Adobe Programs and Products... Which one to use?

There are many fantastic Adobe Products to chose from but that leaves the question of which one should you use for what project? Perhaps you should use InDesign? Or Photoshop? Or Illustrator? Or something else? There are a lot of overlaps between what they can each do.

Our certified Adobe Instructor Sharon has put together this very helpful guide on how best to choose the best Adobe program for the job. Here we show what each Adobe product does best and what it might not be the best choice for.

InDesign: Create your own Flyers, Magazines and Books

Great For:

1. Multi-page Brochures / Flyers
2. Editorial Design
3. Book Design
4. Annual Reports
5. Forms (Coupled with Acrobat)

Not best for:

1. Logo Designing
2. Removing Image Backgrounds
3. Adjusting Images

View all our InDesign courses

Photoshop: Creating your own Photo-real and Digital Images

Great For:

1. Photo Enhancement / Correction / Background Removal
2. Single Sided Posters / Flyers / Ads
3. Web and Mobile UI Design (Mock-ups)
4. Product Mock-ups
5. Mood Boards
6. Raster (Pixel) Based Images

Not best for:

1. Multi-page Brochures or Reports
2. High level Video Editing
   (it can do basic video editing but best to investigate Premiere Pro or After Effects)

View all our Photoshop courses

Illustrator: Create your own Logo, Illustrations and Flyers

Great For:

1. Logos, Logotypes and Monograms
2. Single or Two-Sided Posters/Flyers
3. Typography
4. Web And Mobile UI Design (Icons/Layouts)
5. Vector Art and Illustrations

Not best for:

1. Multi-page Brochures or Reports
2. Removing Backgrounds from Images

View all our Illustrator courses

Acrobat DC or Acrobat Pro: Editing PDFs and Managing Forms

Great For:

1. Editing PDFs
2. Securing PDFs
3. Managing Forms
4. Sending Forms and Collecting Responses
5. Applying and Collecting Digital Signatures

Not best for:

1. Creating Flyers, Posters or Graphics
2. Designing Forms - Design work can be done in InDesign or another Page Layout Software

View all our Acrobat courses