The future of Photoshop as an essential tool used by web designers to stylize websites has come under some debate in recent days. Many people in the web designing industry have argued that Photoshop won’t be the first choice software for designers in the years to come.
Although the role of Photoshop in the world of web design has come under some doubt, there are few designers today who use other software for their work. There are countless alternatives, but none have established themselves in the same way as Photoshop.
It is no surprise that Photoshop continues to be the leading tool used by web designers all over the world. Although it has been around for almost as long as the industry itself, it is flexible enough to enable users to do all kinds of designing tasks – be it to create functional mock ups, web graphics, UI elements or even wireframes.
Developers and clients are asking for PSD files
Photoshop has cemented itself as the market standard, and it is not uncommon for clients to assume that their web designers will use it. Even if you’re working as part of a larger team, you will have to resort to using Photoshop since most people are familiar and comfortable with using it. Everyone in the industry expects files to be delivered in PSD format.
A few years ago, Adobe Fireworks was the only major competitor to Photoshop, and so it was not uncommon for developers and clients to ask for layered PNG or PSD files. Adobe Fireworks was discontinued, and ever since then, Photoshop has enjoyed a kind of monopoly in the world of web design.
One of the reasons why PSD files do so well is that they are extremely secure and easy to use. Front-end developers can easily extract graphics from PSD files and use them however they want. Most freelance web designers don’t bother using any alternative software because they know they will be asked for PSD files from their clients, since it is the industry standard.
Adobe gives designers what they’re asking for
Adobe has always adapted its products to suit what designers are looking for. For instance, when designers made calls for more responsive PSDs, Adobe came up with Edge Reflow. Even when this app came out, users were not forced to use it. Users had the choice between importing their PSD files to increase their responsiveness, or design from the ground up on Reflow itself.
This kind of flexibility is what makes Adobe products, and in particular Photoshop, stand out from their competitors. Even if you have to work with PSD files, you can still use other programs such as Reflow to scale and rearrange elements and create different screens of a particular design.
Adobe has created other products that work seamlessly with Photoshop. For instance, Generator enables users to develop image assets as they work in real time, without having to go through the hassle of preparing and exporting every layer manually. Users can save hours since all they have to do is add file extensions to a layer or a group and let Photoshop prepare a GIF, PNG or JPG file. All changes are automatically updated and saved into a specified folder.
Another advantage of using Generator is that it creates a real-time connection between Edge Reflow and Photoshop. All designs you create become part of a Creative Cloud via Generator, and they can easily be accessed on all three software. This seamless integration between Adobe products is just the reason why designers continue to prefer them over alternatives.
Besides creating supporting software, Adobe has made considerable efforts to ensure that Photoshop on its own continues to remain competitive. They have made countless improvements, ranging from enhanced stability, more languages, improved anchor point selection and much better GPU detection.
Adobe has many exciting new updates in the pipeline. Most web designers can’t wait till they publish the new adaptive image format they have been working on, since it promises to revolutionize the way we view images on the web. As is normally the case with Adobe products, Photoshop will be fully compatible with this new image format once it is launched.
The alternative: designing directly in the browser
Designers who are proficient with web development and how CSS and HTML work often prefer designing out of the browser directly instead of using an external software such as Photoshop. Most, however, chose to resort to traditional designing software since working directly out of a browser greatly restricted their creativity.
The emergence of web technologies like CSS3, however, allow users to use HTML and CSS to implement countless different styles. Using CSS3 to design directly has becoming increasingly popular. Many argue that design software like Photoshop are of little use now, but the fact of the matter is that image editors and text editors are not perfect substitutes for each other.
People have been designing web pages on Photoshop and other image editors with impressive results. It would be a misnomer to say that such software has no place in the world of web designing. It should be seen as much more than just a canvas for a design, since it has countless tools that allow you to do so much without even the slightest bit of confusion.
Photoshop is still a key part of your design workflow
The traditional design workflow entails the following: sketch, wireframe, create design using an image editor, develop the aforementioned design using CSS and HTML. If you get rid of Photoshop, the design part of the workflow will have to be done using CSS and HTML in the browser itself.
If you make use of the browser for all your design tasks, you lose out on the benefits associated with the “visual” environment created by image editors like Photoshop. Those who have used Photoshop for years will tell you that it makes it extremely easy to adjust designs to exactly how you want them. It is advisable that you get what both Photoshop and code have to offer. Photoshop is ideal for experimentation, whereas code is arguably the best means of implementation.
While Photoshop is great, most contemporary designers avoid designing full-page comps on it. If you are looking to create responsive web designs, it is probably best that you learn how to balance using Photoshop and code side-by-side.
The last thing you would want to do is design unresponsive pages using Photoshop and having to do them all over again. Having said that, Photoshop is an integral part of the design workflow and it cannot be done away with entirely, if you want to experiment to try and find the best looking design.
Photoshop will be the best option in the future as well
Photoshop is the most popular software among web designers, and for good reason. It lets users perform both simple and complex tasks with unparalleled ease and flexibility; and despite the emergence of alternative methods of web design, Photoshop is and will continue to be the best option out there.
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