Overview:

If I could go back to my first year in studio and teach a young Steve one thing, it would probably be the process below. What I want to share is not groundbreaking, but it is a system that I learned over countless hours of trial and error. Once I started applying it in my professional workflow, it saved hours of work, reduced anxiety at deadlines, and kept me organized and sane. I like to call it the Adobe Ecosystem.

The Adobe Ecosystem:

The Adobe Ecosystem is a combination of three Adobe programs architects and landscape architects regularly use to create any type of architectural visualizations–Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. The programs each have specific roles in the creation of graphics.

A simple analogy to visualize the roles of each program in a completed rendering is that of a fork, spoon, and knife. Sometimes, you only need one of these tools to get the job done (think: spaghetti + fork). Other times, you need the entire toolkit to tackle what is on your plate (think: soup, salad, and steak). And just as utensils have very specific uses, so do Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Sure, you could eat a bowl of cereal with a fork, but it is going to take you twice as long as using a spoon, and you will be frustrated the entire time.

To visualize what the best roles of each program are, check out the diagrams below, which list what each program is good for, and (maybe more importantly), what each program is NOT good for:

Leveraging Your Programs:

So we know what each program is good for, and what each program is NOT good for. How do we go from here to a final presentation, competition board, or thesis submission? By combining and leveraging the strengths of each individual program. Take a look at the presentation board example below:

Can you spot which Adobe programs were used to create this final board (part of a winning submission to LAGI 2016)? That’s right, all of them! By leveraging the strengths of each program, we were able to put together a complex group of graphics fairly easily. But it is not just using the right program for the right job that matters–it is how those programs interact and “talk” to one another that makes the Adobe Ecosystem so powerful.

Talking Programs: Automatic Updates in the Adobe Ecosystem

Changes are an integral part of the design process. Whether it is at the request of a principal, professor, or client, someone is going to ask you to change something about your work. It could be something trivial like the color of the water in a diagram, or it could be something larger, like the layout and font of the entire presentation. When they happen, edits and revisions can either ruin your night or be a quick fix. I argue that all changes can be quick fixes, so long as you use the power of automatic updates.

The process is simple. Before you build any presentation of graphic for your project, map out which programs you are going to use to achieve the final product. Aim to leverage the strengths of the Adobe Ecosystem. For example, say you are creating the inventory/analysis birdseye diagram shown below, and this diagram will become park of a larger presentation. Ask yourself:

How will I lay out and format the final presentation with my birdseye diagram in it?

Easy, InDesign! Any time you think layout, think InDesign.

How will I make the meat of the inventory/analysis diagram? What should I use to draw pedestrian circulation, hydrology, and program elements?

This is a task for Illustrator. Most inventory/analysis diagrams involve complicated linework, and no program handles complex geometry better.

How will I make the base information for my diagram? I only have Google Earth and the colors are a little dark.

Make your own base image with Photoshop. You can use the program to edit colors easily and quickly.

After you ask yourself these questions, you can easily map our your strategy to create this graphic and incorporate it into your final presentation. So the process of building this graphic will look like this:

It might seem a little complex for just one graphic, but this setup gives you ultimate flexibility when it is time to make changes (and remember, there are always changes). The secret to making these revisions quickly is how you tell the Adobe programs to interact with one another. Take a look at the process again and note how we brought each step of the diagram into the next program in the process.

The Place function is pivotal to this system. Place is available in all of these programs (File>Place or File>Place Linked) and works like this: Rather than simply adding raw pixels to a page, Place adds a link to a file instead. If the original file changes, the link automatically updates–daisy-chaining until the final PDF reflects this update. This gives you a huge advantage when making revisions. As author Ryan Holiday puts it, ” Nobody creates flawless first drafts.” The place function saves you time, energy, and mental bandwidth when these first drafts are eventually revised. With automatic updates, comments like, “Can we turn the background image black and white instead of color? Maybe with some more contrast?” become quick, routine, and even pleasant tasks rather than mind-melting dilemmas. Take a look this background image example on our birdseye diagram in action:

This process works for all stages of the graphic. Lineweights reading too thick? Just edit your Illustrator file and save. Board layout need tweaked? Just jump inside of InDesign and make the change. By dividing and assigning tasks to the appropriate programs, you are always plays to a program’s strengths rather than pulling your hair out at its weaknesses. The PDF becomes the critical review point in the entire process–allowing you to pinpoint the edits that need to be made and in which program(s) you need to make them.