDesign.

While InDesign doesn’t have the tools mentioned above, other tools are beneficial for designers using the program. The tools in InDesign are also located in the lefthand Toolbar with hidden tools in the menus.

The Gap Tool is useful when designing layouts as it allows you to adjust the gaps between objects quickly and resize multiple objects while keeping the gap between objects fixed.

The Gradient Feather Tool is another one you will find in InDesign and not in Photoshop. This tool allows you to add a feathered gradient to an image or other objects. The tool can fade out a colored block when adding text over an image.

Another tool found in InDesign is the Content Collector Tool. You can use this tool to collect various elements, such as images, and then use the tab filled with the content to place the elements on various pages in the document.

This is just a snapshot of a few of the tools offered by the programs. You can see that Photoshop’s tools are more catering to image editing. In contrast, the tools in InDesign make layout creation much more effortless.

Ease Of Use

Photoshop and InDesign, like much of Adobe products, are complex programs that require time and patience to learn. If you have used other Adobe products, such as Illustrator, you may find the interface and tools easy to catch on to and use, despite the differences.

However, both programs will require a steep learning curve if you are a complete beginner and just starting as a designer or photographer. These programs are not as simple as drag-and-drop programs like Canva or Adobe Express, and the editing isn’t as straightforward as using one or two sliders.

Once you take the time and read through several tutorials on the two programs, you should be able to understand the basics. However, even for seasoned users, Photoshop and InDesign require continuous learning, especially as new features are frequently added.

Comparison Table For Photoshop And InDesign

Photoshop InDesign Purpose Editing and manipulating raster-based images Designing and creating text-heavy layouts File Type Raster-based Vector-based Supported Output File Types PNG, JPG, PSD, SVG, RAW, GIF, and more PDF (interactive and print), JPG, PNG, EPS, EPUB, XML, and more Primary Output Medium Digital Print Available Tools Selection tools, brushes, retouching tools, and others perfect for image editing Gap tool, gradient feather, content collector tool, and more designed for layout editing

Should You Use Photoshop Or InDesign?

When deciding which program to use, it will depend on your line of work and your budget, as these two programs offer different outcomes.

You should get Photoshop if you primarily edit photos and need to apply complex manipulations to the image. This program is excellent if you are a photographer, photo editor, web designer, or primarily create digital marketing materials.

You should get InDesign if you primarily work with layouts and printed marketing materials. This program benefits those who need to produce large documents filled with text for publications or when designing layouts and collateral for print. Publishers, marketers, and graphic designers will benefit from InDesign.

If you have the budget and can’t decide between the programs, or if you are a creative who needs access to both programs, you should get the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan. This plan offers every Adobe product at a lower price than buying the two products separately.

The All Apps plan is perfect for creatives who need to edit and manipulate photos to add to digital material and printed layouts and material.