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The best logo designing program for mac?

radiantm3 said:
You are somewhat wrong. PNG files are great, but they still don't have complete support. The colors shift on older browsers and alpha channels don't work in IE (natively). GIFs and JPGs are still the way to go until PNG becomes widely accepted. I only use png if I need an alpha channel or if a gif doesn't look good enough. Most of the time it is sufficient.
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Yes, but if we continue to rely on old formats, then the new one's don't get pushed...I used PNG as much as possible unless it's a very photographic image, then of course jpeg is necessary. And IE7 supports alpha channels in PNGs; people still using IE6 need to get on the wagon train.

Never used Freehand, but Illustrator is godly.
 
Sorry, don't have time to read through all the posts, but wanted to help....

Illustrator. Save as vector EPS for print GIF for web. End of discussion.
 
speleoterra said:
Freehand is WAY more intuitive that Illustrator, as i was trained on both. It is more "Mac" in interface that Illustrator is more PC in thought. Both are good though, too bad Adobe will probably kill Freehand.
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Not sure why you think that Illustrator is 'More PC' and Freehand is 'More Mac'. Illustrator debuted on Mac way before PC, it's basic behaviour hasn't changed that much since about Version 6 if we ignore transparency that came along in Version 9 and confused the hell out of most print-orientated users. Macromedia didn't help themselves when they decided to align the UI of Freehand with that of Dreamweaver, which alienated a lot of existing users.

I used both, many years ago most of my new artwork was created in Freehand but it's use in the UK gradually tailed off, with Creative Suite being the nail in the coffin (after all, why would you have bought Creative Suite and Macromedia Freehand if you didn't need to?). Same will eventually happen to Quark.

What I do remember about Freehand though was its superior accuracy - paths and objects really did accurately snap to guides and to each other, unlike Illustrator which is still vague to this day.

Anyway, to answer your question, go for Illustrator if you want to make a career out of this kind of thing.
 
speleoterra said:
Freehand is WAY more intuitive that Illustrator, as i was trained on both. It is more "Mac" in interface that Illustrator is more PC in thought. Both are good though, too bad Adobe will probably kill Freehand.
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I thought Freehand died when Adobe bought out Macromedia? I miss the days of multiple crop marks. Stupid Adobe.
 
I think Illustrator is the way to go. Freehand will get the job done as well. Just make sure it is a vector program. Then if you want to add fancy effects to it, take it into a raster program like Photoshop and go to town!

Illustrator gets my vote here!
 
Oh gosh! This thread still alive. I've been a Freehand and Illustrator user since 1990. Two have jockeyed around for 'best vector tool' in much the same manner that Apple OS and Windows have Jockeyed around. There's a lot of lore around FH & IL . Used to be said that designers that operated from the West Coast/Silicon valley, Bay Area were die hard Freehand and everyone else used Illustrator. I was a FH Beta team user ( AKA the FH Evangelists) since V2 and so I am an expert and have taught it and Illustrator to others. I'm not sure about how Illustrator has evolved since I really stopped teaching it around '95. But I was very disappointed with some specific Tool Box UI changes in Freehand MX so I'm still using V10.
In truth, it's never so much the actual software or version thereof, but rather the time that you put in to mastering it. :D
 
Lacero said:
You can use the Path tools in Photoshop to design logos. Export as an EPS file. Problem solved. :)
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l0zo: If you choose this method....Be careful with saving/exporting as an EPS file. If you don't have a printer that recognizes the EPS Script then your logos will only print as code/script.. not as what you see on the screen!
 
There IS an alternative to AI and FH

As a graphic designer, I use all of the CS3 products, in both platforms. And I have paid a LOT of $$$ to Adobe over the years. The CS3 products are so tightly woven into the graphic design world, that I can hardly imagine my life without them. Yet, if my goal was to simply "create a logo", I would consider giving a "new name" a try. I'm talking about LineForm. It is simple. Only $79 retail, and there is a free trial! It can produce vector art, just like the big guys, so you might want to at least give it a try!:) Failed to mention, it is MAC only, at this point.

Sorry Adobe. You just can't have it ALL!:D
 
Much as I love Illustrator I've always find it gets in the way when trying out variations.. Photoshop is better to get the logo right and then trace it in AI to get the final product.. with a bit of tightening up of course
 
if you'd take a graphic design class, you'll be taught as
Photo and painting works : with photoshop
Logo, Icons, and print works : with illustrator.
illustrator is for the clean and neat print graphic works..
i heard that InDesign works better with logo than illustrator..haven tried InDesign yet tho..
but i see many design firms are looking for people who works with indesign when they are hiring.
 
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