Button/Graphic Development: What do you use?

[DmbShn41]

I'm in the mid stages of my app development, and I'm to the point where I am somewhat comfortable with interace Builder. I'm wanting to create my own buttons, icons, graphics, etc. I know that there are certain size requirements on things, and I'm wondering what programs people use. What should should I consider, what should I stay away from? Thanks for the input.

[lee.anderson]

Are you asking what sort of programs to design graphics etc. in?

If you are, the standard is really Photoshop and Illustrator.

Also, keep in mind when designing small icons and buttons, to not over detail them, as they will appear muddy on the iPhones small screen. Try to keep them simple and clean.

If you haven't used Photoshop or Illustrator before, there's a wealth of tutorials on Youtube and Google. There are even some tutorials that specifically focus on designing icons and graphics for the iPhone.

Hope I've helped.

[DmbShn41]

Thats what I was afraid of. $599 for Illustrator and $699 for Photoshop. Adobe really has a market on those...I'm currently downloading a simple basic vector based image creator, for FREE, so hopefully it will work. But you answered my question and I will def check out those tutorials. Thanks.

[lee.anderson]

Thats what I was afraid of. $599 for Illustrator and $699 for Photoshop. Adobe really has a market on those...I'm currently downloading a simple basic vector based image creator, for FREE, so hopefully it will work. But you answered my question and I will def check out those tutorials. Thanks.

Yeah, Photoshop is really expensive, but there's also Gimp

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Its free and powerful, although not vector based (its capable of vector paths and shapes though), you should also be able to find lots of tutorials for that as well. Its basically Photoshop, but free :D

[North Bronson]

Thats what I was afraid of. $599 for Illustrator and $699 for Photoshop. Adobe really has a market on those...I'm currently downloading a simple basic vector based image creator, for FREE, so hopefully it will work. But you answered my question and I will def check out those tutorials. Thanks.

Remember, your Mac comes with Quartz. If you are not used to drawing with code (I wasn't) there is a little learning involved, but the documentation is actually pretty well written (I think).

Quartz gives you paths, gradients, shadows -- tons of stuff for free.

[firewood]

The cheap solution is Gimp under X11 (I've created a couple simple buttons and icons using it).

But all the professional graphic designers I know (for whom time is money) use the Adobe tools instead.

[Saladinos]

Remember, your Mac comes with Quartz. If you are not used to drawing with code (I wasn't) there is a little learning involved, but the documentation is actually pretty well written (I think).

Quartz gives you paths, gradients, shadows -- tons of stuff for free.

lol. I love that suggestion. I've spent so much of my time scribbling down vector shapes and calculating co-ordinates. It's a seriously cheap-ass thing to do.

[North Bronson]

lol. I love that suggestion. I've spent so much of my time scribbling down vector shapes and calculating co-ordinates. It's a seriously cheap-ass thing to do.

Yea, it's pretty ghetto! :D

Actually, if your custom icons are just a rounded rectangle with a classy gradient, text, and some shadowing, Quartz wasn't too bad for me.

I guess, in theory, if the iPhone becomes resolution independent some day (the screen is already *way* past 72 ppi) it might come in handy to have some of your custom UI written in Quartz.