Why upgrade to CS5?
Technology and creative design are tightly intertwined in online advertising. When a new design technology comes about, web design studios and digital ad agencies must pay attention to the developments. The most common technology changes web designers attend to revolve around new browser capabilities, but every 18-24 months designers are hit with changes to one of their fundamental tools, Adobe’s Creative Suite software.
In April 2010, Adobe released CS5; this coincided with Photoshop’s 20th anniversary. Many freelance designers and web design companies are wondering whether they should switch to CS5. The release of CS4 brought about many new changes to the suite, but many firms were slow to upgrade for the marginal benefit. CS5 is not a minor facelift; it is feature rich and built to save time.
Below, we will cover some notable changes to the most popular CS program, Photoshop Extended.
Content Aware
The biggest time saver in CS5’s Photoshop Extended is Content Aware. When Content Aware is turned on, Photoshop will use information from around the deleted area to fill in the missing portion of the photograph or image. This feature works very well when deleting unwanted items or using the Spot Healing Brush. Although Content Aware is a very powerful feature, it works best with asymmetric objects with a low level of complexity (works much better on a field of grass than on a face).
Puppet Warp
Through a series of pivot points and careful selecting, Puppet Warp allows designers to reposition an object in a natural, fluid manor with minimal distortion. If you don’t like how someone’s hand or arm is positioned, simply pin down points that need to stay stationary, add pivot points to the joints, and move the object like a puppet.
Refine Edge
Anyone who has spent time selecting soft objects, such as hair or clouds, knows how much time is spent retouching edges. The new Refine Edge feature in CS5 allows designers to easily select objects with mixed soft/hard edges.
Wet Mixture Brushes
Not only will the new Wet Brush option allow users to pick more than one color, but the stiffness and edge shape of the brush can be adjusted as well. This creates an experience very familiar to those who paint in oils.
HDR Updated Effects (High Dynamic Range)
In the simplest terms, HDR allows users to combine multiple photos, shot at different settings, to get the best tonal and detail features from each photo. HDR has come a long way in CS5. Although it is not quite up to par, as compared to some dedicated HDR programs, it is more than sufficient for the average designer or photo editor.
Camera Raw 6
Camera Raw’s advanced algorithm has made great leaps in being able to remove noise and adjust luminance with minimal loss in picture quality. This feature is very handy when retouching photos that are not up to par for print material or client’s websites.
Repoussé and Other 3D Features
Repoussé, or “to push” in French, will allow users to easily create 3D designs within Photoshop from basic shapes. With Repoussé and other 3D tools, users can infinitely adjust objects perspective, light angles and shadows. This feature is very effective for creating high impact text.