Skip to main content
L
Lincoln Wolf
Participant
January 12, 2011
Question

School project: InDesign or Illustrator?

  • January 12, 2011
  • 3 replies
  • 2070 views

I am a Graphic Design student, and we just started a project with these specifications:

Take one noun and one adjective to make a 'word pair.' Basically we are making what might be a logotype.

No use of additional shapes is allowed.

No changes of the letterform design are allowed. (Scale and rotation are allowed, but no subtraction or addition of points/shapes)

Considerations:

- find similarities in letter forms, possible ligatures, descenders/ascenders

- look for unique relationships between the letter forms and the words

- find more than one typographic relationship

- vary baselines, type sizes (scale), typefaces

- use proper kerning and tracking

- maintain legibility

- maintain balance

- keep each word's individality through hierarchy or contrast

- do not have a letter do "double duty," using one letter for both words

- do not make pictures out of your words

NOW, the argument I have with my instructor is this:

The students are being told to do this using InDesign. I however feel that this is a task better suited for Illustrator.

I would like to know what the feeling is here on the forums...

Can you explain which would be better and why?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    L
    Lincoln WolfAuthor
    Participant
    January 12, 2011

    I suppose I'll work at it. Thanks for the input.

    Jacob Bugge
    Community Expert
    Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 13, 2011

    For my part yoiu are welcome, dragoncast.

    Jacob Bugge
    Community Expert
    Jacob BuggeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 12, 2011

    dragoncast,

    In addition to what Dov said, your instructor clearly wants you to master both applications, instead of shrinking back from one and limiting your (more than basic) skills to the other.

    You will learn immensely more if you say: I know how this is done in Illustrator; now how can it be done in InDesign (if it can; establishing the limits also improves skills)? That will also save you unnecessary shifts between applications, which may be more efficient than using the one that is (maybe only seemingly, unless you really know) clearly more efficient for a particular small part of the task.

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    January 12, 2011

    I am quite fluent with both InDesign and Illustrator.

    Given that no changes of the letterform design are allowed (scale and rotation are allowed, but no subtraction or addition of points/shapes), there really isn't anything that Illustrator would offer you in functionality that cannot be very readily done in InDesign.

    If you were told to or were permitted to hack around with the glyphs' outlines, a good argument could be made that Illustrator might be either more appropriate or easier. But that isn't the case here at all!

    Listen to and don't fight with your instructor on this assignment. InDesign is a perfectly appropriate tool.

              - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    L
    Lincoln WolfAuthor
    Participant
    January 12, 2011

    So I have two words: "apple" and "crisp"

    In InDesign my process is to make a text box for "apple" and a seperate one for "crisp"

    I have control over the baseline shift, size, kerning, etc., in order to move the characters to where I want them to go. That's a lot of keyboard action.

    In Illustrator though... no text box, I've switched to outlines in one keypress, and ungrouped them all in 2 keypresses. I can now click and drag to move and size.

    In InDesign, just to get each character to a seperate outline is a lengthy process that involves converting certain characters to compound paths, and even subtracting out counters with the pathfinder.

    I just don't see how Illustrator isn't the winner here.

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    January 12, 2011

    The key here is that the assignment in question does not allow for mucking around with the outlines, shapes, etc. As such, the features you mention in Illustrator are irrelevant in this case.

              - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices