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Design Photoshop Foundations Workspace Basics Toolbars

John Grillo
John Grillo
30,241 Points

Why are there no alternate videos for windows/non-mac users? And why is there an emphasis on non-free software?

Seriously. Why is there no fork to this video on using Photoshop for non-mac users? Windows being the popular other platform, so why not that as well?

And since I'm here, why not focus on free software in these troubled times? yes, I use Photoshop, but only because I got the cheap/good student licensing and someone else bought it for me [thanks, pop!].

If anyone wants free software that edits photos, GIMP is one. http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

But wait, there's more!

http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/the-best-photoshop-alternatives-that-are-totally-free-5974500

Ben Attenborough
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Ben Attenborough
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 32,769 Points

I guess the instructors have to make decisions based on what most people use. Photoshop is the industry standard and most, if not all, design jobs will require knowledge of Adobe products.

You could watch the videos for their conceptual content then look elsewhere for specific techniques to apply those concepts using other software.

I'm not sure about this course but in general I have found that Treehouse courses go out of their way to show you how to set up software on Mac, PC and Linux (although less so Linux, as well Linux peeps tend to be pretty great at figuring stuff out for themselves ;)) And most of the web design and development courses show you software that is free of charge. While there are free graphic tools out there, unfortunately none are as powerful as Adobe products in my experience and the main thing is that Adobe is the standard which is expected and used in industry.

John Grillo
John Grillo
30,241 Points

Well-written answer. Tank you.

Matt Varner
Matt Varner
5,373 Points

Inkscape is a pretty solid alternative for Illustrator or CorelDRAW. Speaking as an amateur, of course.

6 Answers

Sharon Smith
Sharon Smith
8,747 Points

As a long-time Windows user, I haven't had much trouble using using Treehouse's videos for Photoshop or Illustrator. Most of them even seemed to include what the alternate Windows commands are, at least on screen. Some of the coding language ones, on the other hand, have been much more difficult. (One of the Sass-related ones I just gave up on completely.) I've also had some experience using Macs when I was at school, though, so I'm used to switching. What I do think would be useful would be if they would include something in the Teacher's Notes section that specified some of the differences between not just Windows vs. Mac but also between different versions & gave more specifics about the tools being used.

As for free vs. paid programs, there's two reasons-- One is that paid programs like Photoshop are industry standard & the purpose of the courses here are to train you for work. There's no point in training for Gimp when employers are going to be looking for Photoshop skills. You may think they're the same & that you'll easily be able to switch up, but an employer isn't going to know that & when there's so many people applying who have the skills they're really looking for, you're just putting yourself at a disadvantage in the job market. Why do that?

The other is that there's a reason businesses will pay for programs rather than use freeware. Simply put, it's that paid programs work better. They don't need to add crap like ads, sponsored add-ons, or other income-adding software to make up for the lost fees, they have better support & typically, they have added features.

Don't overlook that Treehouse has worked with vendors of some of these programs & services to give their students a discount. Also, since students at Treehouse are in fact students learning to use Adobe software, they should qualify for student pricing on their software. I have no idea how you'd certify that, though. If nothing else, Adobe has been offering free trials on their software for ages, so there's always that route.

John Grillo
John Grillo
30,241 Points

Not all free software uses ads. Check the FSF for proof. "It doesn't matter if it's a white cat or a black cat so long as it catches mice". --Deng Xiaoping. I want to say I agree with you for most part. My only caveats are that not all free software [Stallman opposes 'freeware' as a term] and that the second point--you can't be trained on the job-- is exactly what is wrong with the average American employer. I digress. Your answer is very well written. I was looking to give out an easy best answer mark and you more than earned it. Your writing is clear, concise and respectful--no ad hominems to be found.

What has been your favorite track so far?

Sharon Smith
Sharon Smith
8,747 Points

Thanks for the Best Response vote- I strive for those. :-) I tend to go into professor mode when I answer questions; being able to explain things clearly goes with the job. (In a perfect world, I'd be a college art professor, teaching jewelry/metalsmithing.) Ad hominum has no place in reasonable discussion, as a rule.

As to your analogy, while it's true that a black cat will catch a mouse as well as a white one, a fat blind cat is not going to catch one as easily as a spry young cat with clear sight. Tools which may appear equal because they produce the same general thing aren't necessarily equal in ease or effectiveness of process-- or even in what they can do. Here’s an example of what I mean: as a trained professional metalsmith, I spend a lot of time using a variety of hand tools, particularly a wide array of hammers. Because of my experience with these tools, I am very much an advocate of using the right tool for the job. It ultimately makes for much more efficient production and a better finished product. In addition, the wrong tool can create more problems than it solves. In some cases, it’s a question of which hammer is the right one. Your average household claw hammer, while great for pounding in nails when building a house, isn’t going to be useful in smithing. Instead, I have a range of specialty hammers, all with specific jobs- some for forging, some for raising, etc. Yeah, they’re all hammers but trying to use a 2lb blacksmith hammer to chase a delicate design in a thin sheet of sterling silver will cause more problems that I’d have to fix later and would do a spectacularly crappy job all around (short version- heavy hammer+ soft thin metal= lots & lots of holes). Conversely, trying to use a chasing hammer to forge a quarter inch steel rod isn’t going to do much good, either—such a light hammer will barely make a dent in a hard metal. I need the weight of the 2lber to force the metal into shape. (I hope that analogy makes sense to you). To put it back in the design world, it’d be like trying to do a page layout in Photoshop instead of InDesign or trying to edit a photo in Illustrator. You're right that it's not always the case that the more expensive tools are better- sometimes they're just more expensive- but you have to know your tools, your own skill level, what your customer/client/employer wants, and your finished product well enough to spot those. Ultimately, you have to decide if the price for the tool is worth it. Businesses have decided that Photoshop is their tool of choice because it does what they want consistently & they feel that it’s worth the price.

I agree with you in general about the unwillingness of employers to train employees & what a bad idea that is all around, but the truth is that in some cases they simply don't have to. They've got enough people applying that have the skill set they're looking for already. Why would they hire someone they’d have to train when they’ve got 50 other candidates who already know how to do what they need? To use myself as an example again, when I finished my metalsmithing degree last year & found a distinct lack of teaching jobs available, I started looking for jobs as a bench jeweler. I am an excellent metalsmith, I fabricate all kinds of jewelry by hand that I also designed, I have a beautiful portfolio and I know I could do the job and do it well. However, I don't have much experience working with gold in general, repairing jewelry, or setting faceted gemstones-- skills essential to bench work. So, when I apply for those jobs, I'm at disadvantage when compared to someone who has done jewelry repair for a couple of years and already knows half a dozen different ways to resize a gold ring. (Which would be a large part of why I decided that I should update my web design skills. There’s more openings for tech people for bench jewelers, too. )

Favorite track? I dug most of the Web Design one, except for Sass. It's had two of my favorite courses- Design Basics &, surprisingly, Illustrator.

I liked the Illustrator course because it was surprisingly in-depth. I’d figured I’d breeze through it like I had all the other design-specific courses in the track, but instead I found myself really working. I even learned some things! Mat Helme did a great job setting up some great exercises that really made you learn the program. I wish that the Photoshop class had been similarly detailed-- although 90’s Web Guy totally cracked me up because I knew exactly what he was talking about (even if I question his musical taste- Counting Crows? Seriously? There were so many better bands in the 90s!)

I loved Design Basics for one reason—the section on Web Typography. I was so excited I cheered for days! I last did professional web design about 10 years ago, as an accidental tech in the Grad Office at my alma mater.** It was still in the era of having designers in one room and the coding guys in another & ne’er the twain shall meet. Also, FrontPage existed. I tried to straddle both as best I could but as a design person, I found the design capabilities in html hugely limiting. I’m also a big typography geek- my graphic design program put a massive emphasis on it. So, when I saw that section, I was ecstatic because OMG! Web people had learned about typography! They talked about readability! That was the clearest sign to me at just how far web design has come in the last 10 years. It made me happy. They just added a new Web Typography-specific course & I’m looking forward to taking.

I’m currently in the Front-End Web Development track, which is interesting- although I’m amused that the CSS course in it is a more basic one than the CSS course in the Web Design track. Still, I need to learn Javascript & JQuery & probably PHP & MySQL, too. I’d really like to get into UX- it feels similar to how I approach making functional metalwork, where a major concern is how the customer will use the piece, except applied to a different technology.

I know- now I’m writing like a typical college professor. Initially, I’m all concise & focused. Then I get asked a question & I give you more information than you ever wanted to know on subjects esoteric & only tangentially related to the original subject.

** Totally a case of, "Wait, you've seen html code & not fainted? You get to do our web site!" For the entire graduate program for my university. As a work study. My previous experience was updating the monthly menu on the website for Senior Center Services at the social services agency I worked at which I did in straight html & attempting to design a website for the senior center I directed in- of all things- Print Shop. I shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the grad site, let alone design & maintaining it, but the IT department at the time refused to give it proper attention. And hey, I figured out how to design & maintain a huge website from the ground up by the seat of my pants, so that’s something. Of course, using Dreamweaver helped considerably- yay for view in code&design mode! :-D (Why isn’t that working right? Oh, because there’s an extra comma over there.) It ended up being a very nice site, too. And then the IT department decided the entire university had to adopt their in-house content management system, which I can only describe as being so not user-friendly that it was actively user-hostile.

John Grillo
John Grillo
30,241 Points

Well, if you like what I've been saying or asking, give me up votes! I could really use them.

Matt Varner
Matt Varner
5,373 Points

Shh. Don't say such things! You might accidentally invoke the infamous Imgur downvote fairies!

I don't have an answer, but your question is rhetorical anyway. I just wanted to say that I was wondering the same thing, so I'm glad you posted.

Hannah Gaskins
Hannah Gaskins
14,572 Points

Another free option is to use GIMP. GIMP is a free image editor with similar functionality to Photoshop. See link below:

http://www.gimp.org/

Ricardo Cardoza
Ricardo Cardoza
2,024 Points

As of 2016, pretty much all job description for web designers I have read call for knowledge of Adobe products (and I have read a lot). That's just the industry standard for better or for worse. Given that Treehouse is for people who are not necessarily self-learners and want to be coached I doubt that showing them these concepts on GIMP or Inkscape is the best way to go about it. Heck, last time I installed Inkscape I had to update my version of Python. That was a nightmare. That was a while ago (4 -5 years ago?)

Anyways, the choice of Adobe products, as much as it sucks that it's non-free software, makes all the sense in the world.