The Software Tools I Use (and why)

A little overview of my process.

Software tools are just a means to an end, and they should be kept in that context. It is very easy to get caught up in the software and forget the reason you are using it in the first place.

The first set of tools I always reach for is a ball point and some printer paper. It’s the fastest, most fluid, flexible medium I’ve ever used. I can go a long way with tools that cost under $1 in total! In my experience, spend at least half of your time on paper, or you’re going to get lost in the virtual.

Don’t be afraid to bust out some play dough either! I use plasticine from an art supply store, but any kind of sculpting medium is a huge boon to productivity if you’re designing 3D objects (even 3D objects for animation on screen!) You may hear people in forums sneer at the idea, but I guarantee you that none of them work in real production houses. If you want to get real work done, there is no better software tool than real-world mediums, and there’s no better visualization engine than real-world physics. Pixels on a screen get between you and your creations.

Operating Systems

To me, Mac OS X is hands-down the best operating system in the world. I defy anyone to give me one reason that any Windows OS is better aside from its ubiquity and portability. The unfortunate reality is that Windows has a monopoly, and for that reason I use Windows for the majority of my work (including writing this blog). If I had my druthers, I’d be using the Mac OS. I’m actually running Windows on my Mac as I write.

Alias Sketchbook Pro

That said, often the next place I turn after ballpoint doodling is this handy little app. It’s super fast and fluid, and doesn’t afford me the option of getting too paranoid. The reason I use it is to visualize something very quickly, not for final renderings. It’s relatively inexpensive, and I’m finding that these days I use it more often than any other single app on my computer.

I often use SnagIt Pro on the PC to take screen captures from other programs, paste them into sketchbook, and make decisions about form changes from there! If I’m building something in CATIA for instance, it’s often easiest for me to take a screen grab and paste it into sketchbook to make form decisions.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop used to be my mainstay for design work, and it’s still an important part of my design workflow. It’s very powerful (though I would argue it’s five years behind where it should be), and it’s definitely a staple in any graphics-heavy job.

I’ve known Photoshop inside-and-out since version 3.0, so it’s with some sadness that I admit to using it less and less. The acquisition of Macromedia was supposed to help them make better products, but instead I’m afraid thus far they’ve just continued to stagnate. Did you know that CS2 (and soon CS3) is still running on the same graphics engine that I started with in version 3.0? That’s why the visualization interface is so arcane, and that’s what will be their downfall if they don’t change it soon.

Some people honestly believe that GIMP can compete with Photoshop. I say that’s rubbish. I’d love to sit side-by-side with a GIMP professional (if any of them really exist), and show him why Photoshop knocks GIMP’s socks off every time!

I use Photoshop for all kinds of everyday tasks, and occasionally I’ll use it to do some 2D rendering. When I was at HP we did all of our product renderings in PS, and I got very fast at it! But these days I use Illustrator more often, because I feel that it offers me a more robust set of tools for the dynamics of product design and development.

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator has always been a good choice for slick high-quality renderings, but now that they’ve added the new “Live Paint” feature, it’s absolutely indispensable. When it comes to drawing line work, Freehand is worlds better than Illustrator. But when it comes to control over complex color effects like transparency, masking, effects, and now live-paint, Illustrator pulls far out in the lead.

I’ve known some people to draw line work in Freehand, then color in Illustrator. I use Illustrator from start to finish, but that’s just because I prefer to use one tool at a time if possible.

Catia V5

V5 is what I use to do all of my 3D CAD. When I tell people that, most of them say “wha?” and a few of them say “WHY??” I know SolidWorks and Rhino very well. I know Alias pretty well too. I’ve used Form-Z and Pro-Engineer. I’ve seen UG in action. CATIA is the most powerful all-around package I’ve ever used, and it’s hard to go back to lesser systems!

Some people say that you can’t work fast in CATIA, because it’s too engineering oriented. Those people just don’t know how to use V5. In V5 I can do anything you can do in any of the other packages I named (with the possible exception of UG), but then I can take it to a whole new level. Not even Alias comes close to what can be done with V5.

The only problem is that it’s very rare to see smaller firms and consultants using it, so it’s unlikely that I’ll get to use it once I leave Black & Decker. Some people blame the expense, but they don’t understand what it’s worth in terms of downstream efficiency.

Word Pad (Text Edit)

For web design, I don’t bother with GoLive or Dreamweaver. Not worth it! I use Word Pad (or Smultron on the Mac), and a nice, simple no-bull FTP client (FireFTP on the PC, or Cyberduck on the mac). It’s a shame, but for the moment hand-coding is the only way to get consistent results, sorry that’s just the reality.

Closing

So those are the main tools I use day-to-day for product design. What do you guys think?