Easy Web Graphics Premium

Rating:
Summary: Good for Non-Designer Needing Web Graphics
Review: I bought this after having struggled through trying to figure out how to use Photoshop Elements. I'm not a graphic designer. I'm a small business owner building my first Web site and I needed buttons (e.g., close window, next) and headings/banners (e.g., What's New, Take the Tour, Sign Up Now).

This program has been a god send relative to trying to figure out something like Photoshop Elements, which clearly is intended for people who are or have had training to be a designer. This program has many wizards to walk you through the common tasks (e.g., create a button, create a banner) or you can create your own (which I've found to be better for my needs). You can create some very slick, professional looking stuff (with shadows, embossed look, gradient images) with the same click-and-point ease of creating a PowerPoint presentation or the like, and the output is automatically optimized for the Web.

So why did I rate it a 4? A few annoyances...you can't group objects so if you decide you need to move a graphic box with several lines of text over a few inches, you have to move each object individually. And it doesn't have the very common aligning features (where you click several objects and click an option to automatically aline their edges or center). So everything must be done by eye on screen, and each object one at a time. And if you create one object/series of objects, save it and then want to add it to another item (like a menu bar), it doesn't treat them like a single graphic but imports them in as individual objects, creating even more challenges in trying to move them into position, etc.

Overall, though, it's an easy program that enables you to create basic, professional-looking graphics for the Web, ideal for the novice/professional without a design background. I use it frequently, in spite of its annoyances.

Rating:
Summary: Good for Non-Designer Needing Web Graphics
Review: I bought this after having struggled through trying to figure out how to use Photoshop Elements. I'm not a graphic designer. I'm a small business owner building my first Web site and I needed buttons (e.g., close window, next) and headings/banners (e.g., What's New, Take the Tour, Sign Up Now).

This program has been a god send relative to trying to figure out something like Photoshop Elements, which clearly is intended for people who are or have had training to be a designer. This program has many wizards to walk you through the common tasks (e.g., create a button, create a banner) or you can create your own (which I've found to be better for my needs). You can create some very slick, professional looking stuff (with shadows, embossed look, gradient images) with the same click-and-point ease of creating a PowerPoint presentation or the like, and the output is automatically optimized for the Web.

So why did I rate it a 4? A few annoyances...you can't group objects so if you decide you need to move a graphic box with several lines of text over a few inches, you have to move each object individually. And it doesn't have the very common aligning features (where you click several objects and click an option to automatically aline their edges or center). So everything must be done by eye on screen, and each object one at a time. And if you create one object/series of objects, save it and then want to add it to another item (like a menu bar), it doesn't treat them like a single graphic but imports them in as individual objects, creating even more challenges in trying to move them into position, etc.

Overall, though, it's an easy program that enables you to create basic, professional-looking graphics for the Web, ideal for the novice/professional without a design background. I use it frequently, in spite of its annoyances.