My background: I've been using Photoshop for about fifteen years nearly everyday.
Just to be more informed, I decided to download Mac version of GIMP.
What I like:
- Feels much more nimble, lightweight
- Seems like it has most of core tools I need
What prevents me from using it:
- The interface seems really unfinished. I think that's what I like about Pixelmator: it's polished and looks somewhat similar to Photoshop's layout
- The shortcuts are all different. I'm not even sure I can customize the shortcuts in some of the contexts as even some of the ones in Photoshop are sort of built in. That alone would be a huge deterrent as I rarely click on any interfaces.
- Layer effects and smart objects. I know they are in the Roadmap but without them, I can't re-use elements others or I have made from Photoshop and it does effect image creation.
- Masking is a little kludgy. When I imported my PSDs with shape masking, they all disappeared. Does it support vector masking?
- Doesn't seem to support importing vectors from Illustrator as it automatically outputs some of the elements as raster elements.
- Lack of layer folders.
The whole single-window mode? I think that wouldn't nearly entice me as it's not that much of a deterrent.
People on HN/Reddit are pretty biased when it comes to CSS knowledge almost to the point where I really wonder if they've ever worked at a place outside of a startup or a tiny company. If you work at an creative digital agency, chances are the division of labour will mean you won't ever have to touch a line of code. It just makes more sense to divvy up the responsibilities. Plus, during client presentations, most of the designs are mocked up as flats instead of live code.
I'm currently using CS5, but it's largely because of some of the small addition features with smart objects, workflow, and layer styles that annoyed me with CS3. It's one of those things where you have to work with a program for a long time before you notice these small upgrades that really help the day-to-day. I think you're fine with CS3.
The idea that GIMP is more than useful is... debatable. I would say that every notable designer I know in NYC/SF uses Photoshop. Like it or not, it is the industry standard. And while I do sometimes have a love-hate relationship with the program (specifically because I want more stability instead of new features), GIMP is still far behind with regards to it's intuitiveness and penetration.
Now that I've migrated to a startup, I use Photoshop for quick initial concepts before coding scss. Photoshop is pretty solid for making elements or re-using templated elements made from other designers and photo-editing.
Very cool idea, though I'd be down for one that's aimed at the prosumer crowd. I've been wanting to print out 8x10 or larger photos for the last while but have been way too lazy.
I think one of the advantages that Apple has over every other platform is that designers use Apple for work which builds brand loyalty to its products and platform. Thus, a good portion of the people who are creating will do so for the platform that they care about, especially one that prioritizes industrial and interactive design. And before, I would've just suggested it's just designers but over the past few years years, I've witnessed plenty of SF/NY developers who use Apple computers and iPhones for the same reasons.
The fact that it is a closed-system IS it's advantage: there is quality control across the board from the apps to the phone the user is viewing it on. And quite frankly, I prefer designing for the iPhone and iPad because of the consistency of sizing and proportions.
But there doesn't need to be a clear winner. It's great that there is a choice for people who just want complete freedom and those who just want stuff to work well in a very polished fashion.
Actually, they are making changes. createthe has been transforming some high end brands towards HTML5.
Thing about fashion is that it's more about brand than usability. They get a lot of their sales from their boutiques, net-a-porter, or other 3rd parties.
Some professional photographers say they use Flash because they want to protect their images from being stolen... despite the fact that you can screencap them?
HN'ers can be serious buzz kills. Yeah, you can argue that it's less usable but the brand and emotion is dramatically more upbeat and fun, which is what I think the company is going for. I would be more likely to pay attention to hall the pages with this re-design than the templated startup design that was created before. This new design is easily one that will be passed around Twitter and other social media. The fact that you were able to make gift cards seem fun and attractive is a testament to his talent. Kudos to you guys.
And while I wouldn't call Mike Kus a design legend (I'd reserve that for peeps like Jonathan Ive, Dieter Rams, the HFJ duo... basically those who have a profound effect on the industry, peoples lifestyle and/or the craft) he definitely is one of the best web designers out there.
Well if you check Facebook at work and go to Grooveshark, they can track you. I think they might even be able to gather some info if you logged out of Facebook but I'm only partially sure of that.
