Adobe software questions

[shoshntosh]

Hi

I want to take an introductory graphic design class, and am unsure of the different benefits/end uses of Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and AfterEffects. I've done a little research but am looking for practical feedback from experienced users.

I would like to be able to create flyers, brochures, and posters, and also enhance my PowerPoint presentations. Based on these desired outcomes, which software would be best?

Thanks for any and all advice!

S

[steveo]

Photoshop

You can get a legal CS2 free here http://www.techspot.com/downloads/3689-adobe-photoshop-cs2.html

[PokerTime]

Yes Photoshop is best for what you want to do, along with Adobe Pagemaker, which is a programme specifilly designed to create brochures, magazines and all types of press materials.

Indesign and Illustrator do different things and After Effects is a high end Editing Software for Film and TV Visual Effects.

[sjsl]

Hmm, Adobe Pagemaker a bit old school? Go for Adobe Indesign, you can use it for flyers, brochures, posters etc. Photoshop is primarily image editing and Illustrator is for vector graphics and is used for illustration, typography etc.

[Hawley]

Only a personal preference, but I would definitely choose InDesign for its superior layout and text editing capabilities.

[goosey-goosey]

Yup, InDesign for brochures and flyers (pretty simple), Photoshop for photos and complex imagery (difficult), Illustrator for vector graphics (fairly difficult). There's quite a lot of overlap.

[BrandNewGuy]

Agreed re InDesign. It's not cheap, but it will do everything you want easily. If you need to manipulate images or graphics, there are plenty of free/cheap packages out there that will fit the bill, unless you're going for really high-end print.