I have a background in graphic design, so buying Adobe’s Creative Suite was a no brainer. I used it in classes, and then I went on to use it for projects later in life. However, I have recently come to the conclusion that I just don’t need the Creative Suite anymore. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of design professionals feel the same way.
The apps are built off of ancient code, so that makes them slow as molasses. Don’t get me wrong, the applications in the Creative Suite are unarguably the most full featured applications in the field. That doesn’t make them the best, though. I have been doing work with Acorn, and it offers a different way of going about image manipulation. Of course there is also the ever-popular Pixelmator as well. These aren’t Photoshop clones. They have their own unique take on the problem. They don’t have every single feature you can think of, but they offer innovative and fast way to edit your images.
Sometimes you have to use Adobe’s software. I know that. If you’re working with CMYK, good luck using anything else. Also, a lot of firms pretty much demand that you use what they tell you to use. That said, I don’t think that you should box yourself into only using the Creative Suite if you don’t have to. Look around for other, smaller apps from independent developers. You might just find something you like more.
Photo Credit: jeff, the rhino
