Graphic Designing 

  

If you have you ever wondered how celebrity pictures turn out to be so good?, how a particular youtube video has been edited or how some cool art and logos are created?. All of that is possible through tools used in graphic designing which make sending a man to the moon or the creation of apple's logo possible through the use of a PC or Tablet.

Most used tools In Graphic designing:

1. Adobe Photoshop
2. Adobe illustrator
3. Adobe Premiere
4. Adobe XD

Adobe Photoshop:

Photoshop is a powerful photo editing tool used to change backgrounds and enhance photos. There are two versions available of this tool, Photoshop CC and Photoshop CS6 from which Photoshop CC is used more due to the few features it has more than the Photoshop CS6 version. In Photoshop, A Rastor image is used and a variety of stuff can be done with it using the in built tools such as pen tool, spot healing tool, blend tool etc. Using the spot healing tool you can remove acne and scars from a face with one click.  

what it does is basically match a spot to its surroundings.You can watch detailed tutorials for photoshop in Youtube Tutorials available in urdu on GFXmentor, for now lets move towards adobe illustrator.

Adobe Illustrator:

Adobe Illustrator is another tool used a lot in the graphic designing profession. Most company logos such as apple, microsoft and google are made using this tool. Other than Logos, Designs for T-shirts, calanders, mugs, business cards etc can also be made and printed using this tool. In illustrator it is the same case with photoshop, it also comes with two versions from which the CC version is used more than the CS6 version. In illustrator the vector images are used rather than rastor images so that there are no issues while printing, since changing the size on a rastor image makes it blurry but that is not the case for vector images. overall its UI is quite similar to Photoshop as u can see in the image below.

The full potential of sketching and animating using the pen tool and pencil tool for free hand drawings in illustrator can be reached with a graphic designing tablet (Vacom). Since drawing is better with a stylus pen rather than a mouse. After learning this tool you would be able to make some cool logos and animated portaits with ease. For youtube tutorials click here. 

                                                     A logo made on the illustrator

A portrait of the matrix actor "Keanu Reeves" drawn using Illustrator

Adobe Premiere:

Adobe Premiere is a video editing software which is used by companies for editing thier video commercials. It is also used by some youtubers who know how to operate the software to edit the videos they make by adding smooth transitions and sound effects to them. This tool is a bit complex and may be hard to learn for beginners. It also has some heavy system requirements to function. This too has two variations the CS6 and CC. In comparison the Adobe premiere elements is the scaled down version of the adobe premier which is much easier to use. The features are in a guided format which beginners can easily follow. For a guide on how to use adobe premiere visit this channel.

Adobe premiere UI

Adobe Premiere Elements UI

Adobe XD:

Adobe XD is a software that is used to design web apps and mobile apps. If you are familiar with Adobe illustrator and Photoshop it wouldn't be so hard to learn this tool as well. The Software is mostly for designing UI wireframes, prototypes and screen designs for websites and digital product. It has a simple UI as shown in the image below

Adobe XD UI

Uses of Graphic Designing?:

• Graphic designing is a source of income for many young freelancers in Pakistan, due to it being easy to learn many youngsters learn the basics from widely available youtube tutorials and start earning thier own money. 
• Youtubers who make animated videos make use of illustartor and photoshop, while vloggers make use of powerful editing tools such as adobe premiere to edit and make thier videos fun.
• Existing and New companies need business cards and a unique logo so they hire graphic designers to get them made. 
• Shop's and restaurant's, banners and brochures are made by Graphic Designing.
• Digital artists who use tablets and pc to create web comics and character designs.
• magazines, books and newspapers also use these tools to increase thier visual aspects.
• Making memes on social media. 

The Negatives of Graphic Designing :

Advantages and disadvantages come with everything. The same rule applies to graphic designing too although it may not seem like it. 

• One disadvantage of graphic designing is time consumption. Most graphic designing processes involving the illustrator and premiere can be very time taking. Although this may not seem like such a major issue but when you are issued a close deadline it can get pretty hectic.
• The most obvious negative is high usage of screen which inturn has a bad effect on the eyes. even though most devices now come with a blue light filter, staring at the screen will still cause eye fatigue.
• Another major downside is the ruined posture along with neck and back aches it would bring as well due to the long sitting time on computar chairs or bad posture while using the tablet.
• Although some devices with core i3 4gb ram will also run the software, it will still hang and produce problem periodically, whereas powerful devices with core i5+ and 8+gb ram and the vacom tablet will run it smoothly. This inturn produces a cost problem for the freelancers. 

My Opinion:

In my opinion if you have the time and some interest towards video editing or if you like to make art as a hobby, you should try learning these tools. It could also help you become independant by earning your own keep and your skillset will also look good on your CV if you apply for a course along with certifications. So do give it a shot, by watching some youtube tutorials or taking som courses. It may prove to be helpful some day!.

Author:

Hamail Farooqui