Software Review: Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium

Upon finishing my first novel, I found myself following in the footsteps of one of my favorite authors, Virginia Woolf—I too decided to start a small publishing company. So, when presented with the opportunity to review Adobe's new Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, needless to say, I jumped at the chance.

Over the past five years, as editor/designer/writer on Renderosity's Magazines (both printed and online versions), I utilized PageMaker, Acrobat, and Photoshop. As a long time user of PageMaker, I was curious as to how easy (or difficult) the transition would be between PageMaker and InDesign.

Not only was I curious as to the advantages of switching from PageMaker to InDesign, I was also interested in the reaction of other publishing professionals in regards to QuarkXPress verses Adobe's InDesign; as in past years, QuarkXPress has been the publishing world's industry leader for book and magazine layout. Through extensive research I was surprised to find the tide is not only beginning to change, Adobe InDesign (specifically Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium) is leaving QuarkXPress high and dry.

Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium (which includes: InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, Flash CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, Acrobat 8 Professional, and Bridge CS3) allows users to enjoy the familiarity of previous versions of Adobe's most popular design programs, while benefiting from the new and improved features of each individual program.

 

Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium

 

InDesign CS3

The superstar program of the suite is Adobe's InDesign CS3, which provides exceptionally proficient page layouts—that allow for greater efficiency, which in turn leads to greater productivity. It is extremely user-friendly (even for users who have only worked with PageMaker) and provides all the features that are needed to produce a professional publication (be it online or in print).

Like many users of Adobe products, I tend to stay with the version I am familiar with. In my case, over the years, I have created publishing content (magazines, catalogs, brochures) with Adobe PageMaker 7. Yet, switching from PageMaker 7 to Adobe InDesign CS3 was effortless. I was especially impressed with the ease of creating a professional book layout.

The innovative user interface, particularly the collapsing side-fly-panels which reduce to small icons, provides additional "screen real estate," which in turn allows for an open workspace for viewing and working on layouts. Although the top contact-sensitive control panel provides many of the same functions as the fly panels (or short cuts to the same functions), it also allows users the control to use specific functions that will produce the best ease of use.

 

 

An understanding of "master pages" is essential when working with long documents, especially when working on book layouts. Master pages are the document's backbone: providing vital formatting information, such as: page numbers, page headers and footers, and general formatting. The master pages creates a template-like element (with the ability to load master pages from one document to another), which allows for consistency between documents, again, this is very useful when creating book chapters.

 

 

The "pages panel" contains the master pages, and provides an easy way to traverse between the pages of specific documents. My favorite feature is the "book panel," which allows for chapters to be saved in sequential order, and later to be synchronized into a single document, which in turn combines all the documents inside the book panel into a single finalized document—as in my case, a finished novel.

Another fun and useful feature is the notes function, which allows the author to drop notes within the text. This can be useful for approving the final editing of text (or in the case of a magazine publication, text and images for either the issue you are working on, or ideas/changes for future issues). I personally used this feature to help with ideas for storyline plot consistencies from my first novel to the next two novels in the series, and for ideas for the novel's supporting web site.

Fine tuning a book's text and formatting, is especially easy with the array of leading and justification functions, utilizing styles and text variables. For a full listing of the new and improved features, as well as InDesign and PageMaker functions that designers are familiar with, I would suggest perusing InDesign CS3 on Adobe's web site.

Bridge CS3

The Bridge does just as the name implies. It functions as a bridge between all the programs, allowing for easy previewing and access to a variety of files needed to connect to all the creative suite programs. My favorite feature of Adobe's CS3 Bridge is the ability to preview files, not just through a tiny thumb, but from a larger preview window. There is also a magnifying glass located within the preview window to enlarge specific areas within the document that is being previewed.

Not only does the Bridge allow for convenient access to files, it also provides extensive and informative information pertaining to the files being viewed.

 

 

Acrobat 8 Professional

Included in Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, is Acrobat 8 Professional. Although Acrobat has many outstanding features (especially the Professional version), my main use of Acrobat has always been for the proficient conversion of documents into PDF format.

 

 

I also utilize Acrobat to send text to editors. However, my favorite feature is the Read Out Loud function which I utilize as a final and alternative form of copy editing.

 

 

Dreamweaver CS3 and Adobe Flash CS3 Professional

Although completing a novel is an achievement, promoting the book is also essential to its success. This is another advantage of Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which includes Dreamweaver CS3 and Adobe Flash CS3 Professional. With its enhanced user interface and improved end-to-end integration, along with Flash CS3, Dreamweaver CS3 provides authors with a unique way to professionally promote a publication. Although my book's web site is a work in progress, Dreamweaver CS3, provided me the tools to enable me to easily compose and upload promotional information pertaining to the novel.

 

 

Photoshop CS3 Extended and Illustrator CS3

The last two programs featured within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium that I would like to touch upon are Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended. Although I have utilized Illustrator in the past, I admit to being a full-blown Photoshop junkie, dating back to my first experience with version 3.0.1 in 1995.

Without question, Photoshop has been, and remains, the Industry leader, for photographers and computer graphic designers, since its conception. As a Photoshop addict, I have updated my software with each new version. That is until Photoshop 7, which (until this review of Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium) satisfied all my artistic needs.

In the past, I have always kept the previous version of Photoshop on my computer as a "comfort zone version," easing my way into the next new and improved edition. Yet, with Photoshop CS3, I was pleasantly surprised at its gentle learning curve. I was able to understand and utilize all the functions upon my first exploration of the program. So much so, that I have not opened Photoshop 7 since my first opening of Photoshop CS3.

Pertaining to my novel, I employed Illustrator CS3 to create the Celtic Knot that I used on the book's cover, as well as print and web supporting media. The novel's cover (with the exception of the Celtic knots) was created entirely within Photoshop CS3. As were the illustrations for the novel's interior maps, the promotional flyer, and supporting Sons Of Avalon web site.

Wish List

There are a few features that I would put on my Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium wish list. Several "book" templates are included in InDesign, yet there are no "novel" templates. There are several templates for brochures, flyers, photo books, and even one or two for non-fiction books, but templates pertaining to novels were not to be found (even on non-Adobe web sites supporting templates for Adobe's InDesign CS3 software).

Although I loved everything about Adobe Photoshop CS3 extended, I was a bit frustrated with the Bridge button, that has to be clicked several times before the Bridge CS3 engages. I had asked other Photoshop CS3 users about the sticky button, and they all had experienced the same little annoyance.

As easy as the transition was from previous versions of Photoshop, InDesign (or in my case PageMaker), and Acrobat to the CS3 versions ... I was not as awed with Dreamweaver CS3, and found the program's interface rather awkward. As an "old school" HTML coder, I was unimpressed with this version of Dreamweaver. I like clean code, and although Dreamweaver allows for code override, the program still adds additional coding that overrides my inserted coding.

Summary

Is Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium an essential software package for an author wishing to create and promote his or her novel? The straightforward answer is, no! A novel can be created using a simple word processor program. Even if an author goes the traditional route and publishes with a large book publisher, the reality is, if a book is to be a success, promotion is the author's responsibility. Yet, an understanding of HTML, notepad, and any "paint" program can produce adequate promotional web sites and flyers. Furthermore, at nearly $2,000, the suite can seem out-of-reach for a starving writer/artist.

However, if you are serious about designing and creating professional publications, Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium is an essential tool. Even with my wish list for minor improvements, the suite provided every element that I needed to produce a professional quality book and supporting promotional documents. As to the price…considering all that you get within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium…the suite's ease of use within its variety of creative programs is well worth the price, and will actually pay for itself over a short period of time, as it allows for increased productivity.

Last but not least, all of the programs within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium package are geared toward professional writers, artists, and/or designers. Although the CS3 programs are an easy transition for longtime Adobe users, as with all advanced software, the learning curve for beginners can be steep. If you are new to any of the programs within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, I highly suggest that you spend the time to take an instructional class before jumping into the suite. The Adobe site has a plethora of training videos and books, along with each of the individual help menus. I also advocate Lynda.com for outstanding training videos. Lynda.com provides training videos for all the programs featured within Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium.

If you are searching for that perfect suite of professional programs to spark your creativity, I highly recommend Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium—it turns dreams into reality!

• Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium
• Adobe's Creative Suite 3 Design Premium $1,799 [USD]
• Upgrade from $599 [USD]
• New Features
• Adobe Training and Certification
• Lynda.com Training Programs

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