Corel has launched CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019, and it is available for Windows or Mac. Whether users are designing signage, logos, web graphics, or print projects, CorelDRAW delivers capabilities that unleash creative potential, on the user’s platform of choice. Head of design and strategy at MSD, Mo Jogie, provides a detailed breakdown of the new software.
Corel turned 30 this year. And what a celebration it’s turning out to be. Do you remember the black box with the truckload of stiffy disks for fonts and clipart and photos? Those pale into insignificance when we look at what’s on offer in this release, which is by far the most exciting ever. I mean ever guys! First there’s tons of cool, new features. Then there’s the brand spanking new Mac OS version. Dare I say it’s sexy? Plus, a Windows and Mac app store edition. But wait, there’s even more! There’s a version of Corel that runs on any device: your phone, your computer, your tablet, no matter what OS. Yup, it’s real and it’s called CorelDRAW.app. And you get it as part of your licence.
Be In Control
Whether you use Corel for design, page layout, image editing, typography, signage, print, prepress, web graphics or video content, this version has got something for you. First off, there is Font Manager, an easy-to-use, intuitive and very visual font management tool that allows you to work with fonts without even having them installed on your computer. How sick is that? You can build custom collections, point to folders where you have your treasure trove of fonts and Font Manager gets on with it.
On the creative front, Corel has introduced what it calls pixel-perfect controls for your vector and web designs with very tight control for output. Whether you’re prepping content for social media or web, print with the high-quality PDF/x4 support or any other format you may need to export your artwork as.
Be Creative
Need to quickly enhance a photo, remove a background or get rid of a colour cast? Drum roll please? Heeeeeeere’s Photopaint. From seamless object removal to powerful, non-destructive lenses, you have it all and then some. You simply edit directly from Draw. No need to even leave your fave vector buddy. You have the ability to easily work with colours, mess with transparency and fill objects with all sorts of zany fills that will have you experimenting for hours on end.
Corel 2019 boasts a very powerful non-destructive vector and believe it or not, bitmap effects engine. What this means is you can dive into any object, apply blurs, 3D effects or anything else your heart desires, and it’s all non-destuctive. It’s editable too. Now you can tweak an effect either by strengthening it or making it softer.
Be Efficient
Need to get a logo trace or a hand-drawn design prepped for output fast and furious? You’ll be saving on time and your sanity with Powertrace. Quick, customisable, efficient. Now if you could only get your creative team to live by the same motto, right? If you’re on a tight deadline, with a meagre budget that has you paying the client for a job, or you simply need a template to get you going, Corel has you covered. They’ve included a series of high-quality templates that are easily accessible directly from Draw. Nice, very nice indeed.
Corel’s built-in vector tracing engine will help you meet those screaming deadlines most of the time. Of course, there will be that demon artwork that refuses to play nice. The plethora of Bezier drawing tools will set you on your way when you do come across those pieces of artwork that are difficult to trace. We’ll cover them in a future article.
On the export front, we have high quality print output in the form of PDF/x-1a and x4. Web and WordPress exports for easy deployment on sites and Word if you need to get high quality designs in an accessible format to a colleague or customer.
If you manage your own shoots, or if you receive high-quality RAW images from photographers, you can manage it all with Corel’s non-destructive imaging app, Aftershot HDR. Sort, rank and edit in RAW without ever hurting the original pixels.
Be Next Gen
CorelDRAW 2019 is arguably the most compelling version ever. It’s optimised for Windows 10, will run on Mac, and if that’s not enough, it will run on any device with Corel.app. And you have Corel.app included in your licence, so it won’t cost you a single cent. Now is indeed the time to design differently.
MSD (+27 11) 782 4297 mo@imsd.co.za www.imsd.co.za
