Blog

Sketch or Photoshop: The Race of the Century

Adobe And Its Spoiled Child, Photoshop

Established for over 40 years, this software has acquired a solid base in photo editing. It is also recognized for this strength by photographers and graphic designers. Indeed, it makes it easy to retouch a photo, adjust colours and lighting of an image and make photo montages. In this field, the competition has nothing on Photoshop; it is the king.

Not too long ago however, a whole new breed of graphic designer was born with the creation of Internet. Obviously, this new media has had significant impacts since some of them quietly became what we know today as Web designers. These former graphic designers who mastered Photoshop perfectly kept their old habits by continuing to use this software even though it didn’t really fit their new needs.

From Photography to Web, Always in Pixels

Adobe noticed the increased importance of this medium on the market. Thus they tried to address these new needs by adding some options in the software such as: dynamic objects, paragraph styles, character styles, and the cloud.

Despite these significant improvements, there is still a gap that irritates web designers. It’s also for this reason that the company is working on new software called XD to compete with Sketch.

Sketch: A Software For Web Designers

sketch vs photoshop

To meet the needs of the web community, Bohemian BV has decided to innovate by developing design software that is aligned with the reality of Web models conception. Therefore, in 2008 a new tool introduced as Sketch emerged on the market.

The innovative software was able to quickly capture the interest of young companies as well as inventive designers. Having a great desire to improve, Sketch creators are always listening to users’ comments. This collaborative approach has proven to be very effective and beneficial for the development of the program.

More Than Software: A Community Of Designers

The result of these years of efforts, discussions and adjustments: efficient and accurate new vector design software adapted to the realities imposed by HTML and CSS. Greatly appreciated by both designers and web developers, this tool facilitates communication between them.

Moreover, this cooperative approach has created a solid team spirit that has won the heart of many web designers. Free tips and resources, forums and peer discussion all contribute to the growth of Web design.

100 Meters In Sketch and Photoshop

The reality of being a Web designer is having to maximize our time, avoid starting from scratch, minimize detours, facilitate communication with our developers, finalize a feasible idea, be specific, fast, efficient and much more.

Here is a comparative table to set forth some of the elements that facilitate or complicate the daily work of a Web Designer:

sketch vs photoshop

Is It Possible To Crown A Winner?

Some people may well believe that Sketch’s popularity is only temporary. Of course, we might think that just like Flash, Sketch is just a passing fad. In truth, no one can really answer that question (fortune teller, anyone?). That being said, we can see that Sketch is holding an increasingly important market share. Thus, to please customers looking for the latest technologies, it is important to master this tool.

In summary, there is no magic software that meets all needs. Indeed, the Web is a fast changing medium, forcing design tools to constantly innovate. Photoshop and Sketch both need to be attentive to the new requirements set by the market to quickly adapt.

The competition between these software brands is beneficial to all of us. It will simply encourage the development and improvement of new tools to simplify everyday designs. Thus, the idea is not to crown a king right now, that would be a bit utopian and would change from one day to the next. We should instead exploit the strengths of each to design better!

Interested in design? Discover InVision, another useful design tool!
Read also about Interactive Design, an article by Maxime our Art Director.

RECENT POSTS

Ten reasons to join the team at GTI
GTI Canada announces official opening of Support Centre
May the best team win!