Most Used / Most Important Design Software

  • Illustrator
  • Outlook
  • Chrome

other: keynote, indesign, photoshop

3D: Solidworks
2D: Illustrator/Photoshop
Rendering: KeyShot
Office: PPT, Outlook, Chrome

3D - Alias Design
Rendering - Either Alias or Keyshot
2D work - Illustrator / Photoshop / InDesign
Sketching - Alias Design / Sketchbook Pro
Admin - Microsoft Office

1 - Sketchbook Pro
2 - Solidworks
3 - Photoshop

Solidworks
Win7 Snipping tool
Photoshop
Illustrator
InDesign
Rhino
VRay

SolidWorks
Keyshot
Illustrator/InDesign interchangeably

Love that MM included the Snipping Tool, I use the hell out of that as well. When combined with cut-and-paste into Outlook its probably the most productive software I use.

For project management - especially for graphic design stuff we have been using Basecamp, which is a browser-based repository of all communication/images. So helpful and blows away traditional ‘email’ thread-based management of products.

Rhino for 3d modelling
V-Ray plug-in for rendering
Bongo plug-in for animation
T-Splines plug-in for organic modelling
Photoshop for image creation & editing
After Effects for compositing and video presentation

3D: Solidworks, Modo, Rhino (T-Splines), Geomagics, zBrush, Alias, Sketch Up, C4D, Alias, Fusion 360, Mesh Mixer, Blender.

Rendering: Maxwell, Lagoa, Shot, Keyshot, Octane Render, V-Ray

2D: Adobe Suite, Keynote, Prezi.

your brain

  1. IronCAD - 3D Modeller similar to Solidworks (interested to see if anyone else uses this program ?)
  2. Rhino - 3D Modeller for organic surfaces
  3. Indesign - 2D

Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster…

Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster…[/quote]


This means…?

Dear gawd.

The most important design software is the one you customer uses. If you want an internship in Frace you better speak French. If you want to work at Harley Davidson or Kohler is would help if you spoke their language.

  1. Solidworks - 3D modelling and technical drawings
  2. Modo - 3D Rendering
  3. Adobe illustrator/photoshop - Line drawings, photo editing, marketing material

Maybe a better way to phrase the question would be what software offers the designer the best experience. or what software aids your thinking process or workflow best. Modo is cool stuff then. Your still going to have to remodel in solidworks if your end deliverable is in solidworks. If you don’t the engineers will try to capture your design intent and that is often the weak link in your process.

Top Programs day to day
1.AI/Photoshop
2.Sketchbook Pro
3.Adobe Acrobat

Rhino for 3d but not used much
Also Microsoft Programs Outlook, Word, Excel

Adding to this, OneNote… very handy to have a page for each project rather than trying to rely on physical sketchbook (e.g. if I need to flip back and find a Pantone code from half a year ago) and images are a lot easier to include than Word.

A coworker showed me Greenshot (freeware) and I have been plugging it after using Snipping Tool for months. http://getgreenshot.org/
Basically just as easy but allows more markup, text, multiple instances running, snipping of a preset area, etc.

Perhaps in the development of 1980’s pc software :smiley:

1: Adobe Suite (PS and AI)
2: Solidworks
3: Evernote/Onenote (Excellent for saving website cutouts and snapping shots of something for clarification - we do a lot of architectural install stuff)

A look into my toolset:

  1. Solidworks - I use it on a daily basis, avg. 6 hr/day
  2. Photoshop / Illustrator - also used daily say 1 hr/day for product drawings and editing photos/renders
  3. Keyshot rendering

Other software I use:
Mesh tools: Magics, Netfabb, Meshmixer, Blender, Sculptris, Cura
CAD: Rhino+Grasshopper
Graphic: Adobe Premiere, Lightroom, Dreamweaver, Sketchbook Pro, Fontlab, Nexusfont
Arduino, Processing, Max/MSP