My blackbook w/ 2gb ram, cs2+cs3, office 04 + iwork 08, aperture 2, 19" dell monitor (eh..better than the gloss, right?), 1g wireless keyboard + mighty mouse.. WD 160gb external hd, then my canon xti and a hp 5180c..just a student for now, but I'm getting a MP w/ ACD + new printer asap...
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Graphic Designers: What's your set up?
- Thread starter southcounty949
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haha i actually printed those off a while back and use them at my work! that site is hilarious!
i, as a graphic artist, recently switched from PC to Mac. I now have an iMac, and awaiting delivery of CS3. On my old PC i used CS2, and at work i use CS2 on a PC with dual 20" monitors with a wacom that i hardly use.
EDITED: CS3 is now installed on the new iMac ;o)
Computer:
- MacBook Pro (1.83 GHz, 2GB RAM)
Screen:
- 22" HP 22w Display -> worst display I've ever seen
-> therefore, I'll get a Apple Cinema Display 30" soon.
Tablet:
- Wacom Bamboo FUN-M
Mouse & Keyboard:
- Apple Wireless MightyMouse
- Apple Wirless Aluminium Keyboard
Software:
- OS: MacOSX 10.5.2
- Photoshop CS3
- Illustrator CS3
- Lightroom 1.3.1
- EasyBatchPhoto
Camera:
- Sony Alpha + 50mm/1.4, 28-75mm/2.8, 18-70/3.5-5.6, 28-85mm/3.5-4.5, 75-300mm/4.5-5.6, Fisheye converter
- Sony DSC-F717
- MacBook Pro (1.83 GHz, 2GB RAM)
Screen:
- 22" HP 22w Display -> worst display I've ever seen
-> therefore, I'll get a Apple Cinema Display 30" soon.
Tablet:
- Wacom Bamboo FUN-M
Mouse & Keyboard:
- Apple Wireless MightyMouse
- Apple Wirless Aluminium Keyboard
Software:
- OS: MacOSX 10.5.2
- Photoshop CS3
- Illustrator CS3
- Lightroom 1.3.1
- EasyBatchPhoto
Camera:
- Sony Alpha + 50mm/1.4, 28-75mm/2.8, 18-70/3.5-5.6, 28-85mm/3.5-4.5, 75-300mm/4.5-5.6, Fisheye converter
- Sony DSC-F717
My setup.. a 1.6ghz PC, 19'' E19FP, a generic keyboard and mouse (because i'm still waiting for that "right time" to pull the trigger on a proper MBP 
), and an Intuos3 soon to expand the things I can do with photoshop.
But seriously, it all comes down to what you do, and how you do it. My design jobs on PC are buying me the Apple setup of my dreams (in addition to.. craigslist). But.. keep in mind: it's the indian, not the arrow.
), and an Intuos3 soon to expand the things I can do with photoshop.But seriously, it all comes down to what you do, and how you do it. My design jobs on PC are buying me the Apple setup of my dreams (in addition to.. craigslist
). But.. keep in mind: it's the indian, not the arrow.
All the stuff in my sig, +
CS3 Master Collection - For design
Final Cut Pro - For Multimedia
Painter X - Sketching & Painting
Poser 5 - 3D
Carrara 3D 6.1 Pro - 3D
Bryce 3D 6.5 - 3D
Toast 9 - DVD Backups
Office 2004 - Text Files Boring office related crap
Eye Candy Bundle Plug ins - Photoshop spice
Sound Converter - Converting sounds & Music
Visual Hub - Converting video
Parallels Desktop, & Windows XP sp2 - Converting Wondoze stuff
Lego Star wars (To keep the kid happy) Playtime
Many other freeware - shareware apps
I also use a Wacom tablet
CS3 Master Collection - For design
Final Cut Pro - For Multimedia
Painter X - Sketching & Painting
Poser 5 - 3D
Carrara 3D 6.1 Pro - 3D
Bryce 3D 6.5 - 3D
Toast 9 - DVD Backups
Office 2004 - Text Files Boring office related crap
Eye Candy Bundle Plug ins - Photoshop spice
Sound Converter - Converting sounds & Music
Visual Hub - Converting video
Parallels Desktop, & Windows XP sp2 - Converting Wondoze stuff
Lego Star wars (To keep the kid happy) Playtime
Many other freeware - shareware apps
I also use a Wacom tablet
17" MacBook Pro 2.33 | 2GB
30" Apple Cinema Display
CS3 Master Collection
Wacom Tablet
Canon EOS 400D (for pics)
Final Cut Pro
Coda (html + css editing)
Transmit (ftp)
wireless apple keyboard and mouse
500GB external HD
and a bunch of other apps that i cant think of at the moment...
30" Apple Cinema Display
CS3 Master Collection
Wacom Tablet
Canon EOS 400D (for pics)
Final Cut Pro
Coda (html + css editing)
Transmit (ftp)
wireless apple keyboard and mouse
500GB external HD
and a bunch of other apps that i cant think of at the moment...
15" macbook pro, 20 " apple monitor, cs3 Premium wireless mighty mouse, scanner, Stabil pencils, Grumbacher brushes, Sumi Tech Pens, Bienfang papers...
Setup
If my ailing memory serves me right, since 1988 I have worked full time using the following:
Mac SE
Mac IIfx
Mac Quadro 700
Quadro 900
Various beige Powermacs (8100, 8200, 8600, 7200)
Blue and white Mac G3 400
Dark blue/silver G4 500
iMac Indigo 350
Mac G5 single processor
Powerbook 15" Aluminium 1GHz G4
Currently:
Dual 2.3 G5 Power Mac, 4.5Gb RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Special Edition 256mb (£90 off eBay, a bit flaky)
If my ailing memory serves me right, since 1988 I have worked full time using the following:
Mac SE
Mac IIfx
Mac Quadro 700
Quadro 900
Various beige Powermacs (8100, 8200, 8600, 7200)
Blue and white Mac G3 400
Dark blue/silver G4 500
iMac Indigo 350
Mac G5 single processor
Powerbook 15" Aluminium 1GHz G4
Currently:
Dual 2.3 G5 Power Mac, 4.5Gb RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Special Edition 256mb (£90 off eBay, a bit flaky)
What is in my sig along with the following:
Adobe Master Collection CS3 (pretty much all I use, have not tried FCP yet)
2 terebytes of backup storage
1.8 terebytes of server space
2 external hard drives fire wired
2 canon printers (large format and small picture S9000 and I860 old but still work really good!)
1 canon scanner
1 canon multi for faxing etc
Forgot to add.. Wacom table.
Adobe Master Collection CS3 (pretty much all I use, have not tried FCP yet)
2 terebytes of backup storage
1.8 terebytes of server space
2 external hard drives fire wired
2 canon printers (large format and small picture S9000 and I860 old but still work really good!)
1 canon scanner
1 canon multi for faxing etc
Forgot to add.. Wacom table.
I'm a portrait photographer/studio owner. I have several workstations in the studio, all iMacs, but this is my personal desk set-up where I'm doing most of my editing. Throughout the day I am typically running Lightroom, Photoshop CS3, iViewMediaPro, Safari, Mail, Word, Excel, iTunes, and Dreamweaver, simultaneously.
Though the MacBook 2.2 GHz isn't exactly a mega powerhouse, when loaded with 4 GB of RAM, it makes a wonderful workstation brain for a very moderate price and allows computing on the sofa, in bed, or wherever with just pulling a few plugs. Versatile and surprisingly capable! When the new Mac mini is released, if it's at least as capable as the current 2.4 GHz MacBook, it will become the new brain of this workstation and the MacBook will retire to the bedroom/location.
The MacBook drives the 24" HP S-PVA display panel magnificently. The HP LP 2465 is a superb monitor for graphics, especially for $600 or so. I'm very happy with the image and color quality of this HP 24" widescreen... I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
Though the MacBook 2.2 GHz isn't exactly a mega powerhouse, when loaded with 4 GB of RAM, it makes a wonderful workstation brain for a very moderate price and allows computing on the sofa, in bed, or wherever with just pulling a few plugs. Versatile and surprisingly capable! When the new Mac mini is released, if it's at least as capable as the current 2.4 GHz MacBook, it will become the new brain of this workstation and the MacBook will retire to the bedroom/location.
The MacBook drives the 24" HP S-PVA display panel magnificently. The HP LP 2465 is a superb monitor for graphics, especially for $600 or so. I'm very happy with the image and color quality of this HP 24" widescreen... I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
Haha. Excellent.
My work area (at home):
Hardware:
»MacBook Pro 15" 2.2 Ghz, 4GB Ram, 128mb geforce 8600M GT
»Wacom Intuos2 6x8 Tablet (no mouse)
»Logitech MX518 mouse, 1600 dpi
»Saitek Eclipse 1 Keyboard
»Hyundai 19" LCD Monitor, resolution: 1280x1024px
»HP PSC 1315v (crappy prints, workable scanner)
Software:
»Adobe Design Suite CS3 - psd, ai, and indd mostly
»Adobe After Effects CS3
»Cinema 4D (occasionally)
»Final Cut Studio
»MS Office 08
»And, of course, Quicksilver
I really need to learn Flash this summer. Dreamweaver I kind of know, but it's just made me want to learn coding html/css better instead. I just finished my third year of design school so I'm not as blinged out with computers as some might be (I'm lucky enough to have this MBP), but I think anyone who knows design can do it well enough with the materials on hand. I prefer my sketchbook and a scanner to my computer half the time anyway.
I highly recommend a laptop if you are in design school. The portability is invaluable.
I won't waste your time with an equipment list. It's not much different than many here. I have a LOT of software but, some of the most useful I have in my collection were actually the cheapest: Transmit (FTP), TextWrangler (Text editor for web), CSSedit (HTML/CSS editing), VMware Fusion (For testing websites on Windogs).
One last thought...focus more on principles of design than on software. You will be an immensely better designer for it.
-mx
I won't waste your time with an equipment list. It's not much different than many here. I have a LOT of software but, some of the most useful I have in my collection were actually the cheapest: Transmit (FTP), TextWrangler (Text editor for web), CSSedit (HTML/CSS editing), VMware Fusion (For testing websites on Windogs).
One last thought...focus more on principles of design than on software. You will be an immensely better designer for it.
-mx
Weekend warrior photography
MacBook Pro. Ancient but still operational PowerMac G4, with various backup drives inside. Alu keyboard and mighty mouse. Dell 1704FPV monitor with dual inputs switchable between computer and laptop. Spyder2Pro calibrator. Laptop is primary machine.
By the way, not to hijack the thread or anything, but I am looking for a new monitor. Any brief suggestions, or simply explanations in future posts of how you chose the monitor in your current set-up? I am thinking of an Apple Cinema Display (20 or 23); or HP2465 or similar sRGB S-PVA panel. Thought of NEC 2490WUXi but it's too expensive. I am trying to balance the convenience of using the Apple displays with what I think is the greater durability of PVA panels. Concerned about text legibility and "sparkle" effect from the glare coating on the Apple displays, and concerned about the "black crush" gamma compression and the controllability of the brightness function on the HP. I considered the Dell 2408WFP but unless someone can convince me that sRGB can be easily made to work on an AdobeRGB wide-gamut monitor, I'll give it a pass.
MacBook Pro. Ancient but still operational PowerMac G4, with various backup drives inside. Alu keyboard and mighty mouse. Dell 1704FPV monitor with dual inputs switchable between computer and laptop. Spyder2Pro calibrator. Laptop is primary machine.
By the way, not to hijack the thread or anything, but I am looking for a new monitor. Any brief suggestions, or simply explanations in future posts of how you chose the monitor in your current set-up? I am thinking of an Apple Cinema Display (20 or 23); or HP2465 or similar sRGB S-PVA panel. Thought of NEC 2490WUXi but it's too expensive. I am trying to balance the convenience of using the Apple displays with what I think is the greater durability of PVA panels. Concerned about text legibility and "sparkle" effect from the glare coating on the Apple displays, and concerned about the "black crush" gamma compression and the controllability of the brightness function on the HP. I considered the Dell 2408WFP but unless someone can convince me that sRGB can be easily made to work on an AdobeRGB wide-gamut monitor, I'll give it a pass.
My Setup
Apple MacBook Pro
2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM
250 GB HardDrive
Adobe CS3 (I mainly use Ps, Ai, and Id)
Coral Painter X
Microsoft Office 2004
Kensington PilotMouse Laser Wireless Mini
Impact 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
And I'm going to be getting an external hard drive very soon since I'm going to start needing it for my classes. I want to get a Wacom Tablet sometime soon too.
Apple MacBook Pro
2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM
250 GB HardDrive
Adobe CS3 (I mainly use Ps, Ai, and Id)
Coral Painter X
Microsoft Office 2004
Kensington PilotMouse Laser Wireless Mini
Impact 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
And I'm going to be getting an external hard drive very soon since I'm going to start needing it for my classes. I want to get a Wacom Tablet sometime soon too.
BTW I do recommend coming up with a good external storage solution as well as backup. It will come back to haunt you at the worst moment. I personally use an eSata enclosure with removable HDs. Time Machine works nice with this for backup.
-mx
-mx
Dhart,
Do you work with the tablet in that arrangement all the time? I have tried that but, I am using the keyboard so much that it felt a little disjointed. Just curious.
-mx
Do you work with the tablet in that arrangement all the time? I have tried that but, I am using the keyboard so much that it felt a little disjointed. Just curious.
-mx
Moto... I only use the tablet when image editing in Photoshop (retouching portraits). It's amazing for that and nothing is better, but for everything else I use the keyboard & mouse. BTW, I LOVE the new aluminum keyboard... it's the best!
Agreed. I have one of the AL keyboards as well and I really like the feel of it.
I have not yet found a good way of incorporating the tablet into the workspace. I am contemplating getting a Cintiq to see if that would work a little better. Then I could put the Cintiq in my lap like a sketchbook and the keyboard nearby on the desk.
-mx
Yes, I got use to that feel from my extended laptop use and learned to enjoy it. So, when they came out with them I bought one right away.
-mx
-mx
mid-1999 - used 1996 power tower pro, 185 mhz 604e processor, 64 megs ram
2000 - ibook, 300 mhz G3, 160 megs ram
2003 - used 2000 dual-500 G4, 1 gig of RAM
2006 - 1.42 ghz G4, 1 gig of RAM
that's just the computer specs, printers were always lexmark, epson, and hp
graphics by adobe photoshop, illustrator, and pagemaker, and once in a while macromedia's somewhat like version of illustrator which i can't recall the name of way back when
2000 - ibook, 300 mhz G3, 160 megs ram
2003 - used 2000 dual-500 G4, 1 gig of RAM
2006 - 1.42 ghz G4, 1 gig of RAM
that's just the computer specs, printers were always lexmark, epson, and hp
graphics by adobe photoshop, illustrator, and pagemaker, and once in a while macromedia's somewhat like version of illustrator which i can't recall the name of way back when
MacPro 2.8 w/ 4GB RAM with two 20 ACDs. –This machine is a bit much most of the time, but I plan to have it for many years.
15" PowerBook 1.5 w/ 2GB RAM –Still great for portability, adjusting/editing work on the fly and for showing work/presentations with clients.
I am a web and print designer. You can see some of my work in my sig.
Cheers.
Joseph
15" PowerBook 1.5 w/ 2GB RAM –Still great for portability, adjusting/editing work on the fly and for showing work/presentations with clients.
I am a web and print designer. You can see some of my work in my sig.
Cheers.
Joseph