RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? WHY LEARN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR?

If you are running a large company where you can hire a graphic designer (or a whole team of them), then this article does not apply to you.

But if you are running a small or medium business where you are personally involved in almost every department (or as we say in our local colloquial slang, “one leg kick all”), then you should read on.

If you don’t know what Adobe Illustrator is, you should read our article which explains the awesomeness that is Adobe Illustrator.

So, why should you, as a business owner, learn to use Adobe Illustrator?

TO HIRE OR NOT TO HIRE A GRAPHIC DESIGNER?

As a small or medium business owner, there are lot of things you may need to handle; from making cold calls to handling the accounts to doing the business presentations. You may not have the time, energy, or the visual creativity to design brochures, flyers, posters, buntings, etc that you would need to promote your business.

It is so much easier (and less time-consuming!) to hire a graphic designer who has the experience and the artistic ability to design the documents you need! You can hire a graphic designer full-time if you need one, or a freelancer if you only need the occasional artwork.

But there are some of us who would prefer to have full control over our promotional artwork, or can’t afford to hire a graphic designer (not yet, anyway). Or in some cases, we need the designs urgently, and the freelance graphic designer we hired is not available to provide the artwork immediately (especially if you need it TONIGHT!!!).

Being able to use Adobe Illustrator would enable you to create your artwork when you need one. Or you can modify an existing artwork to become the exact design that you want.

WHY ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR?

Adobe Illustrator is the leading desktop publishing software industry, for obvious reasons. It is able to produce professional-looking artwork that is accepted by any print company for high-quality printing, and it works beautifully with Adobe Photoshop.Read our earlier article about the comparisons between two leading desktop publishing software: Adobe Illustrator vs Microsoft Publisher!In addition to Adobe Illustrator, why should you learn Adobe Photoshop? If you are already adept at using Adobe Illustrator, using Adobe Photoshop would enhance your work as you can use Adobe Photoshop to manipulate images and photos to complement your artwork even more. For example, instead of just putting a simple photo in a square box, you can cut out a specific object or silhouette to be the focus of your poster, or change the background to a colour that is more suitable for your brochure.

So, how will learning to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop help your business? Here’s a quick list of what you will be able to do with this skill.

YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN LOGO.

If you haven’t already have one. Or if you wish to change your logo.

YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN NAMECARD AND LETTERHEAD.

You probably don’t need Adobe Illustrator to design a standard namecard and letterhead. But if you are creative, you can come up with your own interesting design that will make your business documents stand out, making your business memorable in the eyes of your clients and potential clients.

YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR PRINTING.

You can design a wide range of different print material – flyers, brochures, leaflets, posters, buntings, banners and more! Because Adobe Illustrator files are readily accepted by any professional print company, you do not have to worry about loss of image quality or loss of bleeding artwork (bleed is the ability to print up to the edge of the document, so there are no margins).

In fact, if you invest in a good printer, you can occasionally print a document if there is an emergency; for example if you have run out of flyers, but you need a few to give to your clients in a presentation today.

Even if you have hired a graphic designer to design the documents, being able to use Adobe Illustrator also allows you to make any minor changes before sending the documents for print. Let’s be honest – there are always last-minute changes that we want to make to a document, especially right before we send it for printing! Sometimes, we just say “okay” and overlook certain items because the graphic designer may not be able to make the changes in time. But if you can do it, you can easily make the changes yourself.

YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR WEBSITE.

If you can use Adobe Illustrator for print, you can also use it for digital documents. Based on the same concept, you can also create online banners, buntings, and posters that you can post on your website or your social media. And if you already know how to use it, you can easily make changes to the artwork whenever necessary. For example, if you wish to extend the date of a promotion you are offering; or if you are creating another similar campaign. You can easily make a copy of the existing file and make the modifications to create a new document. And because you can do it yourself, you can upload the artwork immediately!

LET’S GET STARTED!

Remember that it is important to project a professional image of your company. First impressions go a long way, and having professional documents that represent your company will create favourable impressions on your clients and potential clients. It shows that you take your business seriously, and you will do your best to ensure that your clients will have the best service that you can provide. This is why you need a desktop publishing software that is able to create professional-looking documents and artwork. Don’t settle for something that is not able to produce works that will not correctly reflect your company’s professionalism.

Let us help you get started on your building that favourable first impression of your company! Sign up for our Graphic Design Course where you will learn to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to create a wide range of fantastic artwork.

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