Adobe Illustrator vs Adobe Photoshop vs Zeplin

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Adobe Illustrator

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Adobe Photoshop

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Zeplin

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Advice on Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Zeplin
Needs advice
on
FigmaFigmaInVisionInVision
and
ZeplinZeplin

Hello, I want to start an unlimited graphic design service. (yes, yet another one, but bear with me)

It’s the second week that I’m working on this project, my goal is to test the market as soon as possible.

One element that is missing is the solution to handle communication between the clients and the designers.

• Mandatory: it needs to communicate instructions, progress/status, and design files (exported from Adobe Illustrator or similar). • Optionally it would also display the design inside the app so the files don’t need to be opened. • Optionally it would let the client easily mark the design where he wants revision.

• Mandatory: it needs to have unlimited clients and unlimited projects (I’ll have hundreds of clients and each will have at least one project) • Optionally it would auto-assign a new project to the first available designer, or let the designers choose themselves which project they want to work on • Optionally it would have groups (corresponding to a subscription plan) with different clients and different designers in each • Optionally it would communicate with other apps so that client and designer management tasks (access, payment, etc) can be automated

I’m open to all suggestions, not just the selection above. Ultimately I guess I’ll have a custom app developed on a no-code platform, but to begin with I need something simple and ready.

Reminder: it is only for graphic design, between my designers and my clients

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Replies (2)
Recommends
on
SketchSketch

Zeplin is great for Developer handoff and setting as source of truth for Design and Developemt. InViosion is the standard for communicating/testing design ideas and prototypes with stakeholders. Both applications offer unlimited projects. I use them on a daily basis at big enterprises and for small weekend projects.

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Mert Torun
Product designer at Mert Torun · | 3 upvotes · 164.7K views
Recommends
on
BasecampBasecamp

I have been using Basecamp since 2008 to handle my client communications. I have gone through all of its three iterations.

I'd recommend Basecamp above the others because:

  • It is a communication tool through and through. Looking at your description, that seems to be what you need. Zeplin is a developer handoff tool. It isn't designed to cover a more broad use case as you describe. Invision has some features that you want, but it is primarily a tool for building quick low-fidelity prototypes from website mockups. Figma is a great design tool. For the last two, communication is a secondary feature.
  • It was designed by a design agency (37 Signals) for their own needs, which were quite similar to yours. (They later closed the agency to focus on Basecamp as a product full-time)
  • It has flat pricing that doesn't count the number of projects, clients or team members you have. You don't have to think twice about opening another project or inviting another user. You always pay the same price.
  • It can separate team and client communications. The team can talk about something without the client ever seeing it, in the same context.
  • It can keep todo lists, which I think you will need anyway.
  • Access control is based on projects. Every team member or client will only see the projects they are invited to. They will not even know the existence of others. (Except admins. They can see and join all projects)
  • It is easy to understand and use. The design is free of clutter and easy on the eyes. Your clients (especially the tech-averse ones) will appreciate it.
  • It has mobile/desktop apps with the full functionality of the web app. You won't have to wait for someone to sit down to get a quick approval.

The only real downside for me was the lack of language support in the user interface. You will be fine if your users understand some very basic written English. Some of my clients did not, so I had to walk them through it.

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Pros of Adobe Illustrator
Pros of Adobe Photoshop
Pros of Zeplin
  • 2
    Vector Creation
  • 14
    Photo editing
  • 14
    Powerful
  • 11
    Layers
  • 7
    You can use it for anything related to graphics
  • 4
    Magic wand
  • 2
    Pen Tool
  • 2
    Easy to crack
  • 2
    Raster-based Image Editing Software
  • 7
    Avoid the insanity of extract this info from Photoshop
  • 7
    Free
  • 2
    CSS
  • 2
    Works with lots of devices
  • 2
    HTML
  • 2
    SVG

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Cons of Adobe Illustrator
Cons of Adobe Photoshop
Cons of Zeplin
  • 3
    Massive disk space usage
  • 3
    Adobe Updater to slow you down even more
  • 2
    Expensive
  • 1
    Not really a tool for web design
  • 1
    Clunky
  • 4
    Heavyweight
  • 3
    Memory hungry
  • 2
    Steep learning curve
  • 8
    SVG

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What is Adobe Illustrator?

The industry-standard vector graphics app lets you create logos, icons, sketches, typography, and complex illustrations for print, web, interactive, video, and mobile.

What is Adobe Photoshop?

It is the best in the world of graphic design and image processing software that will realize any of your ideas. Create and enhance photos, illustrations and 3D graphic objects.

What is Zeplin?

Collaboration app for designers & developers. Supports Sketch and Photoshop (on beta!).

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What are some alternatives to Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Zeplin?
Adobe InDesign
The industry's leading page layout and design software enables you to create, proof and publish documents for print and digital media. Ir has everything to create posters, books, digital magazines, eBooks, interactive PDFs and more.
Inkscape
It is professional quality vector graphics software which runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. This software can be used to create or edit vector graphics such as illustrations, diagrams, line arts, charts, logos and complex paintings.
Sketch
Easily create complex shapes with our state-of-the-art vector boolean operations and take advantage of our extensive layer styles.
Affinity Designer
No bloat, no gimmicks, just all the tools you need, implemented how you always dreamed. It is a stripped back, pro-end workhorse that will always get your job done. It was created to thrive on the electric pace of the latest computing hardware. Live, responsive and incredibly fluid, it’s simply a joy to use.
Google Fonts
A library of 915 free licensed fonts, an interactive web directory for browsing the library, and APIs for conveniently using the fonts via CSS and Android.
See all alternatives