Everybody knows what Photoshop is at this point. The massively popular Adobe software is used for photo editing and graphic design, but one of its most popular uses has become Photoshop in Web Design. Although it’s not possible to code with Photoshop, the software can play an integral role in both designing a site and ensuring its functionality.
Here are some of the top applications for Photoshop from a web design perspective:
1. Full Mockups:
Especially for new designers, the most difficult part of building a website is creating a bunch of different elements and then trying to tie them together in a manner that is logical and attractive. Instead of creating elements one by one, Photoshop can be used to make full-scale mock-ups of a website. The elements can be stripped out and added to a coded website at that point, making it ideal for new designers or bloggers.
2. Fonts:
The importance of typography is understood by the majority of bloggers and web designers. From a design perspective, it’s critical for the fonts being used to match the imagery and colors on the site. Photoshop provides a quick outlet for this, allowing users to sample hundreds of fonts in just a few minutes.
3. Grid Design:
Bloggers and designers using Photoshop for their site’s design will want to familiarize themselves with using a grid. Photoshop has a built-in grid, and hundreds of custom ones can be downloaded and imported. With the use of a grid, designers can be sure that their elements are all aligned and will look correct once they are transferred to an actual website.
4. Transferring to HTML:
This is especially applicable for those who create full mock-ups in Photoshop, although creating just one element for a page will require this. Essentially, you just want to save your elements in a Web-optimized format. Typically this will be a high-quality JPEG – just use the “Save for Web” function to ensure that your images maintain their quality.
Beyond these, Photoshop has an unlimited range of uses for web design. It can be used as the primary tool in planning the design of a website, or it can just be used to create a header for a blog. The software’s flexibility and ease of incorporation are what make it a favorite among designers.
About The Author
