Design Professionals and Mac OS vs. Windows

dave k.dave k.
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hello,



Question/Curiousity



Why do most design professionals use Mac's? I am not trying to stir any trouble up. But I am curious on why design pros still seem to prefer Mac's instead of Windows PC's.



While few can argue the fact that the Wintel platform is cheaper than the Mac platform and the Mac platform has a better OS than the Wintel platform. Does the whole Mac/Windows thing really apply when you use Photoshop/Quark/Indesign/Etc. all day long?



If I were to use Word/Excel/Powerpoint all day long, there really isn't a reason why I would buy the more expensive Mac platform when the cheaper Wintel computers run the exact same application that I need.



What am I missing? Why do more design pros continue to use Mac's instead of Wintel? Or isn't this really a true statement any more?



Thanks



Dave

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    logan calelogan cale Posts: 1,281member
    One word: ColorSync.



    [ 09-27-2002: Message edited by: Logan Cale ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 18
    giaguaragiaguara Posts: 2,724member
    Most adobe and similar softare simply work better on macs.



    If you need to use only office, then choose linux. all office and GIMP (the photoshop like program in linux) are in it, run and the system is more stable than windows ... and you get that free.



    Photoshop and others work more logically (for user) on mac... why to use them in windows? i dont like windows so if i couldn't use my mac and didn't have to spend all day with adobe, macromedia and similar.. i'd choose linux.



    Thus not all arts etc are mac oriented. when i studied architecture i was teached to use qindows only. the profs hated macs.. we had to be "engineer friendly" and do those hoffible autocad stuff for the engineers.. those profs as far as i know seem to be far from "normal" architect behaviour.



    Why would i want to choose windows?
  • Reply 3 of 18
    xionjaxionja Posts: 504member
    Its sort of a chain reaction I think, When I started really doing video and graphic design for multible hours a day and for money, I got a mac, because of file formats. Every one I was working with used macs, so its just easier to move information around within one platform. We can trade iphoto libraries, and do more stuff within just macs. Plus I thinkits like a statement that you make, "look i have a mac, that means that i am really into all the artsy stuff".
  • Reply 4 of 18
    shizumashizuma Posts: 10member
    I agree whith what has been said so far. It is sort of a tradition for artists to use macs. And it is definately easier to calibrate your colors on a mac. But I would like to add a few things. Graphics programs like Photoshop, Painter, Quark, etc. are identical on both platforms, however it is much easier on a mac to use multible programs, that is, use many programs at once.



    In the mac os you can have multible photoshop documents as well as multible Painter (or illustrator) documents open and still be able to see them all on screen. This can not be done on Windoze as a document window is traped within the programs window.

    Basically what I am saying is that it is a misconception among people to think that because the programs are the same that is is just as easy to use them in both platforms. When dealing with multiple files Macs have the advantage. Command Q for example will close most applications on a mac. This is not true on a Pee Cee. The list of reasons go on and on but it is something you have to experience I think.



    I grew up using a mac. (I started using Photoshop to color my artwork on my fathers Mac IIsi when I was a child.)I switched to a Pee Cee when I started college just because it was cheaper. At first I didnt really see too much of a difference but after a while windose will make you want to puke.



    When ever I meet an artist who uses a Pee Cee and they ask me why I prefer a Mac i usually say, "If you dont know why, you have definately not used a mac much, because if you had, you wouldnt need to ask."



    If this made no sense, i am sorry. I am really tired right now.



  • Reply 5 of 18
    kelibkelib Posts: 740member
    Better handling of fonts is another argument for the Mac
  • Reply 6 of 18
    trevormtrevorm Posts: 841member
    Most of this is said

    But yeah, orginal software like Adobe and Quark, Fonts management is great and well coloursync is just so damm good!
  • Reply 7 of 18
    mount_my_floppymount_my_floppy Posts: 913member
    and its so much easier when i`m using a mac to have the menu bar on the top most people think it doesnt make a diffrence but it really does i dont have to aim my mouse to land on the menu i just throw it and boom its there personally this makes a big diffrence to me.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    sushiismsushiism Posts: 131member
    Just look at the osx font and colour selection dialogues, compare them to windows and you'll see microsoft clearly doesnt care about designers, I'm pretty new to macs but god the colour favorites(windows may seem to have these but they don't actually work at all ahah and just do it in that app IF they actually work oh and its only till you close the app), the font categories, kerning etc controls in everything. Its heaven . Plus its a much more relaxed enviroment on the whole, and I havent a clue why people are talking about underpowered macs because my new Ti is wonderfully powerful. Oh and the unix is great for serverside code testing.



    The only reason I can see that anyone would want to use windows is to play those silly FPS games that people like these days, bah if i wanted games I'd dust off my amiga
  • Reply 9 of 18
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Another cool thing:



    OS X can print to PDF in any app that supports printing. This has been a great bonus for me on many occasions.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    miami craigmiami craig Posts: 172member
    You know alot of people think I use macs because im in digital recording and music. These people dont understand I've been using a mac since before I could even comprehend i would be able to use my computer for my music production. I was a mac user and a musician, and eventually the 2 came to pass, thats not why i got into macs. Thats why i continue to use macs (oh and the fact that windows is a terrible OS, even ask most of the people who choose it over mac)
  • Reply 11 of 18
    idudeidude Posts: 352member
    I have a question regarding this.



    Now that Windows XP is in use, are there many firms switching to PC? I don't know much about the field, but, having used XP, it seems that many of OS X's main advantages have been copied for XP (although anti-aliasing still is bad on Windows).



    Also, does anyone know the breakdown of Mac design houses vs. Windows?



    Thanks.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    mwaa haa ha ha haha, dude, have you tried using XP? it's funky. it does weird stuff. it craps out machines randomly. it has issues with software, issues with hardware, although i've seen some that run stable for months on end.



    i've also seen others have just die hard, and refuse to ever really work right. i have no idea yet what the deciding factor is between them, but the majority of machines i see that don't work are XP machines, even though they only make up maybe 15% of the installed base at this point.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    One main reason that i can't even list all of them is the design of the OS, and almost every application isn't obtrusive and its thought out. Having the tool bar at the top for example is so much of a better idea. OS X has more powerful features to take use of and the OS is damn near impossible to crash.



    One of the reasons the industry uses macs is simply this:



    PS first came out for mac, and i think maybe quark and other major graphic apps

    --&gt;

    You use a mac for work and maybe pleasure too

    --&gt;

    you are hooked...have yo used a wintel computer, compared it is horrible, honestly using them makes me want to commit suicide, the UI is so ugly and ugly and ugly.



    Apple is awesome, Jobs is awesome...I am awesome...and maybe some of you are too. But the main thing to remember about this post is that Apple thinks about their design, knows what they are doing, and makes the OS as efficiently designed as DELL's assembly line
  • Reply 14 of 18
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Graphic design professionals don't use Windows. Period. Any company who mentions that they are a "Windows Environment"...I stay away...far away. You save and send a file to the client from a Mac and you're more or less done. On Winodws you get call backs and issues.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    A lot of design professionals started out with Macs, and there's a hell of a lot of relearning to do in going over to the Windows platform, during which time your productivity drops right off. Time's money...



    Interestingly, I know a fair few design and repro houses that use Windows machines for the daily drudgery of email and accounting, but have more than a few Macs being used exclusively for the creative stuff.



    Hey, even my dedicated Windows freak friends say to me (often a little shame-facedly) that they really like the way Macs and the Mac OS look.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    I think Adobe Illustrator had a lot to do with it as well. It was the first and real professional illustration tool and was available only on the Mac platform.



    PC users had that joke of a program, CorelDraw. I remember a PC friend assumed I used CorelDraw since I was in the graphics field. I laughed at him and said, I don't need a program which will automatically wrap a graphic into a fish shaped template!



    Also, Macs have always had a better feel and tracking with the mouse and cursor. That means a whole lot when you're doing any kind of Photoshop work.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    sushiismsushiism Posts: 131member
    just moved into uni to study graphics design and XP is laughable, all my neighbours in the dorm use it and im the only one whos managed to get net working on their computer, it was like litrally 2 steps, open netwroking, tpye in an address hahaah but they have like 20/40 steps with loads of crap like installing client for microsoft netowrking (which xp replies in one case "no drivers for this device were found" hahaah) anyway what were ms thikning with that control panel i mean system is like burried in peripherals and scanners or something, ive used 3.1-2k alot for years now (after my amiga 500 became old) used xp a bit at friends houses, god what an awful experience but that was my first encounter with control panel or MS survey as i call it becuase its icon looks like a survey app not a control panel, anyway ms hasnt really stolen the decent features from osx and put them into windows, they might have tried badly to replicate some of the gloss and things but really its still totally obsolite in comparrison.

    excuse spelling im off to bed and cant really be arsed typing accurately
  • Reply 18 of 18
    idudeidude Posts: 352member
    I have another question.



    Do you guys think that Apple's recent buying spree of companies will have any effect on the industry? I mean, will many companies switch to the Mac now that Apple is phasing out Windows software (eg: Logic)? Is it worth it for them to buy all new computers (Is there still good software for the PC, or has Apple bought out the only stuff worth using?)?
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