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How to Make a Book in InDesign

Post pobrano z: How to Make a Book in InDesign

In this article, you’ll learn how to make a book in InDesign. Creating your own InDesign book templates doesn’t need to be daunting or difficult once you know a few basics. 

book cover template
Book cover template

Whether you’re planning on self-publishing a novel or creating your first InDesign book template for a client, knowing how to design your own books can be really fun and rewarding. 

Looking for downloadable InDesign book templates and book layout templates? You can find a wide range of InDesign book templates and eBook templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here’s a helpful list of the best ones:

Read on to discover ten essential steps for creating your own InDesign book templates from scratch, including how to create a book cover and how to make a book layout. You’ll also pick up some handy tips from the pros along the way. 

1. Complete Novice? Start With an InDesign Book Template

There’s no shame in admitting that you might not have any idea where to start with creating your book. Pro-standard, ready-made InDesign book templates can be downloaded from sites like Envato Elements and can be customized with your own content.

The advantage of using a template? Fiddly tasks like setting up page numbers, sections and masters (see below) have already been done for you. Pre-saved text styles (view these by going to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) will be set up for you as well, meaning that it’s quick and easy to give the text in your book a consistent look. 

Book cover templates are also handy for designers looking to gain experience with cover design. By adapting a cover template, you can see how the designer has set up the size and proportions of the layout, as well as observing how the spine, bleed and color specs have been optimised for a professional template. 

Read on to discover a few of our favorite InDesign book templates.

book template bundle
book template bundle
Book template bundle

This great-value book temple bundle allows you to create three clean and modern InDesign book layouts, complete with a cover, contents page, chapters, and paragraph styles.

kindle template
Kindle magazine and book template

This Kindle magazine and book template can be easily adapted as a large-format book for a children’s picture book or a coffee table title.

2. Ready to Take the Next Step? Create Your Book Template in InDesign

For many first-time book designers, it might also be the first time you come into contact with Adobe InDesign, so make sure to brush up on the basics before you begin designing, so you can approach creating your book with confidence. 

indesign

While you can use other software to create books, such as QuarkXPress, most professional book designers still consider InDesign to be the industry standard, so it’s well worth getting yourself familiar with some of the key features of InDesign, such as text threading, masters, styles, and typography. 

We’ll look at some tips for getting the most out of some of these features in the rest of this article, but if you’re looking to make a start on learning InDesign, this beginner’s quick-start guide will get you started on the right foot in no time. 

3. What’s the Best Format for Your Book Template: Paperback, Hardback, or eBook?

The publishing industry is rapidly changing, with digital formats (EPUBs, more popularly known as eBooks) gaining popularity over the last decade as more consumers look to read books using tablets or eReaders. 

ebook mockup
eMagazine and eBook mock-up template

Although eBooks have carved out a niche in the publishing market, many industry experts would point out that, despite earlier predictions to the contrary, print books are still going strong. Some publishers have even gone as far as to say that eBooks are unlikely to see any further growth. 

So what does this mean for you as a book designer? For self-publishers, eBooks are still a cheap, accessible and efficient way to get a book to market, and publishing houses are still producing most books in eBook as well as print formats. 

These tutorials will help you get started with creating your own eBook designs in InDesign:

For book traditionalists and enthusiasts, print books still hold a huge amount of appeal. The most common, and cheapest, print format is the paperback (or softcover), which is the best-value choice for self-publishers. A number of print-on-demand sites, like Blurb and CreateSpace, have sprung up in response to demand from self-publishers and independent publishing houses who want to create and sell paperbacks online. 

The ‘shelf appeal’ of hardbacks helped publishers to sell large-format titles in record quantities last year, which makes this more old-school print format one to watch. 

Hardbacks are more expensive to print, but they sell at a higher price point too. Check out this tutorial on how to create a hardback cover tailored to a young adult audience:

4. Design Your Book to a Standard Size

If you’re planning on selling your book online or distributing it to bookstores, it’s in your interest to design your book to an industry-accepted size. 

moby dick cover mock up

These standard sizes ensure your book will fit on a display shelf, as well as signifying to the reader the genre of your book. For example, a Pocket Book size in the States is commonly used for airport fiction, while a Trade size is used for fiction sold in Main Street book stores.

These are some of the most common book sizes in the US and the UK/Europe.

US Standard Book Sizes

  • Pocket Book: 4.25 in by 6.87 in
  • Digest: 5.5 in by 8.5 in
  • US Trade: 6 in by 9 in
  • Hardcover: Ranges from 6 in by 9 in to 8.5 in by 11 in

UK, Europe and Worldwide Standard Book Sizes:

  • A-Format: 178 mm by 111 mm
  • B-Format: 198 mm by 129 mm
  • Demy: 216 mm by 135 mm
  • Royal: 234 mm by 156 mm

5. Understand a Little About Paper Stock

Paper stock is the type of paper the pages of your book will be printed on. The ‘stock’ combines paper finish (such as coated or uncoated) and weight (measured in ‘Grams per Square Meter’, GSM). 

The heavier the paper stock you choose, the heavier your book will be, and the width of the spine will therefore be greater. While an experienced printer can advise you on the best sort of paper stock for your project, what you need to know is how this will affect the spine width of your cover, so you can accommodate this in your design.

Once you know the paper stock and page count of your book, you can either ask the printer for the spine width or use an online spine width calculator, like this Gutenberg calculator.

6. Learn How to Typeset Your Book Template

Typesetting is the process of arranging text on the inside pages of a book. Some book designers choose to specialise in typesetting, as the process of typesetting can be a very skilful and time-consuming process. 

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to typeset your own books. This tutorial provides a good overview of the basics of typesetting books in InDesign:

Once you know the basics of typesetting, you’ll also need to develop a good eye for spotting fonts that are suitable for typesetting. Most typesetters tend to opt for tried and trusted serif typefaces. Here are a few pointers to help you choose typesetting fonts which will always work beautifully. 

Look out for fonts which are:

  • Clear and legible, and readable at a small point size.
  • Easy on the eye, with few stylistic ‘quirks’ (these can tire the eye).
  • Available in a wide range of weights and styles, such as Book, Roman, Italic, Bold and Black, to give you plenty of flexibility.
  • Beautiful and have a classic, familiar feel to them (a serif like Addington is a great crowd-pleaser for setting body text).
addington font
addington
Addington font family

7. Get Inspired and Think Creatively for Your Book Cover Design

Walk into any bookstore and you’ll be blown away by the sheer creativity and diversity of book cover designs. Readers do judge books by their covers, so it pays to think creatively and strive to design a book cover that catches the eye and entices a prospective reader to pick up your book.

placeit cover
You can create stylish, attention-grabbing cover designs using Maker Apps like Placeit.

You can find great inspiration from sources online, such as Pinterest, which is flooded with inspiring book design images, or the amazing Book Cover Archive. Sites like these can give you ideas for the theme, mood, fonts and color palette you might want to use in your design.

These tutorials will guide you through the basics for creating your own book covers, as well as give you a few pointers for designing genre-appropriate covers:

8. Make Use of Masters

By placing elements such as page numbers and chapter headings on Masters, you can apply these elements consistently and quickly to a large number of pages. 

Master pages can be accessed from the Pages panel (Window > Pages) in InDesign. 

In this example, I’ve created three different master spreads for the inside pages of a book in InDesign­: a ‘Title’ master for the opening pages of the book with no page numbers, a ‘Start of Chapter’ master with page numbers but no running headers, and a ‘Chapter Body’ master with page numbers and running headers along the top of each page.

masters

Once you’ve set up and applied masters to your book, you will also need to get familiar with the process of threading text throughout your document. Read up on how to do this with this quick tip tutorial:

9. Create a Book File and Section Your Book

InDesign offers you a really useful feature for creating long book documents—these are called Book Files. A Book File is a collection of documents (usually chapters) grouped together. 

There are a number of advantages to creating a Book File, rather than simply creating your book as one large InDesign document:

  • Firstly, you can share styles across the chapters within the Book File and the page numbering sequence will continue from one chapter to the next. 
  • You can also make changes to your book more quickly and easily when you use a Book File. Instead of opening a single file with a large number of pages, you can open only the section or chapter you would like to edit, which makes navigating through your book much easier.

To create a Book File, go to File > New > Book in InDesign. You’ll be prompted to give the book a name and to save it. 

When you’ve created the Book File, choose Add Document from the Book panel’s main menu. From here, you can add InDesign files to the book, which would normally be chapter files (e.g. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc). 

book file

Once you’ve set up a book file, it’s important to set up the page numbering of your book correctly. This can be a bit fiddly, so let’s look at an example. 

Here, I want to set up my book so that page 1 begins on the first page of the opening chapter. So I select the opening chapter page (which is currently page 13) and choose Numbering & Section Options from the panel’s main menu.

numbering options

In the New Section window, I check Start Page Numbering at, and set this to 1. From the Style menu below, I choose ‘1, 2, 3, 4…’, before clicking OK. 

numbering style

I want the first 12 pages of my book to be numbered with Roman numerals. To do this, I select the very first page of the document, and again choose Numbering & Section Options.

As before, I check Start Page Numbering at and set this to 1. But this time I choose ‘i, ii, iii, iv…’ from the Style menu, and click OK. 

numbering style

You may also want to add a differently numbered section to the final pages of your book.

As you update the page numbers or add or remove pages in your book, the Book File will update the page numbering throughout all the documents (chapters). 

10. Prepare Your Book for Printing

Once you’ve completed the cover and inside pages of your book, you’re ready to export it for printing. 

The standard print-ready file format most printers will request is a PDF. 

Go to File > Export in InDesign, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Choose Press Quality from the Preset options to ensure your artwork is exported at a very high quality. 

Top tip: Export your cover and inside pages as separate PDF files. The cover should be exported as one whole image (including back cover, front cover and spine), while the inside pages should be exported as individual pages (not spreads).

Find out more about the basics of preparing your InDesign documents for print with this handy tutorial:

Develop Your Book Design Skills Further…

If you’re still unsure about how to make a confident start with creating your own book templates in InDesign, a downloadable template is a great place to get started. 

You can find a wide range of customizable InDesign book templates for book covers and book layouts on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Ready to develop your learning further? Discover our pick of the best book design tutorials for beginners below:   

Web Tools

How to Make a Book in InDesign

Post pobrano z: How to Make a Book in InDesign

In this article, you’ll learn how to make a book in InDesign. Creating your own InDesign book templates doesn’t need to be daunting or difficult once you know a few basics. 

book cover template
Book cover template

Whether you’re planning on self-publishing a novel or creating your first InDesign book template for a client, knowing how to design your own books can be really fun and rewarding. 

Looking for downloadable InDesign book templates and book layout templates? You can find a wide range of InDesign book templates and eBook templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here’s a helpful list of the best ones:

Read on to discover ten essential steps for creating your own InDesign book templates from scratch, including how to create a book cover and how to make a book layout. You’ll also pick up some handy tips from the pros along the way. 

1. Complete Novice? Start With an InDesign Book Template

There’s no shame in admitting that you might not have any idea where to start with creating your book. Pro-standard, ready-made InDesign book templates can be downloaded from sites like Envato Elements and can be customized with your own content.

The advantage of using a template? Fiddly tasks like setting up page numbers, sections and masters (see below) have already been done for you. Pre-saved text styles (view these by going to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) will be set up for you as well, meaning that it’s quick and easy to give the text in your book a consistent look. 

Book cover templates are also handy for designers looking to gain experience with cover design. By adapting a cover template, you can see how the designer has set up the size and proportions of the layout, as well as observing how the spine, bleed and color specs have been optimised for a professional template. 

Read on to discover a few of our favorite InDesign book templates.

book template bundle
book template bundle
Book template bundle

This great-value book temple bundle allows you to create three clean and modern InDesign book layouts, complete with a cover, contents page, chapters, and paragraph styles.

kindle template
Kindle magazine and book template

This Kindle magazine and book template can be easily adapted as a large-format book for a children’s picture book or a coffee table title.

2. Ready to Take the Next Step? Create Your Book Template in InDesign

For many first-time book designers, it might also be the first time you come into contact with Adobe InDesign, so make sure to brush up on the basics before you begin designing, so you can approach creating your book with confidence. 

indesign

While you can use other software to create books, such as QuarkXPress, most professional book designers still consider InDesign to be the industry standard, so it’s well worth getting yourself familiar with some of the key features of InDesign, such as text threading, masters, styles, and typography. 

We’ll look at some tips for getting the most out of some of these features in the rest of this article, but if you’re looking to make a start on learning InDesign, this beginner’s quick-start guide will get you started on the right foot in no time. 

3. What’s the Best Format for Your Book Template: Paperback, Hardback, or eBook?

The publishing industry is rapidly changing, with digital formats (EPUBs, more popularly known as eBooks) gaining popularity over the last decade as more consumers look to read books using tablets or eReaders. 

ebook mockup
eMagazine and eBook mock-up template

Although eBooks have carved out a niche in the publishing market, many industry experts would point out that, despite earlier predictions to the contrary, print books are still going strong. Some publishers have even gone as far as to say that eBooks are unlikely to see any further growth. 

So what does this mean for you as a book designer? For self-publishers, eBooks are still a cheap, accessible and efficient way to get a book to market, and publishing houses are still producing most books in eBook as well as print formats. 

These tutorials will help you get started with creating your own eBook designs in InDesign:

For book traditionalists and enthusiasts, print books still hold a huge amount of appeal. The most common, and cheapest, print format is the paperback (or softcover), which is the best-value choice for self-publishers. A number of print-on-demand sites, like Blurb and CreateSpace, have sprung up in response to demand from self-publishers and independent publishing houses who want to create and sell paperbacks online. 

The ‘shelf appeal’ of hardbacks helped publishers to sell large-format titles in record quantities last year, which makes this more old-school print format one to watch. 

Hardbacks are more expensive to print, but they sell at a higher price point too. Check out this tutorial on how to create a hardback cover tailored to a young adult audience:

4. Design Your Book to a Standard Size

If you’re planning on selling your book online or distributing it to bookstores, it’s in your interest to design your book to an industry-accepted size. 

moby dick cover mock up

These standard sizes ensure your book will fit on a display shelf, as well as signifying to the reader the genre of your book. For example, a Pocket Book size in the States is commonly used for airport fiction, while a Trade size is used for fiction sold in Main Street book stores.

These are some of the most common book sizes in the US and the UK/Europe.

US Standard Book Sizes

  • Pocket Book: 4.25 in by 6.87 in
  • Digest: 5.5 in by 8.5 in
  • US Trade: 6 in by 9 in
  • Hardcover: Ranges from 6 in by 9 in to 8.5 in by 11 in

UK, Europe and Worldwide Standard Book Sizes:

  • A-Format: 178 mm by 111 mm
  • B-Format: 198 mm by 129 mm
  • Demy: 216 mm by 135 mm
  • Royal: 234 mm by 156 mm

5. Understand a Little About Paper Stock

Paper stock is the type of paper the pages of your book will be printed on. The ‘stock’ combines paper finish (such as coated or uncoated) and weight (measured in ‘Grams per Square Meter’, GSM). 

The heavier the paper stock you choose, the heavier your book will be, and the width of the spine will therefore be greater. While an experienced printer can advise you on the best sort of paper stock for your project, what you need to know is how this will affect the spine width of your cover, so you can accommodate this in your design.

Once you know the paper stock and page count of your book, you can either ask the printer for the spine width or use an online spine width calculator, like this Gutenberg calculator.

6. Learn How to Typeset Your Book Template

Typesetting is the process of arranging text on the inside pages of a book. Some book designers choose to specialise in typesetting, as the process of typesetting can be a very skilful and time-consuming process. 

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to typeset your own books. This tutorial provides a good overview of the basics of typesetting books in InDesign:

Once you know the basics of typesetting, you’ll also need to develop a good eye for spotting fonts that are suitable for typesetting. Most typesetters tend to opt for tried and trusted serif typefaces. Here are a few pointers to help you choose typesetting fonts which will always work beautifully. 

Look out for fonts which are:

  • Clear and legible, and readable at a small point size.
  • Easy on the eye, with few stylistic ‘quirks’ (these can tire the eye).
  • Available in a wide range of weights and styles, such as Book, Roman, Italic, Bold and Black, to give you plenty of flexibility.
  • Beautiful and have a classic, familiar feel to them (a serif like Addington is a great crowd-pleaser for setting body text).
addington font
addington
Addington font family

7. Get Inspired and Think Creatively for Your Book Cover Design

Walk into any bookstore and you’ll be blown away by the sheer creativity and diversity of book cover designs. Readers do judge books by their covers, so it pays to think creatively and strive to design a book cover that catches the eye and entices a prospective reader to pick up your book.

placeit cover
You can create stylish, attention-grabbing cover designs using Maker Apps like Placeit.

You can find great inspiration from sources online, such as Pinterest, which is flooded with inspiring book design images, or the amazing Book Cover Archive. Sites like these can give you ideas for the theme, mood, fonts and color palette you might want to use in your design.

These tutorials will guide you through the basics for creating your own book covers, as well as give you a few pointers for designing genre-appropriate covers:

8. Make Use of Masters

By placing elements such as page numbers and chapter headings on Masters, you can apply these elements consistently and quickly to a large number of pages. 

Master pages can be accessed from the Pages panel (Window > Pages) in InDesign. 

In this example, I’ve created three different master spreads for the inside pages of a book in InDesign­: a ‘Title’ master for the opening pages of the book with no page numbers, a ‘Start of Chapter’ master with page numbers but no running headers, and a ‘Chapter Body’ master with page numbers and running headers along the top of each page.

masters

Once you’ve set up and applied masters to your book, you will also need to get familiar with the process of threading text throughout your document. Read up on how to do this with this quick tip tutorial:

9. Create a Book File and Section Your Book

InDesign offers you a really useful feature for creating long book documents—these are called Book Files. A Book File is a collection of documents (usually chapters) grouped together. 

There are a number of advantages to creating a Book File, rather than simply creating your book as one large InDesign document:

  • Firstly, you can share styles across the chapters within the Book File and the page numbering sequence will continue from one chapter to the next. 
  • You can also make changes to your book more quickly and easily when you use a Book File. Instead of opening a single file with a large number of pages, you can open only the section or chapter you would like to edit, which makes navigating through your book much easier.

To create a Book File, go to File > New > Book in InDesign. You’ll be prompted to give the book a name and to save it. 

When you’ve created the Book File, choose Add Document from the Book panel’s main menu. From here, you can add InDesign files to the book, which would normally be chapter files (e.g. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc). 

book file

Once you’ve set up a book file, it’s important to set up the page numbering of your book correctly. This can be a bit fiddly, so let’s look at an example. 

Here, I want to set up my book so that page 1 begins on the first page of the opening chapter. So I select the opening chapter page (which is currently page 13) and choose Numbering & Section Options from the panel’s main menu.

numbering options

In the New Section window, I check Start Page Numbering at, and set this to 1. From the Style menu below, I choose ‘1, 2, 3, 4…’, before clicking OK. 

numbering style

I want the first 12 pages of my book to be numbered with Roman numerals. To do this, I select the very first page of the document, and again choose Numbering & Section Options.

As before, I check Start Page Numbering at and set this to 1. But this time I choose ‘i, ii, iii, iv…’ from the Style menu, and click OK. 

numbering style

You may also want to add a differently numbered section to the final pages of your book.

As you update the page numbers or add or remove pages in your book, the Book File will update the page numbering throughout all the documents (chapters). 

10. Prepare Your Book for Printing

Once you’ve completed the cover and inside pages of your book, you’re ready to export it for printing. 

The standard print-ready file format most printers will request is a PDF. 

Go to File > Export in InDesign, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Choose Press Quality from the Preset options to ensure your artwork is exported at a very high quality. 

Top tip: Export your cover and inside pages as separate PDF files. The cover should be exported as one whole image (including back cover, front cover and spine), while the inside pages should be exported as individual pages (not spreads).

Find out more about the basics of preparing your InDesign documents for print with this handy tutorial:

Develop Your Book Design Skills Further…

If you’re still unsure about how to make a confident start with creating your own book templates in InDesign, a downloadable template is a great place to get started. 

You can find a wide range of customizable InDesign book templates for book covers and book layouts on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Ready to develop your learning further? Discover our pick of the best book design tutorials for beginners below:   

Web Tools

How to Make a Book in InDesign

Post pobrano z: How to Make a Book in InDesign

In this article, you’ll learn how to make a book in InDesign. Creating your own InDesign book templates doesn’t need to be daunting or difficult once you know a few basics. 

book cover template
Book cover template

Whether you’re planning on self-publishing a novel or creating your first InDesign book template for a client, knowing how to design your own books can be really fun and rewarding. 

Looking for downloadable InDesign book templates and book layout templates? You can find a wide range of InDesign book templates and eBook templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here’s a helpful list of the best ones:

Read on to discover ten essential steps for creating your own InDesign book templates from scratch, including how to create a book cover and how to make a book layout. You’ll also pick up some handy tips from the pros along the way. 

1. Complete Novice? Start With an InDesign Book Template

There’s no shame in admitting that you might not have any idea where to start with creating your book. Pro-standard, ready-made InDesign book templates can be downloaded from sites like Envato Elements and can be customized with your own content.

The advantage of using a template? Fiddly tasks like setting up page numbers, sections and masters (see below) have already been done for you. Pre-saved text styles (view these by going to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) will be set up for you as well, meaning that it’s quick and easy to give the text in your book a consistent look. 

Book cover templates are also handy for designers looking to gain experience with cover design. By adapting a cover template, you can see how the designer has set up the size and proportions of the layout, as well as observing how the spine, bleed and color specs have been optimised for a professional template. 

Read on to discover a few of our favorite InDesign book templates.

book template bundle
book template bundle
Book template bundle

This great-value book temple bundle allows you to create three clean and modern InDesign book layouts, complete with a cover, contents page, chapters, and paragraph styles.

kindle template
Kindle magazine and book template

This Kindle magazine and book template can be easily adapted as a large-format book for a children’s picture book or a coffee table title.

2. Ready to Take the Next Step? Create Your Book Template in InDesign

For many first-time book designers, it might also be the first time you come into contact with Adobe InDesign, so make sure to brush up on the basics before you begin designing, so you can approach creating your book with confidence. 

indesign

While you can use other software to create books, such as QuarkXPress, most professional book designers still consider InDesign to be the industry standard, so it’s well worth getting yourself familiar with some of the key features of InDesign, such as text threading, masters, styles, and typography. 

We’ll look at some tips for getting the most out of some of these features in the rest of this article, but if you’re looking to make a start on learning InDesign, this beginner’s quick-start guide will get you started on the right foot in no time. 

3. What’s the Best Format for Your Book Template: Paperback, Hardback, or eBook?

The publishing industry is rapidly changing, with digital formats (EPUBs, more popularly known as eBooks) gaining popularity over the last decade as more consumers look to read books using tablets or eReaders. 

ebook mockup
eMagazine and eBook mock-up template

Although eBooks have carved out a niche in the publishing market, many industry experts would point out that, despite earlier predictions to the contrary, print books are still going strong. Some publishers have even gone as far as to say that eBooks are unlikely to see any further growth. 

So what does this mean for you as a book designer? For self-publishers, eBooks are still a cheap, accessible and efficient way to get a book to market, and publishing houses are still producing most books in eBook as well as print formats. 

These tutorials will help you get started with creating your own eBook designs in InDesign:

For book traditionalists and enthusiasts, print books still hold a huge amount of appeal. The most common, and cheapest, print format is the paperback (or softcover), which is the best-value choice for self-publishers. A number of print-on-demand sites, like Blurb and CreateSpace, have sprung up in response to demand from self-publishers and independent publishing houses who want to create and sell paperbacks online. 

The ‘shelf appeal’ of hardbacks helped publishers to sell large-format titles in record quantities last year, which makes this more old-school print format one to watch. 

Hardbacks are more expensive to print, but they sell at a higher price point too. Check out this tutorial on how to create a hardback cover tailored to a young adult audience:

4. Design Your Book to a Standard Size

If you’re planning on selling your book online or distributing it to bookstores, it’s in your interest to design your book to an industry-accepted size. 

moby dick cover mock up

These standard sizes ensure your book will fit on a display shelf, as well as signifying to the reader the genre of your book. For example, a Pocket Book size in the States is commonly used for airport fiction, while a Trade size is used for fiction sold in Main Street book stores.

These are some of the most common book sizes in the US and the UK/Europe.

US Standard Book Sizes

  • Pocket Book: 4.25 in by 6.87 in
  • Digest: 5.5 in by 8.5 in
  • US Trade: 6 in by 9 in
  • Hardcover: Ranges from 6 in by 9 in to 8.5 in by 11 in

UK, Europe and Worldwide Standard Book Sizes:

  • A-Format: 178 mm by 111 mm
  • B-Format: 198 mm by 129 mm
  • Demy: 216 mm by 135 mm
  • Royal: 234 mm by 156 mm

5. Understand a Little About Paper Stock

Paper stock is the type of paper the pages of your book will be printed on. The ‘stock’ combines paper finish (such as coated or uncoated) and weight (measured in ‘Grams per Square Meter’, GSM). 

The heavier the paper stock you choose, the heavier your book will be, and the width of the spine will therefore be greater. While an experienced printer can advise you on the best sort of paper stock for your project, what you need to know is how this will affect the spine width of your cover, so you can accommodate this in your design.

Once you know the paper stock and page count of your book, you can either ask the printer for the spine width or use an online spine width calculator, like this Gutenberg calculator.

6. Learn How to Typeset Your Book Template

Typesetting is the process of arranging text on the inside pages of a book. Some book designers choose to specialise in typesetting, as the process of typesetting can be a very skilful and time-consuming process. 

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to typeset your own books. This tutorial provides a good overview of the basics of typesetting books in InDesign:

Once you know the basics of typesetting, you’ll also need to develop a good eye for spotting fonts that are suitable for typesetting. Most typesetters tend to opt for tried and trusted serif typefaces. Here are a few pointers to help you choose typesetting fonts which will always work beautifully. 

Look out for fonts which are:

  • Clear and legible, and readable at a small point size.
  • Easy on the eye, with few stylistic ‘quirks’ (these can tire the eye).
  • Available in a wide range of weights and styles, such as Book, Roman, Italic, Bold and Black, to give you plenty of flexibility.
  • Beautiful and have a classic, familiar feel to them (a serif like Addington is a great crowd-pleaser for setting body text).
addington font
addington
Addington font family

7. Get Inspired and Think Creatively for Your Book Cover Design

Walk into any bookstore and you’ll be blown away by the sheer creativity and diversity of book cover designs. Readers do judge books by their covers, so it pays to think creatively and strive to design a book cover that catches the eye and entices a prospective reader to pick up your book.

placeit cover
You can create stylish, attention-grabbing cover designs using Maker Apps like Placeit.

You can find great inspiration from sources online, such as Pinterest, which is flooded with inspiring book design images, or the amazing Book Cover Archive. Sites like these can give you ideas for the theme, mood, fonts and color palette you might want to use in your design.

These tutorials will guide you through the basics for creating your own book covers, as well as give you a few pointers for designing genre-appropriate covers:

8. Make Use of Masters

By placing elements such as page numbers and chapter headings on Masters, you can apply these elements consistently and quickly to a large number of pages. 

Master pages can be accessed from the Pages panel (Window > Pages) in InDesign. 

In this example, I’ve created three different master spreads for the inside pages of a book in InDesign­: a ‘Title’ master for the opening pages of the book with no page numbers, a ‘Start of Chapter’ master with page numbers but no running headers, and a ‘Chapter Body’ master with page numbers and running headers along the top of each page.

masters

Once you’ve set up and applied masters to your book, you will also need to get familiar with the process of threading text throughout your document. Read up on how to do this with this quick tip tutorial:

9. Create a Book File and Section Your Book

InDesign offers you a really useful feature for creating long book documents—these are called Book Files. A Book File is a collection of documents (usually chapters) grouped together. 

There are a number of advantages to creating a Book File, rather than simply creating your book as one large InDesign document:

  • Firstly, you can share styles across the chapters within the Book File and the page numbering sequence will continue from one chapter to the next. 
  • You can also make changes to your book more quickly and easily when you use a Book File. Instead of opening a single file with a large number of pages, you can open only the section or chapter you would like to edit, which makes navigating through your book much easier.

To create a Book File, go to File > New > Book in InDesign. You’ll be prompted to give the book a name and to save it. 

When you’ve created the Book File, choose Add Document from the Book panel’s main menu. From here, you can add InDesign files to the book, which would normally be chapter files (e.g. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc). 

book file

Once you’ve set up a book file, it’s important to set up the page numbering of your book correctly. This can be a bit fiddly, so let’s look at an example. 

Here, I want to set up my book so that page 1 begins on the first page of the opening chapter. So I select the opening chapter page (which is currently page 13) and choose Numbering & Section Options from the panel’s main menu.

numbering options

In the New Section window, I check Start Page Numbering at, and set this to 1. From the Style menu below, I choose ‘1, 2, 3, 4…’, before clicking OK. 

numbering style

I want the first 12 pages of my book to be numbered with Roman numerals. To do this, I select the very first page of the document, and again choose Numbering & Section Options.

As before, I check Start Page Numbering at and set this to 1. But this time I choose ‘i, ii, iii, iv…’ from the Style menu, and click OK. 

numbering style

You may also want to add a differently numbered section to the final pages of your book.

As you update the page numbers or add or remove pages in your book, the Book File will update the page numbering throughout all the documents (chapters). 

10. Prepare Your Book for Printing

Once you’ve completed the cover and inside pages of your book, you’re ready to export it for printing. 

The standard print-ready file format most printers will request is a PDF. 

Go to File > Export in InDesign, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Choose Press Quality from the Preset options to ensure your artwork is exported at a very high quality. 

Top tip: Export your cover and inside pages as separate PDF files. The cover should be exported as one whole image (including back cover, front cover and spine), while the inside pages should be exported as individual pages (not spreads).

Find out more about the basics of preparing your InDesign documents for print with this handy tutorial:

Develop Your Book Design Skills Further…

If you’re still unsure about how to make a confident start with creating your own book templates in InDesign, a downloadable template is a great place to get started. 

You can find a wide range of customizable InDesign book templates for book covers and book layouts on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Ready to develop your learning further? Discover our pick of the best book design tutorials for beginners below:   

Web Tools

How to Make a Book in InDesign

Post pobrano z: How to Make a Book in InDesign

In this article, you’ll learn how to make a book in InDesign. Creating your own InDesign book templates doesn’t need to be daunting or difficult once you know a few basics. 

book cover template
Book cover template

Whether you’re planning on self-publishing a novel or creating your first InDesign book template for a client, knowing how to design your own books can be really fun and rewarding. 

Looking for downloadable InDesign book templates and book layout templates? You can find a wide range of InDesign book templates and eBook templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here’s a helpful list of the best ones:

Read on to discover ten essential steps for creating your own InDesign book templates from scratch, including how to create a book cover and how to make a book layout. You’ll also pick up some handy tips from the pros along the way. 

1. Complete Novice? Start With an InDesign Book Template

There’s no shame in admitting that you might not have any idea where to start with creating your book. Pro-standard, ready-made InDesign book templates can be downloaded from sites like Envato Elements and can be customized with your own content.

The advantage of using a template? Fiddly tasks like setting up page numbers, sections and masters (see below) have already been done for you. Pre-saved text styles (view these by going to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) will be set up for you as well, meaning that it’s quick and easy to give the text in your book a consistent look. 

Book cover templates are also handy for designers looking to gain experience with cover design. By adapting a cover template, you can see how the designer has set up the size and proportions of the layout, as well as observing how the spine, bleed and color specs have been optimised for a professional template. 

Read on to discover a few of our favorite InDesign book templates.

book template bundle
book template bundle
Book template bundle

This great-value book temple bundle allows you to create three clean and modern InDesign book layouts, complete with a cover, contents page, chapters, and paragraph styles.

kindle template
Kindle magazine and book template

This Kindle magazine and book template can be easily adapted as a large-format book for a children’s picture book or a coffee table title.

2. Ready to Take the Next Step? Create Your Book Template in InDesign

For many first-time book designers, it might also be the first time you come into contact with Adobe InDesign, so make sure to brush up on the basics before you begin designing, so you can approach creating your book with confidence. 

indesign

While you can use other software to create books, such as QuarkXPress, most professional book designers still consider InDesign to be the industry standard, so it’s well worth getting yourself familiar with some of the key features of InDesign, such as text threading, masters, styles, and typography. 

We’ll look at some tips for getting the most out of some of these features in the rest of this article, but if you’re looking to make a start on learning InDesign, this beginner’s quick-start guide will get you started on the right foot in no time. 

3. What’s the Best Format for Your Book Template: Paperback, Hardback, or eBook?

The publishing industry is rapidly changing, with digital formats (EPUBs, more popularly known as eBooks) gaining popularity over the last decade as more consumers look to read books using tablets or eReaders. 

ebook mockup
eMagazine and eBook mock-up template

Although eBooks have carved out a niche in the publishing market, many industry experts would point out that, despite earlier predictions to the contrary, print books are still going strong. Some publishers have even gone as far as to say that eBooks are unlikely to see any further growth. 

So what does this mean for you as a book designer? For self-publishers, eBooks are still a cheap, accessible and efficient way to get a book to market, and publishing houses are still producing most books in eBook as well as print formats. 

These tutorials will help you get started with creating your own eBook designs in InDesign:

For book traditionalists and enthusiasts, print books still hold a huge amount of appeal. The most common, and cheapest, print format is the paperback (or softcover), which is the best-value choice for self-publishers. A number of print-on-demand sites, like Blurb and CreateSpace, have sprung up in response to demand from self-publishers and independent publishing houses who want to create and sell paperbacks online. 

The ‘shelf appeal’ of hardbacks helped publishers to sell large-format titles in record quantities last year, which makes this more old-school print format one to watch. 

Hardbacks are more expensive to print, but they sell at a higher price point too. Check out this tutorial on how to create a hardback cover tailored to a young adult audience:

4. Design Your Book to a Standard Size

If you’re planning on selling your book online or distributing it to bookstores, it’s in your interest to design your book to an industry-accepted size. 

moby dick cover mock up

These standard sizes ensure your book will fit on a display shelf, as well as signifying to the reader the genre of your book. For example, a Pocket Book size in the States is commonly used for airport fiction, while a Trade size is used for fiction sold in Main Street book stores.

These are some of the most common book sizes in the US and the UK/Europe.

US Standard Book Sizes

  • Pocket Book: 4.25 in by 6.87 in
  • Digest: 5.5 in by 8.5 in
  • US Trade: 6 in by 9 in
  • Hardcover: Ranges from 6 in by 9 in to 8.5 in by 11 in

UK, Europe and Worldwide Standard Book Sizes:

  • A-Format: 178 mm by 111 mm
  • B-Format: 198 mm by 129 mm
  • Demy: 216 mm by 135 mm
  • Royal: 234 mm by 156 mm

5. Understand a Little About Paper Stock

Paper stock is the type of paper the pages of your book will be printed on. The ‘stock’ combines paper finish (such as coated or uncoated) and weight (measured in ‘Grams per Square Meter’, GSM). 

The heavier the paper stock you choose, the heavier your book will be, and the width of the spine will therefore be greater. While an experienced printer can advise you on the best sort of paper stock for your project, what you need to know is how this will affect the spine width of your cover, so you can accommodate this in your design.

Once you know the paper stock and page count of your book, you can either ask the printer for the spine width or use an online spine width calculator, like this Gutenberg calculator.

6. Learn How to Typeset Your Book Template

Typesetting is the process of arranging text on the inside pages of a book. Some book designers choose to specialise in typesetting, as the process of typesetting can be a very skilful and time-consuming process. 

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to typeset your own books. This tutorial provides a good overview of the basics of typesetting books in InDesign:

Once you know the basics of typesetting, you’ll also need to develop a good eye for spotting fonts that are suitable for typesetting. Most typesetters tend to opt for tried and trusted serif typefaces. Here are a few pointers to help you choose typesetting fonts which will always work beautifully. 

Look out for fonts which are:

  • Clear and legible, and readable at a small point size.
  • Easy on the eye, with few stylistic ‘quirks’ (these can tire the eye).
  • Available in a wide range of weights and styles, such as Book, Roman, Italic, Bold and Black, to give you plenty of flexibility.
  • Beautiful and have a classic, familiar feel to them (a serif like Addington is a great crowd-pleaser for setting body text).
addington font
addington
Addington font family

7. Get Inspired and Think Creatively for Your Book Cover Design

Walk into any bookstore and you’ll be blown away by the sheer creativity and diversity of book cover designs. Readers do judge books by their covers, so it pays to think creatively and strive to design a book cover that catches the eye and entices a prospective reader to pick up your book.

placeit cover
You can create stylish, attention-grabbing cover designs using Maker Apps like Placeit.

You can find great inspiration from sources online, such as Pinterest, which is flooded with inspiring book design images, or the amazing Book Cover Archive. Sites like these can give you ideas for the theme, mood, fonts and color palette you might want to use in your design.

These tutorials will guide you through the basics for creating your own book covers, as well as give you a few pointers for designing genre-appropriate covers:

8. Make Use of Masters

By placing elements such as page numbers and chapter headings on Masters, you can apply these elements consistently and quickly to a large number of pages. 

Master pages can be accessed from the Pages panel (Window > Pages) in InDesign. 

In this example, I’ve created three different master spreads for the inside pages of a book in InDesign­: a ‘Title’ master for the opening pages of the book with no page numbers, a ‘Start of Chapter’ master with page numbers but no running headers, and a ‘Chapter Body’ master with page numbers and running headers along the top of each page.

masters

Once you’ve set up and applied masters to your book, you will also need to get familiar with the process of threading text throughout your document. Read up on how to do this with this quick tip tutorial:

9. Create a Book File and Section Your Book

InDesign offers you a really useful feature for creating long book documents—these are called Book Files. A Book File is a collection of documents (usually chapters) grouped together. 

There are a number of advantages to creating a Book File, rather than simply creating your book as one large InDesign document:

  • Firstly, you can share styles across the chapters within the Book File and the page numbering sequence will continue from one chapter to the next. 
  • You can also make changes to your book more quickly and easily when you use a Book File. Instead of opening a single file with a large number of pages, you can open only the section or chapter you would like to edit, which makes navigating through your book much easier.

To create a Book File, go to File > New > Book in InDesign. You’ll be prompted to give the book a name and to save it. 

When you’ve created the Book File, choose Add Document from the Book panel’s main menu. From here, you can add InDesign files to the book, which would normally be chapter files (e.g. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc). 

book file

Once you’ve set up a book file, it’s important to set up the page numbering of your book correctly. This can be a bit fiddly, so let’s look at an example. 

Here, I want to set up my book so that page 1 begins on the first page of the opening chapter. So I select the opening chapter page (which is currently page 13) and choose Numbering & Section Options from the panel’s main menu.

numbering options

In the New Section window, I check Start Page Numbering at, and set this to 1. From the Style menu below, I choose ‘1, 2, 3, 4…’, before clicking OK. 

numbering style

I want the first 12 pages of my book to be numbered with Roman numerals. To do this, I select the very first page of the document, and again choose Numbering & Section Options.

As before, I check Start Page Numbering at and set this to 1. But this time I choose ‘i, ii, iii, iv…’ from the Style menu, and click OK. 

numbering style

You may also want to add a differently numbered section to the final pages of your book.

As you update the page numbers or add or remove pages in your book, the Book File will update the page numbering throughout all the documents (chapters). 

10. Prepare Your Book for Printing

Once you’ve completed the cover and inside pages of your book, you’re ready to export it for printing. 

The standard print-ready file format most printers will request is a PDF. 

Go to File > Export in InDesign, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Choose Press Quality from the Preset options to ensure your artwork is exported at a very high quality. 

Top tip: Export your cover and inside pages as separate PDF files. The cover should be exported as one whole image (including back cover, front cover and spine), while the inside pages should be exported as individual pages (not spreads).

Find out more about the basics of preparing your InDesign documents for print with this handy tutorial:

Develop Your Book Design Skills Further…

If you’re still unsure about how to make a confident start with creating your own book templates in InDesign, a downloadable template is a great place to get started. 

You can find a wide range of customizable InDesign book templates for book covers and book layouts on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Ready to develop your learning further? Discover our pick of the best book design tutorials for beginners below:   

Web Tools

How to Make a Book in InDesign

Post pobrano z: How to Make a Book in InDesign

In this article, you’ll learn how to make a book in InDesign. Creating your own InDesign book templates doesn’t need to be daunting or difficult once you know a few basics. 

book cover template
Book cover template

Whether you’re planning on self-publishing a novel or creating your first InDesign book template for a client, knowing how to design your own books can be really fun and rewarding. 

Looking for downloadable InDesign book templates and book layout templates? You can find a wide range of InDesign book templates and eBook templates on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here’s a helpful list of the best ones:

Read on to discover ten essential steps for creating your own InDesign book templates from scratch, including how to create a book cover and how to make a book layout. You’ll also pick up some handy tips from the pros along the way. 

1. Complete Novice? Start With an InDesign Book Template

There’s no shame in admitting that you might not have any idea where to start with creating your book. Pro-standard, ready-made InDesign book templates can be downloaded from sites like Envato Elements and can be customized with your own content.

The advantage of using a template? Fiddly tasks like setting up page numbers, sections and masters (see below) have already been done for you. Pre-saved text styles (view these by going to Window > Styles > Paragraph Styles) will be set up for you as well, meaning that it’s quick and easy to give the text in your book a consistent look. 

Book cover templates are also handy for designers looking to gain experience with cover design. By adapting a cover template, you can see how the designer has set up the size and proportions of the layout, as well as observing how the spine, bleed and color specs have been optimised for a professional template. 

Read on to discover a few of our favorite InDesign book templates.

book template bundle
book template bundle
Book template bundle

This great-value book temple bundle allows you to create three clean and modern InDesign book layouts, complete with a cover, contents page, chapters, and paragraph styles.

kindle template
Kindle magazine and book template

This Kindle magazine and book template can be easily adapted as a large-format book for a children’s picture book or a coffee table title.

2. Ready to Take the Next Step? Create Your Book Template in InDesign

For many first-time book designers, it might also be the first time you come into contact with Adobe InDesign, so make sure to brush up on the basics before you begin designing, so you can approach creating your book with confidence. 

indesign

While you can use other software to create books, such as QuarkXPress, most professional book designers still consider InDesign to be the industry standard, so it’s well worth getting yourself familiar with some of the key features of InDesign, such as text threading, masters, styles, and typography. 

We’ll look at some tips for getting the most out of some of these features in the rest of this article, but if you’re looking to make a start on learning InDesign, this beginner’s quick-start guide will get you started on the right foot in no time. 

3. What’s the Best Format for Your Book Template: Paperback, Hardback, or eBook?

The publishing industry is rapidly changing, with digital formats (EPUBs, more popularly known as eBooks) gaining popularity over the last decade as more consumers look to read books using tablets or eReaders. 

ebook mockup
eMagazine and eBook mock-up template

Although eBooks have carved out a niche in the publishing market, many industry experts would point out that, despite earlier predictions to the contrary, print books are still going strong. Some publishers have even gone as far as to say that eBooks are unlikely to see any further growth. 

So what does this mean for you as a book designer? For self-publishers, eBooks are still a cheap, accessible and efficient way to get a book to market, and publishing houses are still producing most books in eBook as well as print formats. 

These tutorials will help you get started with creating your own eBook designs in InDesign:

For book traditionalists and enthusiasts, print books still hold a huge amount of appeal. The most common, and cheapest, print format is the paperback (or softcover), which is the best-value choice for self-publishers. A number of print-on-demand sites, like Blurb and CreateSpace, have sprung up in response to demand from self-publishers and independent publishing houses who want to create and sell paperbacks online. 

The ‘shelf appeal’ of hardbacks helped publishers to sell large-format titles in record quantities last year, which makes this more old-school print format one to watch. 

Hardbacks are more expensive to print, but they sell at a higher price point too. Check out this tutorial on how to create a hardback cover tailored to a young adult audience:

4. Design Your Book to a Standard Size

If you’re planning on selling your book online or distributing it to bookstores, it’s in your interest to design your book to an industry-accepted size. 

moby dick cover mock up

These standard sizes ensure your book will fit on a display shelf, as well as signifying to the reader the genre of your book. For example, a Pocket Book size in the States is commonly used for airport fiction, while a Trade size is used for fiction sold in Main Street book stores.

These are some of the most common book sizes in the US and the UK/Europe.

US Standard Book Sizes

  • Pocket Book: 4.25 in by 6.87 in
  • Digest: 5.5 in by 8.5 in
  • US Trade: 6 in by 9 in
  • Hardcover: Ranges from 6 in by 9 in to 8.5 in by 11 in

UK, Europe and Worldwide Standard Book Sizes:

  • A-Format: 178 mm by 111 mm
  • B-Format: 198 mm by 129 mm
  • Demy: 216 mm by 135 mm
  • Royal: 234 mm by 156 mm

5. Understand a Little About Paper Stock

Paper stock is the type of paper the pages of your book will be printed on. The ‘stock’ combines paper finish (such as coated or uncoated) and weight (measured in ‘Grams per Square Meter’, GSM). 

The heavier the paper stock you choose, the heavier your book will be, and the width of the spine will therefore be greater. While an experienced printer can advise you on the best sort of paper stock for your project, what you need to know is how this will affect the spine width of your cover, so you can accommodate this in your design.

Once you know the paper stock and page count of your book, you can either ask the printer for the spine width or use an online spine width calculator, like this Gutenberg calculator.

6. Learn How to Typeset Your Book Template

Typesetting is the process of arranging text on the inside pages of a book. Some book designers choose to specialise in typesetting, as the process of typesetting can be a very skilful and time-consuming process. 

However, this isn’t to say that you can’t learn how to typeset your own books. This tutorial provides a good overview of the basics of typesetting books in InDesign:

Once you know the basics of typesetting, you’ll also need to develop a good eye for spotting fonts that are suitable for typesetting. Most typesetters tend to opt for tried and trusted serif typefaces. Here are a few pointers to help you choose typesetting fonts which will always work beautifully. 

Look out for fonts which are:

  • Clear and legible, and readable at a small point size.
  • Easy on the eye, with few stylistic ‘quirks’ (these can tire the eye).
  • Available in a wide range of weights and styles, such as Book, Roman, Italic, Bold and Black, to give you plenty of flexibility.
  • Beautiful and have a classic, familiar feel to them (a serif like Addington is a great crowd-pleaser for setting body text).
addington font
addington
Addington font family

7. Get Inspired and Think Creatively for Your Book Cover Design

Walk into any bookstore and you’ll be blown away by the sheer creativity and diversity of book cover designs. Readers do judge books by their covers, so it pays to think creatively and strive to design a book cover that catches the eye and entices a prospective reader to pick up your book.

placeit cover
You can create stylish, attention-grabbing cover designs using Maker Apps like Placeit.

You can find great inspiration from sources online, such as Pinterest, which is flooded with inspiring book design images, or the amazing Book Cover Archive. Sites like these can give you ideas for the theme, mood, fonts and color palette you might want to use in your design.

These tutorials will guide you through the basics for creating your own book covers, as well as give you a few pointers for designing genre-appropriate covers:

8. Make Use of Masters

By placing elements such as page numbers and chapter headings on Masters, you can apply these elements consistently and quickly to a large number of pages. 

Master pages can be accessed from the Pages panel (Window > Pages) in InDesign. 

In this example, I’ve created three different master spreads for the inside pages of a book in InDesign­: a ‘Title’ master for the opening pages of the book with no page numbers, a ‘Start of Chapter’ master with page numbers but no running headers, and a ‘Chapter Body’ master with page numbers and running headers along the top of each page.

masters

Once you’ve set up and applied masters to your book, you will also need to get familiar with the process of threading text throughout your document. Read up on how to do this with this quick tip tutorial:

9. Create a Book File and Section Your Book

InDesign offers you a really useful feature for creating long book documents—these are called Book Files. A Book File is a collection of documents (usually chapters) grouped together. 

There are a number of advantages to creating a Book File, rather than simply creating your book as one large InDesign document:

  • Firstly, you can share styles across the chapters within the Book File and the page numbering sequence will continue from one chapter to the next. 
  • You can also make changes to your book more quickly and easily when you use a Book File. Instead of opening a single file with a large number of pages, you can open only the section or chapter you would like to edit, which makes navigating through your book much easier.

To create a Book File, go to File > New > Book in InDesign. You’ll be prompted to give the book a name and to save it. 

When you’ve created the Book File, choose Add Document from the Book panel’s main menu. From here, you can add InDesign files to the book, which would normally be chapter files (e.g. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc). 

book file

Once you’ve set up a book file, it’s important to set up the page numbering of your book correctly. This can be a bit fiddly, so let’s look at an example. 

Here, I want to set up my book so that page 1 begins on the first page of the opening chapter. So I select the opening chapter page (which is currently page 13) and choose Numbering & Section Options from the panel’s main menu.

numbering options

In the New Section window, I check Start Page Numbering at, and set this to 1. From the Style menu below, I choose ‘1, 2, 3, 4…’, before clicking OK. 

numbering style

I want the first 12 pages of my book to be numbered with Roman numerals. To do this, I select the very first page of the document, and again choose Numbering & Section Options.

As before, I check Start Page Numbering at and set this to 1. But this time I choose ‘i, ii, iii, iv…’ from the Style menu, and click OK. 

numbering style

You may also want to add a differently numbered section to the final pages of your book.

As you update the page numbers or add or remove pages in your book, the Book File will update the page numbering throughout all the documents (chapters). 

10. Prepare Your Book for Printing

Once you’ve completed the cover and inside pages of your book, you’re ready to export it for printing. 

The standard print-ready file format most printers will request is a PDF. 

Go to File > Export in InDesign, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Choose Press Quality from the Preset options to ensure your artwork is exported at a very high quality. 

Top tip: Export your cover and inside pages as separate PDF files. The cover should be exported as one whole image (including back cover, front cover and spine), while the inside pages should be exported as individual pages (not spreads).

Find out more about the basics of preparing your InDesign documents for print with this handy tutorial:

Develop Your Book Design Skills Further…

If you’re still unsure about how to make a confident start with creating your own book templates in InDesign, a downloadable template is a great place to get started. 

You can find a wide range of customizable InDesign book templates for book covers and book layouts on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Ready to develop your learning further? Discover our pick of the best book design tutorials for beginners below:   

Web Tools

Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Post pobrano z: Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

As a designer, you’ve probably wondered which Adobe product does a better job when it comes to the process of creating icons.

Some love Photoshop, while others rely exclusively on Illustrator, but if you search the web, you’ll find that there’s no really comprehensive comparison between the two.

That being the case, I did what I always do and took the time to put the two to the test in order to find out.

If you want to learn how to make icons, whether it’s a line icon pack, a set of social media icons, or maybe even a couple of Mac icon sets, you first have to find out which software is a better fit for you. 

Today, with the whole minimal icon style trend, icon design is becoming more and more accessible, which means that as long as you put in the time and energy, you should be able to grow your craft, assuming you have the right tool for the job. 

From a simple help icon to a development icon set, the software can and will affect the way you design your assets, which is why I want to show you how the two behave when it comes to this creative process.

That being said, let’s jump straight into it!

1. What Is the Intended Creative Purpose of Each Software?

Even though both Photoshop and Illustrator are part of the same Creative Cloud family of products, they actually serve different creative needs, or at least they used to until Photoshop was reimagined from a dedicated photo editing/manipulation tool into an all-around creative one, capable of doing much more.

So then, what are the main differences between the two?

Well, if we take a quick look at Photoshop’s official web page, we’ll see that Adobe advertises the product as:

The world’s best imaging and graphic design software. Create and enhance photographs, illustrations, and 3d artwork. Design websites and mobile apps. Edit videos, simulate real-life paintings, and more. It’s everything you need to make any idea real.

At first glance, that seems to be a pretty good product description, since you get a clear idea of what the software is capable of doing.

Now, let’s move over to Illustrator and see how Adobe describes its other product:

The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.

Well, as you can see, the two are actually pretty similar in terms of their intended use cases, especially when it comes to icon design, since both are advertised as capable of handling this sort of a creative process.

So how do you actually decide which software might be better when it comes to creating icons?

Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, as we will get to see in the following moments, since it all comes down to a few key factors.

2. What Is the Artboard Support Like?

The first thing that an icon designer should truly care about is Artboard support.

This is where the two set themselves apart, since Illustrator gives you the option of setting up multiple Artboards from the start, using its New Document window prompt, making the entire process really simple and intuitive.

setting up a new document in illustrator

With the latest update, the software is now able of creating a whopping 1,000 Artboards, which for an icon designer is… truly amazing.

Photoshop, on the other hand, whether you’re using the new slick-looking window prompt or the legacy one, doesn’t seem to give you this ability.

With the more modern interface, you have the option of using Artboards, but there’s no actual way of setting a specific number or adjusting simple things such as spacing, the number of columns, or the distribution method.

photoshop new document setup

Of course, you can go around this little setup bump by switching over to the Artboard Tool and manually adding the desired number of Artboards by clicking on one of the plus signs depending on where you want the software to position them, but that’s a lot more time-consuming than it should be.

example of setting up multiple artboards in photoshop

When it comes to the maximum number of Artboards that you can set up, I couldn’t find any official information, but I’m pretty sure it’s up there with Illustrator, so 1,000—I gave up after Artboard number 500.

3. How Does Basic Shape Selection Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle the process of setting up Artboards, let’s take a close look at shape selection.

In Photoshop, to select a shape, you’ll first want to make sure that the Move Tool (V) is currently the active tool, and then you can simply click or drag over the surface of the desired shape in order to make a selection.

example of selecting a single shape in photoshop

Now, the problem is that once a shape is selected, there’s no actual way of telling if the selection was made or not, which to be honest is pretty annoying.

The only way to make sure that a selection was actually made is to take a close look at the Layers panel, where you’ll get a darker background underneath the shape layer itself.

example of shape selection visible in the layers panel in photoshop

Luckily for us, we can actually change this behavior, by first selecting the shape, then going over to the top Application Bar, and then checking the Show Transform Controls option.

example of enabling the bounding box in photoshop

If we move on over to Illustrator, we’ll quickly see that when it comes to selection, the software does a better job since it feels more intuitive from the start, without you having to make any adjustments.

To select a single shape, we can easily do so by first switching over to the Selection Tool and then left-clicking or dragging over its surface, which will immediately bring up its bounding box, letting us know that a selection was indeed made.

example of selecting a single shape using the click method in illustrator

Compared to Photoshop, Illustrator has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to selection, since it gives you the option of targeting and selecting multiple shapes based on similar traits such as Appearance, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, etc.

To do this, simply select one of the shapes, and then head over to Select > Same and choose one of its 12 available options.

4. How Does Basic Shape Adjustment Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle shape selection, let’s dig in a little deeper and see how they behave when it comes to shape adjustment.

By definition, a vector shape is composed of a closed or open path that is defined by a set of two or more anchor points.

In Photoshop, you can easily adjust a shape by first selecting its anchor point(s) using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then dragging it in the desired direction.

example of re positioning the anchor of a shape in photoshop

Illustrator uses the same basics, where you use its dedicated Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a shape’s composing anchor point, and then click and drag it in the desired direction in order to adjust the shape of the object.

Now, compared to Photoshop, Illustrator gives you a little info window where you can see the number of pixels that the anchor point travels as you drag it around.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor in illustrator

If you need to combine high precision with a fast workflow, you’re going to find that Illustrator does a better job, since it allows you to select the anchor and then use its Move tool, by right-clicking and then going to Transform > Move, which should bring up a new window where you can individually adjust its position on the Horizontal and Vertical axes.

adjusting the position of an anchor using the move tool

The process of adjusting the position of an anchor point is actually fun and easy to do, but what about those situations when you need to completely remove one from a shape’s path?

Well, in Photoshop, you can easily remove an anchor by selecting it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing the Delete key, which will open up the shape’s path, as you can see.

example of removing an anchor in photoshop

To close the resulting path, we’ll need to grab the Pen Tool (P), click on one of the disconnected anchor points, and then close the line by clicking on the remaining one.

example of closing up a path using photoshop

If we switch over to Illustrator, the software uses the same process, where in order to remove an anchor point you first have to select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then erase it by pressing Delete.

example of opening up a path in illustrator

When it comes to closing the resulting path, things are a little bit easier this time around, since all you have to do is use the Control-J keyboard shortcut, which will join the disconnected anchors back to one another using a straight path segment.

example of closing up a path in illustrator

5. How Does Advanced Shape Adjustment Work?

At this point, we’ve seen what the two can do when it comes to basic shape adjustments, so let’s turn things up a little bit and play with more advanced adjustments.

Compared to Illustrator, Photoshop lacks Pathfinder’s Shape Modes which allow you to adjust one shape using another, but hold on, don’t panic since it does have a set of similar functions hidden within one of its menus.

Before we move on, I wanted to point out that, yes, I’m aware of the Path operations panel, but believe me, it works so strangely that you’re better off staying away from it.

So let’s say that we have a pretty basic 32 x 32 px square that we want to adjust by removing a 20 x 20 px circle from its top-right corner.

example of shapes to be adjusted in photoshop

Once we have our shapes in place, we can select them both and go to Layers > Combine Shapes > Subtract Front Shape.

example of subtracting a shape in photoshop

Now, even though the subtraction took place correctly, the path of the circle ended up being attached to that of the square, which we will want to fix by opening up the Path operations panel, and then using its Merge Shape Components function.

example of merging paths in photoshop

I won’t go over the remaining three Path operations, since they’re pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that as long as you follow the above process, you should be totally fine.

If we switch over to Illustrator, we’ll find that it comes with a different implementation of the path adjustments available within Photoshop, which to be honest are a little easier to use.

By default, the panel is hidden, so you’ll have to select multiple shapes in order for it to appear within the right Tools panel.

As soon as the panel becomes visible, we can achieve the same result as in Photoshop, by selecting the two created shapes and then simply using the Minus Front Shape Mode. It’s that simple.

example of using minus front in illustrator

Illustrator will immediately perform the operation, giving us a nice clean path. 

example of resulting subtracted shape in illustrator

Again, I’m not going to go over all of the remaining Shape Modes since they’re pretty descriptive, but I really encourage you to try them out, especially if this is your first time using Illustrator.

6. How Do the Two Take Advantage of the Pixel Grid?

When creating small assets such as icons, you’ll always find yourself in the position where you need to be able to see how their different composing shapes behave in relation to one another, and more importantly to their underlying Artboard.

This is where the ability to use a Pixel Grid comes in handy, since it allows you to see the actual underlying fabric, and thus have a higher degree of control over your shapes when it comes to anchor positioning and, more importantly, Artboard positioning.

By default, Photoshop comes with the grid enabled, but as you can see, it’s only visible within the actual surface of a shape, which isn’t the best approach that Adobe could have taken.

example of pixel grid in photoshop

When it comes to making basic shape adjustments, the software allows us to keep track of the number of pixels that our anchor points travel, but it forces us to actually count the pixels themselves, which is only possible when using the click-and-drag method.

example of positioning an anchor using the click and drag method in photoshop

If you need to position a shape in relation to another, this time around Photoshop does a better job, since its smart guides and info panel help you keep a perfect track of both the horizontal and vertical movements of the shape, as long as you’re using the click-and-drag method.

positioning a shape using the click and drag method within the pixel grid in photoshop

So far so good, but here comes the part that kind of renders the tool useless, since if you want to use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape using specific values, there’s no way of doing so, since the Grid isn’t visible outside the surface of a shape.

drawing a path using the pen tool onto the pixel grid within photoshop

From what I could see, this is mainly due to the color of the Grid’s lines, which can’t be changed. The only solution to the problem as of now would be to create a shape that fills in the entire surface of the Artboard, and set its color to something darker like a grey, which again would require you to take extra steps.

Now, let’s switch over to Illustrator and see how it handles these type of situations.

Similarly to Photoshop, the software comes with its own dedicated version of the Pixel Grid, which can be turned on by heading over to View > Pixel Preview or by using the Alt-Control-Y keyboard shortcut.

As soon as we turn it on, we’ll quickly notice that compared to Photoshop, where the grid was visible only within the surface of its shapes, here the grid is applied to the entire document.

example of pixel preview inside of illustrator

By taking this different approach, the software does a better job of helping you keep track of the pixel count, as we will see in the following moments.

As with Photoshop, we can easily adjust the position of an anchor point and keep a perfect track of the number of pixels traveled, only this time around the entire process is easier since it comes with its own dedicated info panel.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor using the click and drag method inside of pixel preview mode

When it comes to positioning a shape in relation to one another, we can easily do so as long as we use the click-and-drag method, since it will allow us to keep track of the pixel count using the little info panel.

example of positioning a shape using the click and drag method inside of the pixel preview mode

Now, here comes the part that truly sets Illustrator apart, since if we need to draw a shape using the Pen Tool (P), we can easily keep track of the distance found between its composing anchor points using the little info panel.

drawing a path using the pen tool tool inside of pixel preview mode

At this point, we’ve covered most of the basic aspects that you need to take into consideration when choosing the “right” software, which means that we can now finally move on to the conclusion part.

Conclusion

The number of advantages Illustrator has makes it the clear winner here:

  • better Artboard support
  • shape selection is faster and more intuitive
  • both basic and advanced shape adjustments are easier to perform
  • an overall better Pixel Grid experience

That being said, I truly hope this information comes in useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Further Develop Your Icon-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!

Web Tools

Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Post pobrano z: Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

As a designer, you’ve probably wondered which Adobe product does a better job when it comes to the process of creating icons.

Some love Photoshop, while others rely exclusively on Illustrator, but if you search the web, you’ll find that there’s no really comprehensive comparison between the two.

That being the case, I did what I always do and took the time to put the two to the test in order to find out.

If you want to learn how to make icons, whether it’s a line icon pack, a set of social media icons, or maybe even a couple of Mac icon sets, you first have to find out which software is a better fit for you. 

Today, with the whole minimal icon style trend, icon design is becoming more and more accessible, which means that as long as you put in the time and energy, you should be able to grow your craft, assuming you have the right tool for the job. 

From a simple help icon to a development icon set, the software can and will affect the way you design your assets, which is why I want to show you how the two behave when it comes to this creative process.

That being said, let’s jump straight into it!

1. What Is the Intended Creative Purpose of Each Software?

Even though both Photoshop and Illustrator are part of the same Creative Cloud family of products, they actually serve different creative needs, or at least they used to until Photoshop was reimagined from a dedicated photo editing/manipulation tool into an all-around creative one, capable of doing much more.

So then, what are the main differences between the two?

Well, if we take a quick look at Photoshop’s official web page, we’ll see that Adobe advertises the product as:

The world’s best imaging and graphic design software. Create and enhance photographs, illustrations, and 3d artwork. Design websites and mobile apps. Edit videos, simulate real-life paintings, and more. It’s everything you need to make any idea real.

At first glance, that seems to be a pretty good product description, since you get a clear idea of what the software is capable of doing.

Now, let’s move over to Illustrator and see how Adobe describes its other product:

The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.

Well, as you can see, the two are actually pretty similar in terms of their intended use cases, especially when it comes to icon design, since both are advertised as capable of handling this sort of a creative process.

So how do you actually decide which software might be better when it comes to creating icons?

Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, as we will get to see in the following moments, since it all comes down to a few key factors.

2. What Is the Artboard Support Like?

The first thing that an icon designer should truly care about is Artboard support.

This is where the two set themselves apart, since Illustrator gives you the option of setting up multiple Artboards from the start, using its New Document window prompt, making the entire process really simple and intuitive.

setting up a new document in illustrator

With the latest update, the software is now able of creating a whopping 1,000 Artboards, which for an icon designer is… truly amazing.

Photoshop, on the other hand, whether you’re using the new slick-looking window prompt or the legacy one, doesn’t seem to give you this ability.

With the more modern interface, you have the option of using Artboards, but there’s no actual way of setting a specific number or adjusting simple things such as spacing, the number of columns, or the distribution method.

photoshop new document setup

Of course, you can go around this little setup bump by switching over to the Artboard Tool and manually adding the desired number of Artboards by clicking on one of the plus signs depending on where you want the software to position them, but that’s a lot more time-consuming than it should be.

example of setting up multiple artboards in photoshop

When it comes to the maximum number of Artboards that you can set up, I couldn’t find any official information, but I’m pretty sure it’s up there with Illustrator, so 1,000—I gave up after Artboard number 500.

3. How Does Basic Shape Selection Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle the process of setting up Artboards, let’s take a close look at shape selection.

In Photoshop, to select a shape, you’ll first want to make sure that the Move Tool (V) is currently the active tool, and then you can simply click or drag over the surface of the desired shape in order to make a selection.

example of selecting a single shape in photoshop

Now, the problem is that once a shape is selected, there’s no actual way of telling if the selection was made or not, which to be honest is pretty annoying.

The only way to make sure that a selection was actually made is to take a close look at the Layers panel, where you’ll get a darker background underneath the shape layer itself.

example of shape selection visible in the layers panel in photoshop

Luckily for us, we can actually change this behavior, by first selecting the shape, then going over to the top Application Bar, and then checking the Show Transform Controls option.

example of enabling the bounding box in photoshop

If we move on over to Illustrator, we’ll quickly see that when it comes to selection, the software does a better job since it feels more intuitive from the start, without you having to make any adjustments.

To select a single shape, we can easily do so by first switching over to the Selection Tool and then left-clicking or dragging over its surface, which will immediately bring up its bounding box, letting us know that a selection was indeed made.

example of selecting a single shape using the click method in illustrator

Compared to Photoshop, Illustrator has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to selection, since it gives you the option of targeting and selecting multiple shapes based on similar traits such as Appearance, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, etc.

To do this, simply select one of the shapes, and then head over to Select > Same and choose one of its 12 available options.

4. How Does Basic Shape Adjustment Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle shape selection, let’s dig in a little deeper and see how they behave when it comes to shape adjustment.

By definition, a vector shape is composed of a closed or open path that is defined by a set of two or more anchor points.

In Photoshop, you can easily adjust a shape by first selecting its anchor point(s) using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then dragging it in the desired direction.

example of re positioning the anchor of a shape in photoshop

Illustrator uses the same basics, where you use its dedicated Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a shape’s composing anchor point, and then click and drag it in the desired direction in order to adjust the shape of the object.

Now, compared to Photoshop, Illustrator gives you a little info window where you can see the number of pixels that the anchor point travels as you drag it around.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor in illustrator

If you need to combine high precision with a fast workflow, you’re going to find that Illustrator does a better job, since it allows you to select the anchor and then use its Move tool, by right-clicking and then going to Transform > Move, which should bring up a new window where you can individually adjust its position on the Horizontal and Vertical axes.

adjusting the position of an anchor using the move tool

The process of adjusting the position of an anchor point is actually fun and easy to do, but what about those situations when you need to completely remove one from a shape’s path?

Well, in Photoshop, you can easily remove an anchor by selecting it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing the Delete key, which will open up the shape’s path, as you can see.

example of removing an anchor in photoshop

To close the resulting path, we’ll need to grab the Pen Tool (P), click on one of the disconnected anchor points, and then close the line by clicking on the remaining one.

example of closing up a path using photoshop

If we switch over to Illustrator, the software uses the same process, where in order to remove an anchor point you first have to select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then erase it by pressing Delete.

example of opening up a path in illustrator

When it comes to closing the resulting path, things are a little bit easier this time around, since all you have to do is use the Control-J keyboard shortcut, which will join the disconnected anchors back to one another using a straight path segment.

example of closing up a path in illustrator

5. How Does Advanced Shape Adjustment Work?

At this point, we’ve seen what the two can do when it comes to basic shape adjustments, so let’s turn things up a little bit and play with more advanced adjustments.

Compared to Illustrator, Photoshop lacks Pathfinder’s Shape Modes which allow you to adjust one shape using another, but hold on, don’t panic since it does have a set of similar functions hidden within one of its menus.

Before we move on, I wanted to point out that, yes, I’m aware of the Path operations panel, but believe me, it works so strangely that you’re better off staying away from it.

So let’s say that we have a pretty basic 32 x 32 px square that we want to adjust by removing a 20 x 20 px circle from its top-right corner.

example of shapes to be adjusted in photoshop

Once we have our shapes in place, we can select them both and go to Layers > Combine Shapes > Subtract Front Shape.

example of subtracting a shape in photoshop

Now, even though the subtraction took place correctly, the path of the circle ended up being attached to that of the square, which we will want to fix by opening up the Path operations panel, and then using its Merge Shape Components function.

example of merging paths in photoshop

I won’t go over the remaining three Path operations, since they’re pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that as long as you follow the above process, you should be totally fine.

If we switch over to Illustrator, we’ll find that it comes with a different implementation of the path adjustments available within Photoshop, which to be honest are a little easier to use.

By default, the panel is hidden, so you’ll have to select multiple shapes in order for it to appear within the right Tools panel.

As soon as the panel becomes visible, we can achieve the same result as in Photoshop, by selecting the two created shapes and then simply using the Minus Front Shape Mode. It’s that simple.

example of using minus front in illustrator

Illustrator will immediately perform the operation, giving us a nice clean path. 

example of resulting subtracted shape in illustrator

Again, I’m not going to go over all of the remaining Shape Modes since they’re pretty descriptive, but I really encourage you to try them out, especially if this is your first time using Illustrator.

6. How Do the Two Take Advantage of the Pixel Grid?

When creating small assets such as icons, you’ll always find yourself in the position where you need to be able to see how their different composing shapes behave in relation to one another, and more importantly to their underlying Artboard.

This is where the ability to use a Pixel Grid comes in handy, since it allows you to see the actual underlying fabric, and thus have a higher degree of control over your shapes when it comes to anchor positioning and, more importantly, Artboard positioning.

By default, Photoshop comes with the grid enabled, but as you can see, it’s only visible within the actual surface of a shape, which isn’t the best approach that Adobe could have taken.

example of pixel grid in photoshop

When it comes to making basic shape adjustments, the software allows us to keep track of the number of pixels that our anchor points travel, but it forces us to actually count the pixels themselves, which is only possible when using the click-and-drag method.

example of positioning an anchor using the click and drag method in photoshop

If you need to position a shape in relation to another, this time around Photoshop does a better job, since its smart guides and info panel help you keep a perfect track of both the horizontal and vertical movements of the shape, as long as you’re using the click-and-drag method.

positioning a shape using the click and drag method within the pixel grid in photoshop

So far so good, but here comes the part that kind of renders the tool useless, since if you want to use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape using specific values, there’s no way of doing so, since the Grid isn’t visible outside the surface of a shape.

drawing a path using the pen tool onto the pixel grid within photoshop

From what I could see, this is mainly due to the color of the Grid’s lines, which can’t be changed. The only solution to the problem as of now would be to create a shape that fills in the entire surface of the Artboard, and set its color to something darker like a grey, which again would require you to take extra steps.

Now, let’s switch over to Illustrator and see how it handles these type of situations.

Similarly to Photoshop, the software comes with its own dedicated version of the Pixel Grid, which can be turned on by heading over to View > Pixel Preview or by using the Alt-Control-Y keyboard shortcut.

As soon as we turn it on, we’ll quickly notice that compared to Photoshop, where the grid was visible only within the surface of its shapes, here the grid is applied to the entire document.

example of pixel preview inside of illustrator

By taking this different approach, the software does a better job of helping you keep track of the pixel count, as we will see in the following moments.

As with Photoshop, we can easily adjust the position of an anchor point and keep a perfect track of the number of pixels traveled, only this time around the entire process is easier since it comes with its own dedicated info panel.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor using the click and drag method inside of pixel preview mode

When it comes to positioning a shape in relation to one another, we can easily do so as long as we use the click-and-drag method, since it will allow us to keep track of the pixel count using the little info panel.

example of positioning a shape using the click and drag method inside of the pixel preview mode

Now, here comes the part that truly sets Illustrator apart, since if we need to draw a shape using the Pen Tool (P), we can easily keep track of the distance found between its composing anchor points using the little info panel.

drawing a path using the pen tool tool inside of pixel preview mode

At this point, we’ve covered most of the basic aspects that you need to take into consideration when choosing the “right” software, which means that we can now finally move on to the conclusion part.

Conclusion

The number of advantages Illustrator has makes it the clear winner here:

  • better Artboard support
  • shape selection is faster and more intuitive
  • both basic and advanced shape adjustments are easier to perform
  • an overall better Pixel Grid experience

That being said, I truly hope this information comes in useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Further Develop Your Icon-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!

Web Tools

Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Post pobrano z: Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

As a designer, you’ve probably wondered which Adobe product does a better job when it comes to the process of creating icons.

Some love Photoshop, while others rely exclusively on Illustrator, but if you search the web, you’ll find that there’s no really comprehensive comparison between the two.

That being the case, I did what I always do and took the time to put the two to the test in order to find out.

If you want to learn how to make icons, whether it’s a line icon pack, a set of social media icons, or maybe even a couple of Mac icon sets, you first have to find out which software is a better fit for you. 

Today, with the whole minimal icon style trend, icon design is becoming more and more accessible, which means that as long as you put in the time and energy, you should be able to grow your craft, assuming you have the right tool for the job. 

From a simple help icon to a development icon set, the software can and will affect the way you design your assets, which is why I want to show you how the two behave when it comes to this creative process.

That being said, let’s jump straight into it!

1. What Is the Intended Creative Purpose of Each Software?

Even though both Photoshop and Illustrator are part of the same Creative Cloud family of products, they actually serve different creative needs, or at least they used to until Photoshop was reimagined from a dedicated photo editing/manipulation tool into an all-around creative one, capable of doing much more.

So then, what are the main differences between the two?

Well, if we take a quick look at Photoshop’s official web page, we’ll see that Adobe advertises the product as:

The world’s best imaging and graphic design software. Create and enhance photographs, illustrations, and 3d artwork. Design websites and mobile apps. Edit videos, simulate real-life paintings, and more. It’s everything you need to make any idea real.

At first glance, that seems to be a pretty good product description, since you get a clear idea of what the software is capable of doing.

Now, let’s move over to Illustrator and see how Adobe describes its other product:

The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.

Well, as you can see, the two are actually pretty similar in terms of their intended use cases, especially when it comes to icon design, since both are advertised as capable of handling this sort of a creative process.

So how do you actually decide which software might be better when it comes to creating icons?

Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, as we will get to see in the following moments, since it all comes down to a few key factors.

2. What Is the Artboard Support Like?

The first thing that an icon designer should truly care about is Artboard support.

This is where the two set themselves apart, since Illustrator gives you the option of setting up multiple Artboards from the start, using its New Document window prompt, making the entire process really simple and intuitive.

setting up a new document in illustrator

With the latest update, the software is now able of creating a whopping 1,000 Artboards, which for an icon designer is… truly amazing.

Photoshop, on the other hand, whether you’re using the new slick-looking window prompt or the legacy one, doesn’t seem to give you this ability.

With the more modern interface, you have the option of using Artboards, but there’s no actual way of setting a specific number or adjusting simple things such as spacing, the number of columns, or the distribution method.

photoshop new document setup

Of course, you can go around this little setup bump by switching over to the Artboard Tool and manually adding the desired number of Artboards by clicking on one of the plus signs depending on where you want the software to position them, but that’s a lot more time-consuming than it should be.

example of setting up multiple artboards in photoshop

When it comes to the maximum number of Artboards that you can set up, I couldn’t find any official information, but I’m pretty sure it’s up there with Illustrator, so 1,000—I gave up after Artboard number 500.

3. How Does Basic Shape Selection Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle the process of setting up Artboards, let’s take a close look at shape selection.

In Photoshop, to select a shape, you’ll first want to make sure that the Move Tool (V) is currently the active tool, and then you can simply click or drag over the surface of the desired shape in order to make a selection.

example of selecting a single shape in photoshop

Now, the problem is that once a shape is selected, there’s no actual way of telling if the selection was made or not, which to be honest is pretty annoying.

The only way to make sure that a selection was actually made is to take a close look at the Layers panel, where you’ll get a darker background underneath the shape layer itself.

example of shape selection visible in the layers panel in photoshop

Luckily for us, we can actually change this behavior, by first selecting the shape, then going over to the top Application Bar, and then checking the Show Transform Controls option.

example of enabling the bounding box in photoshop

If we move on over to Illustrator, we’ll quickly see that when it comes to selection, the software does a better job since it feels more intuitive from the start, without you having to make any adjustments.

To select a single shape, we can easily do so by first switching over to the Selection Tool and then left-clicking or dragging over its surface, which will immediately bring up its bounding box, letting us know that a selection was indeed made.

example of selecting a single shape using the click method in illustrator

Compared to Photoshop, Illustrator has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to selection, since it gives you the option of targeting and selecting multiple shapes based on similar traits such as Appearance, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, etc.

To do this, simply select one of the shapes, and then head over to Select > Same and choose one of its 12 available options.

4. How Does Basic Shape Adjustment Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle shape selection, let’s dig in a little deeper and see how they behave when it comes to shape adjustment.

By definition, a vector shape is composed of a closed or open path that is defined by a set of two or more anchor points.

In Photoshop, you can easily adjust a shape by first selecting its anchor point(s) using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then dragging it in the desired direction.

example of re positioning the anchor of a shape in photoshop

Illustrator uses the same basics, where you use its dedicated Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a shape’s composing anchor point, and then click and drag it in the desired direction in order to adjust the shape of the object.

Now, compared to Photoshop, Illustrator gives you a little info window where you can see the number of pixels that the anchor point travels as you drag it around.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor in illustrator

If you need to combine high precision with a fast workflow, you’re going to find that Illustrator does a better job, since it allows you to select the anchor and then use its Move tool, by right-clicking and then going to Transform > Move, which should bring up a new window where you can individually adjust its position on the Horizontal and Vertical axes.

adjusting the position of an anchor using the move tool

The process of adjusting the position of an anchor point is actually fun and easy to do, but what about those situations when you need to completely remove one from a shape’s path?

Well, in Photoshop, you can easily remove an anchor by selecting it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing the Delete key, which will open up the shape’s path, as you can see.

example of removing an anchor in photoshop

To close the resulting path, we’ll need to grab the Pen Tool (P), click on one of the disconnected anchor points, and then close the line by clicking on the remaining one.

example of closing up a path using photoshop

If we switch over to Illustrator, the software uses the same process, where in order to remove an anchor point you first have to select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then erase it by pressing Delete.

example of opening up a path in illustrator

When it comes to closing the resulting path, things are a little bit easier this time around, since all you have to do is use the Control-J keyboard shortcut, which will join the disconnected anchors back to one another using a straight path segment.

example of closing up a path in illustrator

5. How Does Advanced Shape Adjustment Work?

At this point, we’ve seen what the two can do when it comes to basic shape adjustments, so let’s turn things up a little bit and play with more advanced adjustments.

Compared to Illustrator, Photoshop lacks Pathfinder’s Shape Modes which allow you to adjust one shape using another, but hold on, don’t panic since it does have a set of similar functions hidden within one of its menus.

Before we move on, I wanted to point out that, yes, I’m aware of the Path operations panel, but believe me, it works so strangely that you’re better off staying away from it.

So let’s say that we have a pretty basic 32 x 32 px square that we want to adjust by removing a 20 x 20 px circle from its top-right corner.

example of shapes to be adjusted in photoshop

Once we have our shapes in place, we can select them both and go to Layers > Combine Shapes > Subtract Front Shape.

example of subtracting a shape in photoshop

Now, even though the subtraction took place correctly, the path of the circle ended up being attached to that of the square, which we will want to fix by opening up the Path operations panel, and then using its Merge Shape Components function.

example of merging paths in photoshop

I won’t go over the remaining three Path operations, since they’re pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that as long as you follow the above process, you should be totally fine.

If we switch over to Illustrator, we’ll find that it comes with a different implementation of the path adjustments available within Photoshop, which to be honest are a little easier to use.

By default, the panel is hidden, so you’ll have to select multiple shapes in order for it to appear within the right Tools panel.

As soon as the panel becomes visible, we can achieve the same result as in Photoshop, by selecting the two created shapes and then simply using the Minus Front Shape Mode. It’s that simple.

example of using minus front in illustrator

Illustrator will immediately perform the operation, giving us a nice clean path. 

example of resulting subtracted shape in illustrator

Again, I’m not going to go over all of the remaining Shape Modes since they’re pretty descriptive, but I really encourage you to try them out, especially if this is your first time using Illustrator.

6. How Do the Two Take Advantage of the Pixel Grid?

When creating small assets such as icons, you’ll always find yourself in the position where you need to be able to see how their different composing shapes behave in relation to one another, and more importantly to their underlying Artboard.

This is where the ability to use a Pixel Grid comes in handy, since it allows you to see the actual underlying fabric, and thus have a higher degree of control over your shapes when it comes to anchor positioning and, more importantly, Artboard positioning.

By default, Photoshop comes with the grid enabled, but as you can see, it’s only visible within the actual surface of a shape, which isn’t the best approach that Adobe could have taken.

example of pixel grid in photoshop

When it comes to making basic shape adjustments, the software allows us to keep track of the number of pixels that our anchor points travel, but it forces us to actually count the pixels themselves, which is only possible when using the click-and-drag method.

example of positioning an anchor using the click and drag method in photoshop

If you need to position a shape in relation to another, this time around Photoshop does a better job, since its smart guides and info panel help you keep a perfect track of both the horizontal and vertical movements of the shape, as long as you’re using the click-and-drag method.

positioning a shape using the click and drag method within the pixel grid in photoshop

So far so good, but here comes the part that kind of renders the tool useless, since if you want to use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape using specific values, there’s no way of doing so, since the Grid isn’t visible outside the surface of a shape.

drawing a path using the pen tool onto the pixel grid within photoshop

From what I could see, this is mainly due to the color of the Grid’s lines, which can’t be changed. The only solution to the problem as of now would be to create a shape that fills in the entire surface of the Artboard, and set its color to something darker like a grey, which again would require you to take extra steps.

Now, let’s switch over to Illustrator and see how it handles these type of situations.

Similarly to Photoshop, the software comes with its own dedicated version of the Pixel Grid, which can be turned on by heading over to View > Pixel Preview or by using the Alt-Control-Y keyboard shortcut.

As soon as we turn it on, we’ll quickly notice that compared to Photoshop, where the grid was visible only within the surface of its shapes, here the grid is applied to the entire document.

example of pixel preview inside of illustrator

By taking this different approach, the software does a better job of helping you keep track of the pixel count, as we will see in the following moments.

As with Photoshop, we can easily adjust the position of an anchor point and keep a perfect track of the number of pixels traveled, only this time around the entire process is easier since it comes with its own dedicated info panel.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor using the click and drag method inside of pixel preview mode

When it comes to positioning a shape in relation to one another, we can easily do so as long as we use the click-and-drag method, since it will allow us to keep track of the pixel count using the little info panel.

example of positioning a shape using the click and drag method inside of the pixel preview mode

Now, here comes the part that truly sets Illustrator apart, since if we need to draw a shape using the Pen Tool (P), we can easily keep track of the distance found between its composing anchor points using the little info panel.

drawing a path using the pen tool tool inside of pixel preview mode

At this point, we’ve covered most of the basic aspects that you need to take into consideration when choosing the “right” software, which means that we can now finally move on to the conclusion part.

Conclusion

The number of advantages Illustrator has makes it the clear winner here:

  • better Artboard support
  • shape selection is faster and more intuitive
  • both basic and advanced shape adjustments are easier to perform
  • an overall better Pixel Grid experience

That being said, I truly hope this information comes in useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Further Develop Your Icon-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!

Web Tools

Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Post pobrano z: Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

As a designer, you’ve probably wondered which Adobe product does a better job when it comes to the process of creating icons.

Some love Photoshop, while others rely exclusively on Illustrator, but if you search the web, you’ll find that there’s no really comprehensive comparison between the two.

That being the case, I did what I always do and took the time to put the two to the test in order to find out.

If you want to learn how to make icons, whether it’s a line icon pack, a set of social media icons, or maybe even a couple of Mac icon sets, you first have to find out which software is a better fit for you. 

Today, with the whole minimal icon style trend, icon design is becoming more and more accessible, which means that as long as you put in the time and energy, you should be able to grow your craft, assuming you have the right tool for the job. 

From a simple help icon to a development icon set, the software can and will affect the way you design your assets, which is why I want to show you how the two behave when it comes to this creative process.

That being said, let’s jump straight into it!

1. What Is the Intended Creative Purpose of Each Software?

Even though both Photoshop and Illustrator are part of the same Creative Cloud family of products, they actually serve different creative needs, or at least they used to until Photoshop was reimagined from a dedicated photo editing/manipulation tool into an all-around creative one, capable of doing much more.

So then, what are the main differences between the two?

Well, if we take a quick look at Photoshop’s official web page, we’ll see that Adobe advertises the product as:

The world’s best imaging and graphic design software. Create and enhance photographs, illustrations, and 3d artwork. Design websites and mobile apps. Edit videos, simulate real-life paintings, and more. It’s everything you need to make any idea real.

At first glance, that seems to be a pretty good product description, since you get a clear idea of what the software is capable of doing.

Now, let’s move over to Illustrator and see how Adobe describes its other product:

The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.

Well, as you can see, the two are actually pretty similar in terms of their intended use cases, especially when it comes to icon design, since both are advertised as capable of handling this sort of a creative process.

So how do you actually decide which software might be better when it comes to creating icons?

Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, as we will get to see in the following moments, since it all comes down to a few key factors.

2. What Is the Artboard Support Like?

The first thing that an icon designer should truly care about is Artboard support.

This is where the two set themselves apart, since Illustrator gives you the option of setting up multiple Artboards from the start, using its New Document window prompt, making the entire process really simple and intuitive.

setting up a new document in illustrator

With the latest update, the software is now able of creating a whopping 1,000 Artboards, which for an icon designer is… truly amazing.

Photoshop, on the other hand, whether you’re using the new slick-looking window prompt or the legacy one, doesn’t seem to give you this ability.

With the more modern interface, you have the option of using Artboards, but there’s no actual way of setting a specific number or adjusting simple things such as spacing, the number of columns, or the distribution method.

photoshop new document setup

Of course, you can go around this little setup bump by switching over to the Artboard Tool and manually adding the desired number of Artboards by clicking on one of the plus signs depending on where you want the software to position them, but that’s a lot more time-consuming than it should be.

example of setting up multiple artboards in photoshop

When it comes to the maximum number of Artboards that you can set up, I couldn’t find any official information, but I’m pretty sure it’s up there with Illustrator, so 1,000—I gave up after Artboard number 500.

3. How Does Basic Shape Selection Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle the process of setting up Artboards, let’s take a close look at shape selection.

In Photoshop, to select a shape, you’ll first want to make sure that the Move Tool (V) is currently the active tool, and then you can simply click or drag over the surface of the desired shape in order to make a selection.

example of selecting a single shape in photoshop

Now, the problem is that once a shape is selected, there’s no actual way of telling if the selection was made or not, which to be honest is pretty annoying.

The only way to make sure that a selection was actually made is to take a close look at the Layers panel, where you’ll get a darker background underneath the shape layer itself.

example of shape selection visible in the layers panel in photoshop

Luckily for us, we can actually change this behavior, by first selecting the shape, then going over to the top Application Bar, and then checking the Show Transform Controls option.

example of enabling the bounding box in photoshop

If we move on over to Illustrator, we’ll quickly see that when it comes to selection, the software does a better job since it feels more intuitive from the start, without you having to make any adjustments.

To select a single shape, we can easily do so by first switching over to the Selection Tool and then left-clicking or dragging over its surface, which will immediately bring up its bounding box, letting us know that a selection was indeed made.

example of selecting a single shape using the click method in illustrator

Compared to Photoshop, Illustrator has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to selection, since it gives you the option of targeting and selecting multiple shapes based on similar traits such as Appearance, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, etc.

To do this, simply select one of the shapes, and then head over to Select > Same and choose one of its 12 available options.

4. How Does Basic Shape Adjustment Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle shape selection, let’s dig in a little deeper and see how they behave when it comes to shape adjustment.

By definition, a vector shape is composed of a closed or open path that is defined by a set of two or more anchor points.

In Photoshop, you can easily adjust a shape by first selecting its anchor point(s) using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then dragging it in the desired direction.

example of re positioning the anchor of a shape in photoshop

Illustrator uses the same basics, where you use its dedicated Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a shape’s composing anchor point, and then click and drag it in the desired direction in order to adjust the shape of the object.

Now, compared to Photoshop, Illustrator gives you a little info window where you can see the number of pixels that the anchor point travels as you drag it around.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor in illustrator

If you need to combine high precision with a fast workflow, you’re going to find that Illustrator does a better job, since it allows you to select the anchor and then use its Move tool, by right-clicking and then going to Transform > Move, which should bring up a new window where you can individually adjust its position on the Horizontal and Vertical axes.

adjusting the position of an anchor using the move tool

The process of adjusting the position of an anchor point is actually fun and easy to do, but what about those situations when you need to completely remove one from a shape’s path?

Well, in Photoshop, you can easily remove an anchor by selecting it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing the Delete key, which will open up the shape’s path, as you can see.

example of removing an anchor in photoshop

To close the resulting path, we’ll need to grab the Pen Tool (P), click on one of the disconnected anchor points, and then close the line by clicking on the remaining one.

example of closing up a path using photoshop

If we switch over to Illustrator, the software uses the same process, where in order to remove an anchor point you first have to select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then erase it by pressing Delete.

example of opening up a path in illustrator

When it comes to closing the resulting path, things are a little bit easier this time around, since all you have to do is use the Control-J keyboard shortcut, which will join the disconnected anchors back to one another using a straight path segment.

example of closing up a path in illustrator

5. How Does Advanced Shape Adjustment Work?

At this point, we’ve seen what the two can do when it comes to basic shape adjustments, so let’s turn things up a little bit and play with more advanced adjustments.

Compared to Illustrator, Photoshop lacks Pathfinder’s Shape Modes which allow you to adjust one shape using another, but hold on, don’t panic since it does have a set of similar functions hidden within one of its menus.

Before we move on, I wanted to point out that, yes, I’m aware of the Path operations panel, but believe me, it works so strangely that you’re better off staying away from it.

So let’s say that we have a pretty basic 32 x 32 px square that we want to adjust by removing a 20 x 20 px circle from its top-right corner.

example of shapes to be adjusted in photoshop

Once we have our shapes in place, we can select them both and go to Layers > Combine Shapes > Subtract Front Shape.

example of subtracting a shape in photoshop

Now, even though the subtraction took place correctly, the path of the circle ended up being attached to that of the square, which we will want to fix by opening up the Path operations panel, and then using its Merge Shape Components function.

example of merging paths in photoshop

I won’t go over the remaining three Path operations, since they’re pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that as long as you follow the above process, you should be totally fine.

If we switch over to Illustrator, we’ll find that it comes with a different implementation of the path adjustments available within Photoshop, which to be honest are a little easier to use.

By default, the panel is hidden, so you’ll have to select multiple shapes in order for it to appear within the right Tools panel.

As soon as the panel becomes visible, we can achieve the same result as in Photoshop, by selecting the two created shapes and then simply using the Minus Front Shape Mode. It’s that simple.

example of using minus front in illustrator

Illustrator will immediately perform the operation, giving us a nice clean path. 

example of resulting subtracted shape in illustrator

Again, I’m not going to go over all of the remaining Shape Modes since they’re pretty descriptive, but I really encourage you to try them out, especially if this is your first time using Illustrator.

6. How Do the Two Take Advantage of the Pixel Grid?

When creating small assets such as icons, you’ll always find yourself in the position where you need to be able to see how their different composing shapes behave in relation to one another, and more importantly to their underlying Artboard.

This is where the ability to use a Pixel Grid comes in handy, since it allows you to see the actual underlying fabric, and thus have a higher degree of control over your shapes when it comes to anchor positioning and, more importantly, Artboard positioning.

By default, Photoshop comes with the grid enabled, but as you can see, it’s only visible within the actual surface of a shape, which isn’t the best approach that Adobe could have taken.

example of pixel grid in photoshop

When it comes to making basic shape adjustments, the software allows us to keep track of the number of pixels that our anchor points travel, but it forces us to actually count the pixels themselves, which is only possible when using the click-and-drag method.

example of positioning an anchor using the click and drag method in photoshop

If you need to position a shape in relation to another, this time around Photoshop does a better job, since its smart guides and info panel help you keep a perfect track of both the horizontal and vertical movements of the shape, as long as you’re using the click-and-drag method.

positioning a shape using the click and drag method within the pixel grid in photoshop

So far so good, but here comes the part that kind of renders the tool useless, since if you want to use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape using specific values, there’s no way of doing so, since the Grid isn’t visible outside the surface of a shape.

drawing a path using the pen tool onto the pixel grid within photoshop

From what I could see, this is mainly due to the color of the Grid’s lines, which can’t be changed. The only solution to the problem as of now would be to create a shape that fills in the entire surface of the Artboard, and set its color to something darker like a grey, which again would require you to take extra steps.

Now, let’s switch over to Illustrator and see how it handles these type of situations.

Similarly to Photoshop, the software comes with its own dedicated version of the Pixel Grid, which can be turned on by heading over to View > Pixel Preview or by using the Alt-Control-Y keyboard shortcut.

As soon as we turn it on, we’ll quickly notice that compared to Photoshop, where the grid was visible only within the surface of its shapes, here the grid is applied to the entire document.

example of pixel preview inside of illustrator

By taking this different approach, the software does a better job of helping you keep track of the pixel count, as we will see in the following moments.

As with Photoshop, we can easily adjust the position of an anchor point and keep a perfect track of the number of pixels traveled, only this time around the entire process is easier since it comes with its own dedicated info panel.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor using the click and drag method inside of pixel preview mode

When it comes to positioning a shape in relation to one another, we can easily do so as long as we use the click-and-drag method, since it will allow us to keep track of the pixel count using the little info panel.

example of positioning a shape using the click and drag method inside of the pixel preview mode

Now, here comes the part that truly sets Illustrator apart, since if we need to draw a shape using the Pen Tool (P), we can easily keep track of the distance found between its composing anchor points using the little info panel.

drawing a path using the pen tool tool inside of pixel preview mode

At this point, we’ve covered most of the basic aspects that you need to take into consideration when choosing the “right” software, which means that we can now finally move on to the conclusion part.

Conclusion

The number of advantages Illustrator has makes it the clear winner here:

  • better Artboard support
  • shape selection is faster and more intuitive
  • both basic and advanced shape adjustments are easier to perform
  • an overall better Pixel Grid experience

That being said, I truly hope this information comes in useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Further Develop Your Icon-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!

Web Tools

Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Post pobrano z: Best Software for Icon Design: Photoshop vs. Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

As a designer, you’ve probably wondered which Adobe product does a better job when it comes to the process of creating icons.

Some love Photoshop, while others rely exclusively on Illustrator, but if you search the web, you’ll find that there’s no really comprehensive comparison between the two.

That being the case, I did what I always do and took the time to put the two to the test in order to find out.

If you want to learn how to make icons, whether it’s a line icon pack, a set of social media icons, or maybe even a couple of Mac icon sets, you first have to find out which software is a better fit for you. 

Today, with the whole minimal icon style trend, icon design is becoming more and more accessible, which means that as long as you put in the time and energy, you should be able to grow your craft, assuming you have the right tool for the job. 

From a simple help icon to a development icon set, the software can and will affect the way you design your assets, which is why I want to show you how the two behave when it comes to this creative process.

That being said, let’s jump straight into it!

1. What Is the Intended Creative Purpose of Each Software?

Even though both Photoshop and Illustrator are part of the same Creative Cloud family of products, they actually serve different creative needs, or at least they used to until Photoshop was reimagined from a dedicated photo editing/manipulation tool into an all-around creative one, capable of doing much more.

So then, what are the main differences between the two?

Well, if we take a quick look at Photoshop’s official web page, we’ll see that Adobe advertises the product as:

The world’s best imaging and graphic design software. Create and enhance photographs, illustrations, and 3d artwork. Design websites and mobile apps. Edit videos, simulate real-life paintings, and more. It’s everything you need to make any idea real.

At first glance, that seems to be a pretty good product description, since you get a clear idea of what the software is capable of doing.

Now, let’s move over to Illustrator and see how Adobe describes its other product:

The industry-standard vector graphics software lets you create logos, icons, drawings, typography, and illustrations for print, web, video, and mobile.

Well, as you can see, the two are actually pretty similar in terms of their intended use cases, especially when it comes to icon design, since both are advertised as capable of handling this sort of a creative process.

So how do you actually decide which software might be better when it comes to creating icons?

Well, the answer is a bit more complicated than you might think, as we will get to see in the following moments, since it all comes down to a few key factors.

2. What Is the Artboard Support Like?

The first thing that an icon designer should truly care about is Artboard support.

This is where the two set themselves apart, since Illustrator gives you the option of setting up multiple Artboards from the start, using its New Document window prompt, making the entire process really simple and intuitive.

setting up a new document in illustrator

With the latest update, the software is now able of creating a whopping 1,000 Artboards, which for an icon designer is… truly amazing.

Photoshop, on the other hand, whether you’re using the new slick-looking window prompt or the legacy one, doesn’t seem to give you this ability.

With the more modern interface, you have the option of using Artboards, but there’s no actual way of setting a specific number or adjusting simple things such as spacing, the number of columns, or the distribution method.

photoshop new document setup

Of course, you can go around this little setup bump by switching over to the Artboard Tool and manually adding the desired number of Artboards by clicking on one of the plus signs depending on where you want the software to position them, but that’s a lot more time-consuming than it should be.

example of setting up multiple artboards in photoshop

When it comes to the maximum number of Artboards that you can set up, I couldn’t find any official information, but I’m pretty sure it’s up there with Illustrator, so 1,000—I gave up after Artboard number 500.

3. How Does Basic Shape Selection Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle the process of setting up Artboards, let’s take a close look at shape selection.

In Photoshop, to select a shape, you’ll first want to make sure that the Move Tool (V) is currently the active tool, and then you can simply click or drag over the surface of the desired shape in order to make a selection.

example of selecting a single shape in photoshop

Now, the problem is that once a shape is selected, there’s no actual way of telling if the selection was made or not, which to be honest is pretty annoying.

The only way to make sure that a selection was actually made is to take a close look at the Layers panel, where you’ll get a darker background underneath the shape layer itself.

example of shape selection visible in the layers panel in photoshop

Luckily for us, we can actually change this behavior, by first selecting the shape, then going over to the top Application Bar, and then checking the Show Transform Controls option.

example of enabling the bounding box in photoshop

If we move on over to Illustrator, we’ll quickly see that when it comes to selection, the software does a better job since it feels more intuitive from the start, without you having to make any adjustments.

To select a single shape, we can easily do so by first switching over to the Selection Tool and then left-clicking or dragging over its surface, which will immediately bring up its bounding box, letting us know that a selection was indeed made.

example of selecting a single shape using the click method in illustrator

Compared to Photoshop, Illustrator has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to selection, since it gives you the option of targeting and selecting multiple shapes based on similar traits such as Appearance, Fill Color, Opacity, Stroke Color, etc.

To do this, simply select one of the shapes, and then head over to Select > Same and choose one of its 12 available options.

4. How Does Basic Shape Adjustment Work?

Now that we’ve seen how the two handle shape selection, let’s dig in a little deeper and see how they behave when it comes to shape adjustment.

By definition, a vector shape is composed of a closed or open path that is defined by a set of two or more anchor points.

In Photoshop, you can easily adjust a shape by first selecting its anchor point(s) using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then dragging it in the desired direction.

example of re positioning the anchor of a shape in photoshop

Illustrator uses the same basics, where you use its dedicated Direct Selection Tool (A) to select a shape’s composing anchor point, and then click and drag it in the desired direction in order to adjust the shape of the object.

Now, compared to Photoshop, Illustrator gives you a little info window where you can see the number of pixels that the anchor point travels as you drag it around.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor in illustrator

If you need to combine high precision with a fast workflow, you’re going to find that Illustrator does a better job, since it allows you to select the anchor and then use its Move tool, by right-clicking and then going to Transform > Move, which should bring up a new window where you can individually adjust its position on the Horizontal and Vertical axes.

adjusting the position of an anchor using the move tool

The process of adjusting the position of an anchor point is actually fun and easy to do, but what about those situations when you need to completely remove one from a shape’s path?

Well, in Photoshop, you can easily remove an anchor by selecting it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing the Delete key, which will open up the shape’s path, as you can see.

example of removing an anchor in photoshop

To close the resulting path, we’ll need to grab the Pen Tool (P), click on one of the disconnected anchor points, and then close the line by clicking on the remaining one.

example of closing up a path using photoshop

If we switch over to Illustrator, the software uses the same process, where in order to remove an anchor point you first have to select it using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then erase it by pressing Delete.

example of opening up a path in illustrator

When it comes to closing the resulting path, things are a little bit easier this time around, since all you have to do is use the Control-J keyboard shortcut, which will join the disconnected anchors back to one another using a straight path segment.

example of closing up a path in illustrator

5. How Does Advanced Shape Adjustment Work?

At this point, we’ve seen what the two can do when it comes to basic shape adjustments, so let’s turn things up a little bit and play with more advanced adjustments.

Compared to Illustrator, Photoshop lacks Pathfinder’s Shape Modes which allow you to adjust one shape using another, but hold on, don’t panic since it does have a set of similar functions hidden within one of its menus.

Before we move on, I wanted to point out that, yes, I’m aware of the Path operations panel, but believe me, it works so strangely that you’re better off staying away from it.

So let’s say that we have a pretty basic 32 x 32 px square that we want to adjust by removing a 20 x 20 px circle from its top-right corner.

example of shapes to be adjusted in photoshop

Once we have our shapes in place, we can select them both and go to Layers > Combine Shapes > Subtract Front Shape.

example of subtracting a shape in photoshop

Now, even though the subtraction took place correctly, the path of the circle ended up being attached to that of the square, which we will want to fix by opening up the Path operations panel, and then using its Merge Shape Components function.

example of merging paths in photoshop

I won’t go over the remaining three Path operations, since they’re pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that as long as you follow the above process, you should be totally fine.

If we switch over to Illustrator, we’ll find that it comes with a different implementation of the path adjustments available within Photoshop, which to be honest are a little easier to use.

By default, the panel is hidden, so you’ll have to select multiple shapes in order for it to appear within the right Tools panel.

As soon as the panel becomes visible, we can achieve the same result as in Photoshop, by selecting the two created shapes and then simply using the Minus Front Shape Mode. It’s that simple.

example of using minus front in illustrator

Illustrator will immediately perform the operation, giving us a nice clean path. 

example of resulting subtracted shape in illustrator

Again, I’m not going to go over all of the remaining Shape Modes since they’re pretty descriptive, but I really encourage you to try them out, especially if this is your first time using Illustrator.

6. How Do the Two Take Advantage of the Pixel Grid?

When creating small assets such as icons, you’ll always find yourself in the position where you need to be able to see how their different composing shapes behave in relation to one another, and more importantly to their underlying Artboard.

This is where the ability to use a Pixel Grid comes in handy, since it allows you to see the actual underlying fabric, and thus have a higher degree of control over your shapes when it comes to anchor positioning and, more importantly, Artboard positioning.

By default, Photoshop comes with the grid enabled, but as you can see, it’s only visible within the actual surface of a shape, which isn’t the best approach that Adobe could have taken.

example of pixel grid in photoshop

When it comes to making basic shape adjustments, the software allows us to keep track of the number of pixels that our anchor points travel, but it forces us to actually count the pixels themselves, which is only possible when using the click-and-drag method.

example of positioning an anchor using the click and drag method in photoshop

If you need to position a shape in relation to another, this time around Photoshop does a better job, since its smart guides and info panel help you keep a perfect track of both the horizontal and vertical movements of the shape, as long as you’re using the click-and-drag method.

positioning a shape using the click and drag method within the pixel grid in photoshop

So far so good, but here comes the part that kind of renders the tool useless, since if you want to use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape using specific values, there’s no way of doing so, since the Grid isn’t visible outside the surface of a shape.

drawing a path using the pen tool onto the pixel grid within photoshop

From what I could see, this is mainly due to the color of the Grid’s lines, which can’t be changed. The only solution to the problem as of now would be to create a shape that fills in the entire surface of the Artboard, and set its color to something darker like a grey, which again would require you to take extra steps.

Now, let’s switch over to Illustrator and see how it handles these type of situations.

Similarly to Photoshop, the software comes with its own dedicated version of the Pixel Grid, which can be turned on by heading over to View > Pixel Preview or by using the Alt-Control-Y keyboard shortcut.

As soon as we turn it on, we’ll quickly notice that compared to Photoshop, where the grid was visible only within the surface of its shapes, here the grid is applied to the entire document.

example of pixel preview inside of illustrator

By taking this different approach, the software does a better job of helping you keep track of the pixel count, as we will see in the following moments.

As with Photoshop, we can easily adjust the position of an anchor point and keep a perfect track of the number of pixels traveled, only this time around the entire process is easier since it comes with its own dedicated info panel.

example of adjusting the position of an anchor using the click and drag method inside of pixel preview mode

When it comes to positioning a shape in relation to one another, we can easily do so as long as we use the click-and-drag method, since it will allow us to keep track of the pixel count using the little info panel.

example of positioning a shape using the click and drag method inside of the pixel preview mode

Now, here comes the part that truly sets Illustrator apart, since if we need to draw a shape using the Pen Tool (P), we can easily keep track of the distance found between its composing anchor points using the little info panel.

drawing a path using the pen tool tool inside of pixel preview mode

At this point, we’ve covered most of the basic aspects that you need to take into consideration when choosing the “right” software, which means that we can now finally move on to the conclusion part.

Conclusion

The number of advantages Illustrator has makes it the clear winner here:

  • better Artboard support
  • shape selection is faster and more intuitive
  • both basic and advanced shape adjustments are easier to perform
  • an overall better Pixel Grid experience

That being said, I truly hope this information comes in useful, and if you have any questions, feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Further Develop Your Icon-Building Skills

Just finished going through this in-depth article, and feel like learning more? Well, if that’s the case, you’re in luck, since I took the time to put together this little list that should keep you going for the following days!