🚀 go-pugleaf

>What is the interest in this group in discussing the merits and demerits
>of various graphic design and illustrating programs?

Speaking as the moderator, this is an area I'd really like to see the group
explore more, and one of the reasons I created this in the first place.

>2. What is the use among users of the net of illustrator programs, such
>as Adobe Illustrator and the new Aldus FreeHand? Compare, contrast. Any other
>such programs out there, such as Cricket Draw, that give them a run for the
>money.

My money is currently on Freehand. It looks nice. Adobe Illustrator tends to
be aimed more at formal drawings, I'm more interested in freehand/iterative
work than doing the drafts on paper and translating them to the computer
when I know what I want. 

Freehand seems to have the best of both Illustrator and Cricket Draw, while
avoiding some of the more unpleasant bugs that CD has (it's pictures aren't
always transportable to other programs, for instance)

One thing to keep an eye on is SuperPaint II. It looks to be a competitor
with the serious draw programs, although it's still a little while off.
Especially for owners of SuperPaint, they may want to wait for it because
the upgrade price is going to be very reasonable (SP II is targeted at about
$199 retail, last i heard).

>3. What is the interest in typography and the ability to control it in
>desktop graphic design programs?

It should be pretty strong. The technical issues of DTP are nothing compared
to the design issues. This group has, to date, spent most of it's time on
the technical (is PageMaker better than Ready, Set, Go!?, etc) when, really,
the hard questions are the design issues. It's not how many features a
program has, but how well the page looks when you're done with it that counts.

chuq (moderator)
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