I'm a Graphic Designer, and I only need a Macbook Air. My Tale.

tcuguy said:
All anyone needs who does equally or less intensive tasks than working heavily in photoshop, illustrator, and indesign at the same time.

The only reason people get more is because they think they need more, and then don't use it to its full potential (or unless you need an optical drive or work in the field away from a desk with a larger monitor). Its like saying that you NEED a ferrari because professional race car drivers need them... you really only need a VW beetle- all else is for the ego to feed on.
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Thanks for reassuring me that my choice of MBA 2012 13'' 8GB ram is adequate for my everyday work:)
 
chanyitian said:
Thanks for reassuring me that my choice of MBA 2012 13'' 8GB ram is adequate for my everyday work:)
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That was really my goal I'm glad I could help!

Looking to get my Mac I couldn't find any reassurance and, really, just jumped into the dark - thankfully I made the right choice. I hope other people see this and are reassured just like you were (and just like I WASNT)!

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satchmo said:
While I agree a MBA is sufficient, having an additional separate 24" display will no doubt come in handy for certain layout type projects.

These days, a good IPS matte display will set you back only a few hundred bucks...unlike the $$$ Apple wants for their glossy 27" display.
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This was exactly my solution (and I see many posters up top complaining about not working on a laptop screen which I agree with!). Thats why I said that I had the best of both worlds getting this small machine AND ALSO getting my larger desktop monitor and bluetooth mouse – after these it works just like any regular desktop computer.

Actually, my MBA runs faster than what I'm typing on right now which is a 2010 i27. (I'm at my 9-5 which is a design agency, I use my MBA for freelancing from 8-2... yes I 'work' a lot). I KNOW that this i27 would kick ass during video rendering and programs that utilize all four cores, but otherwise, my little MBA is MUCH faster (mainly due to the newer processor and flash drive) – and I'm a designer not a video editor anyways.
 
sparkie7 said:
are you running apples 27" display? -- i can't stand the glass..
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No not at all, those suck for calibration purposes lol (and yeah I can see everything behind me with those).

Im running a single 24" Dell IPS monitor (the norm for all my design friends around my area), its got a nice matte display and my head does't get tired going everywhere around the monitor (27" is too big for me honestly, personal preference).
 
Student

I'm going to College in September to study Graphic Communication so I will using Photoshop, illustrator, In Design (maybe Dreamweaver and Flash) I have always loved the design of the Air and I am really tempted to get the 13" with i7, 8GB RAM and 256 SSD this will be my first Mac and my main computer because I'm only a student and not at professional level yet would the Air be suitable for me? I will also be using the iMacs at college so I could use them if wanted a bit more power or should I be looking more at a MacBook Pro.
 
I know two professional graphics artist and one photographer who currently works for several major publications. They use the current Air as their main machine. Our personal computers have grown so powerful that I find it amazing that even the lowest end Mac can tackle high end work easily. Great share OP.
 
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Right now, I have the World's Fastest 11" MacBook Air, and Safari feels snappier!

I run Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Photoshop, Motion 5, After Effects and Lightroom. Piece of cake. Nothing can take my Air down.

I'm not commenting about gaming, though, :D

The Air is a wonderful piece of technology. With 3.2 GHz of i7 at 4 cores (2 Ghz, 4 threads, 2 cores), 8GB of 1600 GHz of RAM, lightning fast 500 MB/s storage, I don't know why Apple didn't choose the name "Pro" for this prosumer notebook. Probably to separate the two in terms of thinness.
 
Tempted…

I'll confess that when my hardware refresh comes round at the end of March*, I have my eye on the 13" MBA with the 512Gb SSD and 8Gb RAM. I'm finding saving documents, particularly from Illustrator, something of a bottleneck and the SSD is likely to alleviate that considerably. My wife's current 2011 MBA will drive my Cintiq, so the newer model certainly will, and all my legacy kit can be connected via Belkin's recently announced (but pricey!) Thunderbolt dock.

I'm finding people's experiences posted here very reassuring. Thanks for sharing, folks!

Cheers

Jim

*Basically, I work out my tax liability for the preceding year and, if it looks a bit high, then I go for a nice, high-value deductible expense…
 
The whole argument people make between getting a pro or an air is for the most part self justification. I know plenty of graphic designers who are running G4, G5 and pre-uMBP's with absolutely no issues. Any computer is a tool. Sure, you might be able to save a few minutes (or seconds) with a faster processor, but if you can get the job done with a now ancient G4 tower, why do you need a rMBP or better?

I get it if you're doing intensive video work, you'll need more than an Air to work effectively, but otherwise, I would agree that the Air's ('11 or '12 or even late '10's) should work just fine for most people, IMHO.
 
MacBoobsPro said:
Exactly. Try working on a double page spread with 8pt type on an 11" screen. I'll stick to my 27" iMac thankyouplease!
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You're also missing the point. The point is that an Air is for 98% of the people all the horsepower they need. Buy a monitor with it and your close, if not cheaper than buying an iMac and still have the portability. Everybody here thinks the same way about working on a 11'' or 13'' screen as you do.
 
Vandefilm said:
You're also missing the point. The point is that an Air is for 98% of the people all the horsepower they need. Buy a monitor with it and your close, if not cheaper than buying an iMac and still have the portability. Everybody here thinks the same way about working on a 11'' or 13'' screen as you do.
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I've said it before and I'll say it again — the MacBook Air has replaced the iMac as Apple's consumer Mac. If you're the kind of person who's worried about "working on a double page spread with 8pt type", there are Macs with the word "Pro" in their names.
 
Vandefilm said:
You're also missing the point. The point is that an Air is for 98% of the people all the horsepower they need. Buy a monitor with it and your close, if not cheaper than buying an iMac and still have the portability. Everybody here thinks the same way about working on a 11'' or 13'' screen as you do.
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Not quite. I also have a 13" MBP. I bought the iMac because working on 13" on large projects with small type is a nightmare. Zoom in. Zoom out. Zoom in. Zoom out.
 
Vandefilm said:
You're also missing the point. The point is that an Air is for 98% of the people all the horsepower they need. Buy a monitor with it and your close, if not cheaper than buying an iMac and still have the portability. Everybody here thinks the same way about working on a 11'' or 13'' screen as you do.
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Spot on! All I need for my work is the horsepower. If I need a bigger screen, I'll buy myself a big standalone screen and use thunderbolt; the port is there for a reason.
 
Nice post OP!

Just have some questions though as i'm in the middle of deciding if I should get the 11" or 13". Unlike you, I sometimes do photo editing in Photoshop/Lightroom, so it won't be my main reason for getting a MBA. I was just wondering, when you went from the 11" to 13", how much of a difference did the extra 2" make for your editing? Was it worth the extra size/weight, and has it prevented the portability in any way for you?
 
I use a 2011 Air for graphic design and web development, photography. It is my main and only computer, combined with a large LCD.
I am going to upgrade to the 2012 8GB model but would only look for a more powerful machine if I were doing 3D.
 
rafalski said:
I use a 2011 Air for graphic design and web development, photography. It is my main and only computer, combined with a large LCD.
I am going to upgrade to the 2012 8GB model but would only look for a more powerful machine if I were doing 3D.
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Do you have the 11"? Do you do any actual graphic design on it or is it only on the large LCD?
 
anotherjoey said:
Do you have the 11"?
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I have the 13". The difference in weight is minimal and I think 11" would be hard to work on (but will fit better on airplane tables :) ). Also, 13" has better batteries.


anotherjoey said:
Do you do any actual graphic design on it or is it only on the large LCD?
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I use it with the external display 95% of the time. I work on the 13" display only when I have to, e.g. when traveling. It's not bad, it has the same resolution as a standard MBP 15" but it is painful coming down from 30" ;)
 
Links to graphic design works created using the mba?

Myth: If you are in the professional world, you need a Macbook Pro.

Hi, TCUGUY, new to the forum here and to graphic design... I am interested in everything you said, I, too, have been pondering over whether or not the MBA is suffice enough for the ideas I am playing around with in my head or do I need a MBP. I figured down the road at income tax time to grab an iMac... I want to do some film editing next year, but in the mean time I was interested in editing some photos, doing some page layout stuff, possible web design and the simpler tasks related to graph design.... I was wondering if you or if any member in this thread using a MBA has links to their works created using the MBA, mostly for show and tell and to help me kind of see what stuff I can create on this machine. I haven't purchased the MBA yet... but I may buy one used in good shape from a friend. I know it's 13" but not sure which generation. Are there 3 generations of the MBA at this point? 2010 model, a 2011 model? And the one that came out this past summer?

Thanks in advance,
Bryant
 
justbryant, you will be able to do pretty much anything graphic design related on a MB Air. It will only begin to struggle when you do heavier video editing or get in the 3D rendering territory but anything you described should be fine.

An external display will be a required addition, of course. I can't imagine design work on a small laptop all the time—but it will do for when you're on the go.

This said (and written on a 2011 MBA), if buying it for graphic design now, I would only consider the latest (2012) one, upgraded with 8GB RAM.

2012 models just began to appear in the Apple Refurb store with a fairly decent discount.
 
I'm a writer and amateur musician that does some photo and video editing. I have a 27" i7 iMac and got a 13" 2011 i5 MB Air just for writing on the go.

In actual fact it handles all my editing needs without a problem and has become my go to computer for music too. It handles live recording and editing in Logic Pro 9 flawlessly. I agree with the OP, I'd happily bet that if it suits my quite demanding needs it'll be more than enough for almost everybody else too.

My iMac has now pretty much been relegated to a main storage and backup hub and for bedtime movie viewing.
 
tcuguy said:
Myth: If you are in the professional world, you need a Macbook Pro.

Two months ago, I had two computers. A triple monitor 2011 27" i7 iMac, and a 2010 11" Macbook Air. For obvious reasons, my reasoning was to use the MBA for going to coffee shops, sitting in front of the TV, and playing games. The iMac, on the other hand, kept food on my table... or so I thought.

75% of the time I ended up using my 11" MBA for doing all of my design, not because it was faster (of course its not), but because it was far more convenient. This a 2010 base model 11" Air, mind you. Not exactly a speed freak. However, unless I was working on a 10 foot poster, it would run just as fast as my iMac. The main problem, the tiny screen.

This led to my current configuration.

I realized that even a 2010 MBA had the power to run Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign all at the same time. Working in Aperture was a drag though. The problem was the screen size. Fast forward to 2012, and the new Macbook Air's are FOUR times as fast as in 2010. Aperture, I thought, should not be a problem now. Screen size? Well use an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse for that matter when sitting in a desk.

So here I am, a full time graphic designer, working to keep food on my plate (not using photoshop to make memes). And I can re-assure you, ALL YOU NEED IS A MACBOOK AIR. I chose the 13" this time, for slightly more real estate and longer battery life, without much added weight AT ALL. I went with the i5, because it is more than enough to run everything, I promise. Upgraded the ram to 8GB (DO THIS), and called it a day. Most storage I keep offsite in a 1.5TB enclosure, since I don't use much when working on a single project. I couldn't ask for more. Portability is there, power is there, and a giant screen is there when I need it (connected to my external monitor in my desk).

If you do ANYTHING less intensive than Graphic Design [surf the web, use it for school, play games (to a certain extent)], I promise you, don't spend the money on a MBP. You will loose portability and a whole lot of cash - only to gain nothing. The only reason I see anyone buying a MBP or iMac these days is to do HEAVY video editing. Because even now, with my i5 8gb MBA, I can do all the photo editing in the world [even in a power hogging application such as Aperture].

Needless to say, my iMac is gone and I have consolidated into a single computer. The 2012 Macbook Air's are beasts, despite what all 16 year old boys who only look at benchmark tests tell you.
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What you should have bought was a 15" Retina Macbook Pro. Especially for graphics design considering the 13" Air screen is probably the worst screen in Apple's line of devices, terrible viewing angles, poor contrast, color gamut and accuracy.
 
I look at pc's and macs this way : read a magazine, watch a film or listen to some music from 3/4/5 years ago. Does it look or sound worse than any film/mag/music released this year?

99% of the time the answer is a big fat no. Now consider the fact that today's MacBook Air will probably (with exception of an Avatar like Hollywood blockbuster) be of a higher spec and performance than the kit the pro's used just a few years back to produce what you gave just watched, read or listened to. Then ask yourself, do I really need to pay double for something 'better'?
 
I'm with you. When I started my newest job, they started by giving me an iMac from '09 or so. I got an 8GB RAM upgrade approved, and it was awesomely fast and did everything I needed and more.

Two months later, I also get issued a MacBook Air. Haven't touched that iMac since. Even though the screen size is a big plus for the iMac, the Air is just so drop-dead convenient.

I also have to say that, for me, the MacBook Air makes iPad complete irrelevant. I don't even want one anymore.
 
I use Adobe Fireworks using my macbook air 13inch 2011. If you're doing screen related design tasks, icons, website designs it won't be a problem. If you're into billboard designing stuff or resolution requiring like 600 dpi 50 x 50 inch size canvas , my air struggles a bit.

Viewing multiple sites in youtube etc is fast. My only concern is dealing with some "games". I'm not talking about diablo 3 like games but maybe minecraft with some shaders. The air struggles but I'm sure the 2012 version will have no problem. I haven't tested a 2012 air but I'm pretty sure it can beat the 2011 one in so many ways.


If the 2013 gpu performance increases like 40-60 percent as what the rumors may have said, i'll probably sell my air =)
 
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