I posted this on my blog (wafflesatnoon.com) and thought it would be appropriate to re-post here among my CorelDraw brethren. It's my story how I became a CorelDraw user and some of the adversity I've faced in a world full of Illustrator users...
From 1992 until 1996, I used Adobe Illustrator exclusively. I used
at my job, so this was not low-end hobby use. It was full-time, high
end output. Daily. In late 1996, my boss took it upon himself to hire a
graphic artist who I would train, but I wasn’t consulted on who was
hired. The new guy showed up to work on his first day with a copy of
CorelDraw 6 under his arm and a goofy grin on his face. I told him I
had used version 5 and really felt it was far behind Illustrator 6 that
was currently on the market. To be fair, I let him install it and show
me what it could do.
A month later, we had Draw on all of our computers and I never used
Illustrator full-time again. I had to admit that this goofy new guy had
shown me a product that got the job done easier, better, and cheaper -
in my opinion. And my opinion is all that mattered at this company. Looking back, I probably never really gave CorelDraw 5 a fair look. And that still seems to be the case for those who have never really learned to appreciate the program.
Fast forward to May 2008.
I’m having dinner with an acquaintance I had just met through a
mutual friend. This guy is also a professional graphic artist. The
conversation started out focused on his training. He went to school to
study graphic arts, so I already knew he was an Illustrator guy. He
also mentioned he used a Mac. It was a great conversation about life as a graphic artist.
And then he asked me about my graphic arts career.
I told him that I learned by doing, in my parents’ print shop while
working my way through college (studying a far different career path).
Then I told him I had used Illustrator early on, but decided to switch
to CorelDraw, which I still used. His response?
“I didn’t know they still made that.”
I’ve heard similar reactions.
A few years ago I was doing some ads to go in the USA Today. Because
they said PDF’s generated by Illustrator were the preferred format (at
that time), I decided to design the ads directly in Illustrator
(version 10). They were using an earlier version. I sent over a PDF,
created in Illustrator. My rep called and said there was a translation
error going backwards in version and to PDF at the same time.
Apparently a drop shadow or similar effect didn’t turn out right. We
went back and forth, and she gave me the exact settings to use, all to
no avail. Finally, I decided to re-create the artwork in CorelDraw and
publish it as a PDF using the PDF settings she gave me for Illustrator.
I purposely didn’t tell her what I had done, only to try the new file.
“Whatever you did worked that time!” she emailed.
In about 2001, I was calling around for print quotes. One pre-press
person I spoke with heard “CorelDraw” and over-reacted like a
10-year-old when Sesame Street is on TV: “Oh no. You don’t use THAT do you?” She acted like my artwork would have cooties.
I responded firmly but politely, “Yes. I don’t bash your software so
please don’t bash mine. I’ve been using it for years and have never had
an issue with it.” I decided to use someone else.
So back to where my original story started… After a few years of
using Draw with my colleague, I had been promoted and was running the
advertising department. We were expanding, so I had to hire a couple
new employees. This time I said Draw was a required experience. There
was no shortage of applicants, many of whom were highly talented. I
wondered if all those dogmatic Illustrator users realized just how many
Draw users were out there.
I really have no beef with Illustrator or its users.
I do have a problem with ignorant arrogance. If I meet someone who
uses Freehand or another illustration program, instead of unknowingly
bashing it, I ask them what they like about it and why they chose not
to use the “industry standard.” It can be an enlightening conversation,
and I’ve seen some brilliant artists that don’t use Draw or
Illustrator. I’ve seen great effects in some of these lesser known apps
that neither Draw nor Illustrator have.
There are many schooled graphic artists who subscribe to all of the
dogma their Illustrator evangelists preached to them. I actually feel
sorry for these people. Their ignorance borders on bigotry toward users
of alternate applications. Draw users have seen and heard it all before
- the snide comments, the rolling eyes, and the uneducated dismissals.
This from people who have probably never even used the application.
There’s a reason CorelDraw exists today in its 14th version. It’s a
great app, every bit as good as Illustrator (if not better),
significantly less expensive (with far more extras included in the
box), and arguably far easier to learn and use.
I’ve used Draw at my full time job for the past 12 years. I’ve done
several 200+ page magazines, huge signs, small signs, nearly 200
pocket-sized pamphlets, web site graphics, postcards, newspaper
advertisements, high end graphics, low end graphics, logos, T-shirts,
you name it. CorelDraw has aptly handled every task I’ve thrown at it.
The computer world is filled with zealous users of products that
don’t have the most sales. And they’ll all tell you that “most popular”
doesn’t always mean “better.”
Just ask advocates of Macintosh, Zune, Firefox, WordPerfect, and Linux.
And CorelDraw.