Mapdiva Artboard (Mac OS)

[Snaptophobic]

http://www.mapdiva.com/artboard/

I'm going to give Artboard a test drive. The intro movie on their web site makes the app look impressive, and the specs imply it can provide print quality output.

[FFH Mark]

I appreciate seeing new vector apps being presented here and will always look deeper at what they can do considering the Illustrator/FreeHand situation. Some of these vector apps look like fun to use.

I took a good look at Artboard features and read their forums. It seems that at a pro-level, there were missing essentials to make it match FreeHand. Mapdiva says they will not pursue extensive text layout features, for example, and with CMYK being limited, even Illustrator didn't recognize the color space of Artboard's PDFs. No multiple pages either. Not that these won't be added in future versions, just what I noticed first glance.

With our class action case against Adobe, we define vector apps as professional based on certain factors:
- output calibrated CMYK files
- output files accepted by commercial printers and publications
- interoperable with other software that professional designers use
- multiple pages
- offer the full suite of features found in professional level software
- complete file sharing capabilities.

There is more but you get the idea. Look at Illustrator and FreeHand and CorelDraw to see if these smaller apps match up to the feature set of the "big boys."

Mark

[Snaptophobic]

I played with the Artboard test drive, and paid for the full version (£17.99, who can argue with that?). I found the developers' attitude refreshing, and the user forums helpful and friendly, with feedback from the developers everywhere.

I agree with you Mark. I understand the need for the pro-level features, and sincerely hope FFH will prevail to keep FreeHand viable into the future.

However, having been a jobbing designer and artworker for nearly 20 years, I haven't built up a reliance on a single application to do my work. For me, a vector illustration program is where I turn to provide illustrative content for projects. I have used FreeHand's page layout and text features in the past, and appreciated them, but most of that kind of work I do in other dedicated applications. My archives are full of illustrations that have been from FreeHand to Illustrator, back and forth many times over the years.

I appreciate Artboard will not replace FreeHand for many of us. For me, however, it provides a slick and effective alternative to Illustrator as I inexorably move into the world of Mac OS X Lion. I would still prefer to use FreeHand for the kind of work I will use Artboard for (relatively simple illustrations, logo work and so on), but it's proving a frustrating process these days. I have installed FreeHand on a PowerPC Mac mini here, and it works well enough, but not well enough for me to enjoy working with the program the way I used to.

I will continue to support Free FreeHand. I will continue to champion FreeHand over its major rivals. However, I am in a situation where I must consider where my path leads me. That seems to be somewhere where an industrial-level illustration package is no longer a necessary part of my arsenal.

[FFH Mark]

Good point about an "industrial-level" illustration package not necessarily being needed for every designer. In my case it is, but for others it is up to each one. Nonetheless, keep bringing these apps up in the forum as I find they have some excellent feature concepts to keep note of.