Chapter 10. Illustrator and the Web


There's no question that Adobe Illustrator suffers from schizophrenia. One moment it's a print-based application with spot colors and crop marks, and the next, it's a Web-based application with Web-safe color palettes and slices. And that's okay, because as designers living in the 21st century, we all suffer from the same schizophrenia. This is because we are called upon to create art that will be used in many different waysmost notably in print and on the Web. Even if you are living in a print- or Web-centric world, others may use and repurpose the art that you create. That's where Illustrator excelsin repurposing artwork for a variety of uses.

In this chapter, we focus on Web technologies and understanding how the Web and Web browsers display graphics. We then discuss how you can use your favorite design applicationIllustratorto create quality Web graphics with ease.

Illustrator's Role in Web Design

Before we dive into the world of Web design, it's important to realize where Illustrator fits in when it comes to creating Web graphics. There's certainly more to creating a Website than drawing pretty pictures. Programs are dedicated specifically to creating and maintaining Web sites, such as Adobe GoLive and Macromedia Dreamweaver, and in no way does Illustrator compete with or replace those programs.

You can use Illustrator to design how a Web page looks (by creating a composition), but you wouldn't normally use Illustrator to create an actual HTML-based Web page. Similarly, you wouldn't use Illustrator to manage a multipage Website, as Illustrator lacks the toolset to do so.

Illustrator's strength is in designing Web interfaces or the navigation bars, buttons, individual Web graphics, and general artwork that appear within a Web page. You can place elements like this that you design in Illustrator into GoLive, Dreamweaver, or any other program you use to create your Web pages.





Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2
Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2
ISBN: 0321337026
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 147
Authors: Mordy Golding

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