Why Ad Agencies Use Illustrator Instead of Corel Draw
I saw an interesting question posted on LinkedIn today and felt compelled to share it and my own view with the rest of you. The question put forward was: “Why do advertising agencies use Adobe Illustrator instead of Corel Draw?”
Illustartor VS CorelDraw
In my opinion Corel Draw represents a consumer grade product for vector illustration much in the way Paintshop PRO represents a consumer grade image manipulation program when compared to Adobe Photoshop.
The difference between Professional Grade and Consumer Grade applications is more than just price. The of course there is the simple matter of the output formats. The output formats are one o the strongest reasons I’m sure agencies have for using Illustrator; it has all of the standard output formats you would need, many of them capable of being important to various applications, not to mention that Illustrator can generate pie charts and bar graphs from excel document data. Then there is Illustrator’s versatility, not only does it wit work better than Corel as a standalone application, but also in conjunction with other applications.
As most seasoned designers know, its very rare that most projects/products will be produced in a single application. At minimum Photoshop and Illustrator will be used in combination for print material if not Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. This is particularly true in the advertising and magazine industry. Further more illustrator can be utilized working in conjunction with Adobe Flash After Effects and Premier lending its abilities to film and motion graphics.
Have you ever used CorelDraw? I’ve used both for many years and I much prefer CorelDraw as I can work more efficiently and accomplish more with less effort. Time is money so if I can do something quicker with CorelDraw why on earth would I use Illustrator?
The biggest reason Ad Agencies use Adobe products is that most are Mac centric. CorelDraw never really was a Mac application so it never really caught on with Mac centric shops. CorelDraw has always been a PC application and perhaps that is the reason it’s used far more in the sign, garment and promotional items industry. (It was far easier to get a PC to drive a plotter or a laser engraver or embroidery machine than it it ever was to try and run the same peripherals from a Mac.)
I have converted more than a couple of Illustrator users once they became aware of how much more efficiently they could operate in CorelDraw.
This whole consumer/pro argument is a red herring and anyone using it shows their elitist side to the world.
Just my 2 cents worth!
Dan
Actually I have used both I and still stand by my statement, though I can respect your opinion, its not elitism if its is not only proven but the excepted standard among the professional community. The Mac argument is a mixed bag of nuts for the simple fact that their are more than enough creatives that use both Mac and PC and that even among PC users Adobe Illustrator is still more widely used than Corel Draw.
In my own opinion, I think the reason why Ad agencies use Illustrator instead of Corel Draw. It’s simply because they are fully compatible with Photohop.
I’ve used both too, the matter is not what the software does, both have enough tools to create good stuff
I think this is more than the software by itself.
corel is to illustrator like PC is to mac…
you know what I mean….
A very good explanation is simply that Adobe has done better with how they conducted their business. It needs no further explaining than that. Not saying that this is necessarily the case, but I actually believe that is the case. I would also say that I’m getting the idea that Corel has a powerful following in different parts of the world where companies and people are more budget conscious. It makes sense.
I always use Adobe illustrator at work because i work in an animation studio. this is really a serious tool for the graphic artist.~:;
Let’s be clear here – the ONLY reason Adobe almost has the cornerstone as the industry standard is because they give their software free to all the art schools, so they are in effect brainwashing people to only use their products. While this is genius marketing, it DOES NOT mean their product is better. I have used both and prefer CorelDraw hands down! It’s a much more user-friendly program and everything Illustrator can do, I can do with Corel easier and faster. Corel is not simply a “consumer” software product – it’s a highly comprehensive product that can produce as good as, if not better quality than anything Adobe spews out. And business wise, Adobe will rape you cost-wise when it comes to purchasing licsensing. Everyone that I’ve gotten to use Corel for awhile agrees how much easier and efficient the program is over Illustrator.
I personaly find a lot of amusement from this whole Coreldraw vs. Illustrator debate.
But i am a Coreldraw user and am a graphic design and advertising professional for the past 16 years (www.mavericktheagency.com), and there is NOTHING Illustrator users do that i cannot. and as a very seasoned Coreldraw user, i often accomplish tasks faster than others in my office who i have allowed to use Illustrator.
While I respect your preference for Illustrator, i think it is quite ignorant of you to label Coreldraw as “consumer grade application,” since the quality of the output of both graphic softwares is entirely dependent on the skills of the user.
I am a professional with over a decade and a half worth of experience, and I use CorelDraw.
“Consumer Grade,” my ass…
c’mon, man…
Jasper I love your passion about this topic and was hoping that someone would put forward a good debate, (yes we know one has been going on for years). It’s good to see someone defend Corel Draw from time to time! I used to use it myself very enthusiastically once upon a time. I think the real truth is that users will have a preference and will in the main rationalize most alternatives as “lesser”, I know that I tend to do that and I will admit that it “may” even be “unfair”. That being said though I will say this, the advantage of using any Adobe product is simply a matter of compatibility and better workflows. There are things that other applications that designers and developers use such as Flash, Flash Catalyst, and InDesign that can do things with an Illustator file that it can’t do with another file type in many cases. So on its own Corel may indeed stand up to Illustrator in every way (though I still have my doubts) but as a tool in an arsenal its less practical. There is also the fact that the cost of having Design Standard, which gives you Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, the cornerstones of any designer toolbox, its more expensive to have say Photoshop, Quark, and Corel Draw. So while we have our preferences, you can’t argue pricing and integration. Though every thing else I will agree was well said.
i don’t know with other users but the new version of Adobe illustrator is a bit slower when it loads. *~*
I’m don’t use any of those softwares, Illustrator or Corel. However, I use Photoshop a lot and this push me to learn Illustrator and not Corel. I think many people has same reasons with me.
In my place most people use Corel. Illustrator is not so popular here.
Adobe Illustrator has more features than its competitors *
I use both CorelDraw and Illustrator. There are several places where CorelDraw is the better program especially when working with 2D-grids, with pattern making and some special effects but there are other areas where Illustrator is far superior eg live paint, the width tool and the perspective tool
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About NYC Graphic Designer Roberto Blake
"For nearly my entire life I have pursued art in some form or fashion. My earliest background is that of an Illustrator, not a day goes by that I do not practice this craft; a growing interest in computers eventually lead me to Digital Illustration and Graphic Design, as well as Web Design."
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