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Designers, Fonts, and Other Stuff Rant
Something I hear a lot in the design community, or at least around school, is that “real” designers use Macs. Well, I don’t agree with this one bit, for I believe if someone considers him or herself a “real” designer than the operating system does not matter, neither the program for that matter. Plus, most programs work on both operating systems, so it’s all a matter of preference. I will agree that more is offered to designers out of the box, if they chose a Mac, but they still get third party programs to do their designs. There are things I like from both operating systems, and Ubuntu for that matter, but for one to think it’s odd for a designer to use anything other than a Mac is simply ridiculous.
Some things I like about Leopard are native support for files such as PDF, Quicktime Files, and PSDs; Helvetica, Futura, and other standard fonts not found in Windows out of the box; and a Color Calibrator built in (now in Windows 7). Although, one main thing I dislike is dual monitor support; it’s funky, mainly with spaces and the finder bar.
When it comes to video production, however, I think a Mac is essential if you’re using industry standard programs. I’ve had Pro Tools for a while and can’t use it on 64bit Window, so I had to choose a Mac at this point. I more than likely wouldn’t have switched if Digidesign decided to support Windows 64bit, but have no complaints since the program works. If I went around caring so much about what my OS comes with than I wouldn’t be using a third party program at all, the only thing I feel all OS’s should do is support standard formats and fonts, and right now Leopard does that.
Programs are another thing. A good designer could use any program to create a design, it doesn’t have to be Adobe. If you can make a design with GIMP or some other non-industry standard software than good for him, since the final piece is whats important. It’s just like saying Comic Sans should be banned. I say, if you can create a design with Comic Sans and make it look awesome and professional, than you are a “real” designer. Don’t get me wrong, every designer, developer, digital artist should use standard programs, but if they use something different that doesn’t matter
Lastly to finish this rant, If you’re a designer and you like Apple computers because they look nice, than good for you. But it doesn’t mean it’s better.