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New cross-platform Vector app [looking for your support]

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Edvard:
As a long time Inkscape user, I can say the workflow is not a problem, but then again I haven't used Illustrator or other vector apps beyond opening a file to export a plotter file (long story).

Edit/ this post responds more positively to using Inkscape.
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I was gonna say...
New cross-platform Vector app [looking for your support]

But for professional use, the interface gets a bit of a slating in terms of usability in the same thread.
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Ok, I understand that freehand was/is very easy to use and intuitive, but to pan the Inkscape GUI as "Linux-like" and "ugly" strikes me as a bit churlish, though I do agree that most Linux GUI's in the early days didn't offer anything better than Microsoft's best circa 1995.  We've come a long way since then.  I had no problems figuring out what the different functions did just by playing with it for a while, and the "hidden" items are a simple web search away.

While it is true that it doesn't produce CMYK output directly, RGB color profiles can be embedded in the SVG via the <color-profile> tag and printed with something like Gimp or Scribus that uses direct CMYK conversion and output via the LittleCMS library

Now, if only Inkscape could break free of it's Sodipodi legacy Cartesian coordinate system, so we can get down to business with good 'ol fashioned Top-left referencing, I'd be ever so happy.
 :-\

Either way, Expressive/Stagestack/whatever looks to be a promising project.  I'll keep an eye on it.   :Thmbsup:

tomos:
to pan the Inkscape GUI as "Linux-like" and "ugly" strikes me as a bit churlish
-Edvard (July 31, 2012, 10:05 PM)
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I agree,
I think it's a form of designers' snobbery. I guess their whole career is about making things look good, so many would struggle with an interface that doesnt have that as a priority.

Re the interface functionality. There's got to be a certain amount of the people trying inkscape out, who struggle with the interface because they dont take the time to learn it. I dont know how long it takes to adjust to new software, probably it depends how many years you've been using your old software ;-)

I use graphics software in a very limited way myself, but I do use it professionally. If you're doing something again and again, day after day, the interface and workflow become very important. I mean that's why there's so much interest here in text editors, and in software in general. I'd personally be slow to move to something open source where development is slow. The other side of the coin is a huge company like Adobe that really dont care that much, and do whatever they do, like it or lump it.

Edvard:
 :Thmbsup:
I think it's a form of designers' snobbery. I guess their whole career is about making things look good, so many would struggle with an interface that doesnt have that as a priority.
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Agreed as well.  I can find much delight in a well-designed (read: easy to navigate, not necessarily pretty) interface myself.  I totally appreciate that the guy had trouble adjusting to a new interface, we all do, and it's especially frustrating when the successful navigation of said software interface affects the success of one's livelihood, as would be the case with a professional designer/architect/artist/musician/etc.  

I dont know how long it takes to adjust to new software, probably it depends how many years you've been using your old software ;-)
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That certainly depends on how much effort has been put into the usability of the software.  Even if everything is totally backwards from what you're used to, if the functions are easily discovered or intuitive, the change should be rather painless.  Recently, I tried and failed again to seriously work with gEDA; never again, even if the EvilMadScientist.com guys are all over it.  I can get to a certain point in the workflow, and suddenly I have no idea what to do to move to the next step, and myriads of Google searches and Reading The Free Manual haven't yielded a sufficient answer.  Bad form, gentlemen.
Compared with the ease of working with Eagle (despite it's quirks), it's akin to catching mice by holding a rattlesnake; gets the job done, but you're just as likely to be bitten as the mouse.
On the other hand, I've tried my hand at AutoCAD more than a few times when I had access to it, and despite it being industry standard, I found a much easier time with DoubleCAD or even the open-source 'community' edition of QCAD.

Hopefully, with so many former and current freehand users contributing to the success of Expressive, it'll be a viable alternative to both the commercial and open-source current vector editing offerings.
Now, if only I had 25 euros... :-[

tomos:
Added to original post:

Quasado are looking for support for this project. Simply following or liking will be of benefit - impress the investors :-)
Donations are also welcome though ;-)

Follow on twitter http://twitter.com/
Like on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/quasado
or donate http://www.stagestack.com/
for more info on current status see here (stagestack.com blog)

40hz:
As you can see there is a FreeHand bias here
-tomos (July 22, 2012, 02:41 AM)
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Nothing to explain or apologize for IMHO. I'll categorically state that Freehand was the single finest vector drawing package ever created. Nothing I ever used before, during, or since has even come close.

It was a sad day when Adobe put in on the shelf and deliberately let it die. >:(

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