A few things designers can do with an Ipad

The Ipad is proving to be a valuable tool for graphic designers. Its compact size is the perfect compromise between a smart phone and a laptop. Its 9 ½ inch touch screen is much larger for artist’s centric apps while its 1 ½ pound weight is much more comfortable to carry than a laptop. Although lacking the power of a laptop, the Ipad has many features that designers can utilize.
April Chamberlain, a RMU Design graduate and professional photographer, says that she uses the Ipad as a portable portfolio. She says that it has already proven to be helpful in her business.
“Anyone I happen to meet, that seems interested in my work, can view my updated portfolio on the spot. It’s a lot more convenient than giving them my website address. They may forget about it or lose interest that way. The Ipad allows for an instant visual of my work.”
The Ipad has an excellent interface for apps that may seem to be constrained by small smart phone screens. Adobe has a Photoshop app that can be used for very basic editing, as well as an app called “Ideas,” a vector based sketching tool. Other handy apps include SketchBook and Brushes, two apps that designers can use for sketching ideas while in the presence of clients. These apps are much more powerful when used in conjunction with a 3rd party stylus. Although not as user-friendly as a traditional sketch pad, the Ipad certainly comes in at a close second.
MyPantone is an app that can give designers the correct spot color codes, or pull pantone colors directly from photographs. With the Apple camera adapter accessory, Users can take pictures with a camera, Iphone, or the new Itouch, and transfer images directly to the Ipad. If a client likes the colors of an object, a book cover, a quilt, or even flowers, for example, MyPantone can create a palette of colors from a photograph taken on the spot.
Photographers can use the adapter for another reason, viewing shots on the larger screen during a photoshoot. The large display makes spotting out of focus images much easier, which means that they can retake shots instead of finding out too late that they had missed it the first time. With the 3gs capability, photographers can instantly email clients samples of a photoshoot for feedback in the field.
States Professor Dustin Wyse-Fisher, “It (the Ipad) seems to have some potential for the beginning and ending stages of design work, but not necessarily in between, at least not right now! I think the app market is going to be a source of employment, too. So, just building tools for the Ipad itself will be useful.”
The Ipad has a lot of potential for being a graphic designers best friend. As more and more apps are developed to take advantage of the Ipad’s capabilities, designers will have more useful tools at their disposal. It is an investment that is worth looking into for those who wish to keep up with the ever changing world of design.