Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. What's the difference?
Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are all Adobe design applications, but they are built for different jobs. Photoshop is for editing pixel-based images, Illustrator is for creating scalable vector graphics, and InDesign is for arranging text, images and artwork into finished layouts.
If you are creating a brochure, advert, report or poster, you may use more than one of them. The key is knowing which application should do each part of the work.
Photoshop
Photoshop is best suited to working with images and photographs. Use it when you need to retouch a photo, remove an unwanted object, adjust exposure or prepare raster images for a design.
- Cropping and resizing photographs
- Removing unwanted items from images
- Repairing or enhancing photographs
Illustrator
Illustrator is designed for vector artwork. Use it when you need graphics that can scale cleanly, such as logos, icons, diagrams and illustrations.
- Designing company logos
- Creating icons and illustrations
- Drawing with a mouse or graphics tablet
- Converting simple raster artwork into vector artwork
InDesign
InDesign is used for page layout. Once your images and graphics are ready, InDesign brings them together with text to create professional documents for print or digital use.
- Designing brochures, books and reports
- Creating flyers, leaflets and magazines
- Combining text, images and graphics in a layout