Every designer knows that Photoshop is an integral part of design. Look at it like cooking. While Photoshop may not be the ingredient with which you can make a lip-smacking dish, it is like the utensils you use to make that lip-smacking dish.
In essence, Photoshop is a facilitator and a tool that can both contribute to making designing quicker and simpler and also manifold better. The fact that as a raster-type application, Photoshop makes it convenient for designers to line elements up quickly on a pixel grid, which is how it is done in web designing anyway, making it comfortable.
Another way it has proved its worth is regarding no quality loss in scaling. Since Photoshop is worked upon in layers, there are no hassles involved in scaling images, thereby promising no loss of quality due to scaling And position and re-position becomes easier too. Anyone who’s worked with layers would know just how easy it becomes when you have to put the designs finally to mark up.
Some ‘experts’ argue that designers should stop the use of Photoshop as it isn’t important and designs directly on HTML and CSS would be the norm. Websites are like art, agreed that there are strategies involved, but the essence of designing a website is to envision it first, to see it in the eyes of your mind before you code. And Photoshop is being used since years to do that. Sure, there are a lot other tools that would serve the purpose, but these are just alternative options to Photoshop. And a lot of designers still stick to it because this is the tool that they started with, and they want to stick to it for the sake of routine and familiarity.
Also, Photoshop justifies this association by promising exceptional features that make creating website mockups a cakewalk, giving designers and clients a real picture of what the product would eventually look like. This eliminates chances of miscommunication and delay in work. All you need to do is envision, create a mockup, get the clients approval or make changes, and then the final version. Cutting down layers and making the process easier, Photoshop is indeed a handy tool for designers.
Consider this, anyone with even a remote idea of Photoshop understands it to be an image manipulation tool. For photographers, it’s a way to enhance their pictures through some steps or by using Photoshop Actions. The same principle applies here where Photoshop is used to create layered images, which are then eventually coded into the website. So, tools like Photoshop form the core framework for a website, where you evaluate a website in a quick and creative way making the end process better and less time consuming.
Some experts go on to say that Photoshop – while being a neat, handy tool to own and which can make your task quicker and convenient – is more than just addition; it’s a must. A website has tons of elements like gradients, background, images, different color codes, etc. and to get these small yet integral elements right; you have to have knowledge of and expertise in Photoshop. If you have to design a banner or create a logo, Photoshop is the quickest way to do this and so it well. Some designers have learned Photoshop specifically so that they don’t have to spend hours getting these smaller elements correct, which otherwise would have been a breeze in Photoshop. So while Photoshop in itself may not be an imperative requirement for designing a website, it is an essential requirement for getting its elements right.
Photoshop also helps you to import images from external sources so you can easily integrate them with the website. And you can directly use Image manipulation to fix these on Photoshop before finalizing and translating.
The reason why this is a hot topic in the designing world is that Photoshop is a little convoluted to use. It isn’t something that you instinctively pick up. Tons of functions and features needs some learning and getting used to, which is why a lot of designers who do not have good knowledge of Photoshop this is quick to look for other alternative and denounce Photoshop as unnecessary.
While making things faster and easier is the primary reason why Photoshop is used by designers, it also helps in various small steps that is an integral part of web designing but which isn’t that aggressively highlighted. So, all in all, Photoshop is a designer’s friend if they want to get a website – and an excellent website – in less time.
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