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4 Great Applications for Creatives (medium.com)
6 years ago from Matthew Cooper, Freelance Web, Ui, UX & Brand Designer
25 comments
Cristian Moisei, 6 years ago
I wonder what you were hoping to achieve with this article - maybe by some miracle it would help you land more clients, or make you popular among designers? Maybe through whatever dissonance you were genuinely thinking you will help some people out by introducing them to 30 year old software or thinking they might not have heard of Skype.
Whatever it was, keep it off DN please.
Adam Marsden, 6 years ago
I wonder what you were hoping to achieve with this comment? It has nothing constructive towards the post, in fact, nothing helpful what so ever.
Whatever it was, keep your negativity off DN please.
p.s Be nice, or else.
Do you have any arguments justifying the value of this article or why it should be on DN?
I do not need to justify the value of this article to you. It is very obvious that it isn't of any value to YOU but is there any need for the negativity?
Yes there is. The forum agrees articles like these are a problem (see here and here) and I am of the opinion it is important to call people out on their shit. You are of a different opinion, that it is better to be nice even when you can't come up with any arguments defending something, and just like you are free to express your opinion or disagree with me, so am I.
I could argue that your attempts to coerce everyone else into thinking and acting like you is more detrimental than my being critical of a random Medium blogger.
Both of these articles a written by yourself with very mixed reviews.
I totally agree with you on everyone has their own opinion! Of course, they do! You're entitled to it :)
I'm no brain washer, I'm not trying to make everyone "think and act like" me. I simply want people to be nice OR constructive and guess what? Both of those options are NOT detrimental at all, and ONLY good things can come from either of those options.
My problem lays with the fact that your whole comment is negative and not constructive at all, which IS detrimental.
Those are not articles, they are conversations I started. And people had different opinions about where exactly the problem lies or how to fix it, while some thought things are alright the way they are. Nevertheless, it was one of the most discussed posts, because most users of this forum feel we have a problem.
Secondly, you are trying to get people to come around to your view. You 'want people to be nice OR constructive', your view is that 'ONLY good things can come from either of those options.' and you would like others to ascribe to this view. But I don't want to argue over this or try to convince you of anything - I am trying to say that just like you have the right to express your views and go tell Matthew how great you think his article is and why you enjoyed it, or say nothing if you don't really believe that, so should I have the right to criticise him for what I believe is a pointless article.
Now if you can make a more pertinent case for why you think that is not the best way to deal with people like Matthew or why you feel my actions are harmful to the entire community, I'm happy to hear you out. But don't tell me I must, or else.
Being negative IS harmful. There's nothing not harmful about it, so the way you're dealing with it is literally "harmful to the entire community".
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Hi Cristian, please liaise with me as this is my post and you seem to have gone a bit off track with your "thoughts" and original comment which has little substance. The only substance I see is that you do not like my post....which is fair enough, thats your opinion, its not for everyone :)
I don't mind that, but please do not tell me what to do ("Whatever it was, keep it off DN please.") ....after all I thought people were allowed to express their opinions according to YOURSELF. But by saying "Whatever it was, keep it off DN please."....this is extremely hypocritical of yourself as you are TELLING me what to do regardless of my opinion....that I have posted.
Oh, sure. I think your article has no value and you shouldn't post it on DN. You show me a single designer, regardless of how early on in their career they are, who has not heard of Adobe or Sketch or who doesn't know what Skype is, and I'll happily agree I was wrong.
On the other hand, if your article was thoroughly comparing the capabilities, features, advantages and disadvantages of the software available in each field, that would have been a different story - that would be valuable to people who are just getting started and are not sure which tool to pick or those looking to switch. The closest your article comes to that. Giving a one line introduction to the app and listing its price hardly cuts it. You haven't even looked at all the tools out there to give people a simple list of options.
The reason I am critical of articles like these is because I think they add to the confusion. The design industry is already suffering from a lack of transparency where the most experienced designers cannot (or will not) share details about their work and processes, and a focus on the visual side to top it all off. Filling the void are meaningless marketing articles written by companies and designers trying to look like an authority figure.
What are you really contributing and who are you really helping by informing people of the existence of Illustrator, telling them it's a vector tool that you like and it costs 22/m?
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Hi Cristian,
To be honest, I've dealt with people like yourself before. I understand your opinion and have accepted you do not like my article long ago, thats fine with me honestly :D But you will not back down unless everyone believes you are right, and I find that behaviour odd.
Also you did not even acknowledge my comment about yourself being hypocritical which also seems odd.
It's not about knowing OF the app names and what they are, its LITERALLY my opinions from what I've learnt from using these different apps and what I like to recommend as the better app overall.
Yes it IS brief, AS I STATED in the story, it WOULD be brief on advice and not an in depth story. If you don't like it that's fine.....just don't read it. If your "nose is out of joint" I apologise, I didn't mean to offend you with my story. I enjoy writing and will continue to do so. I am all for feedback and criticism but if its not very constructive, then it's really like hitting your head against a brick wall trying to explain to someone that each are entitled to their own opinion, going back and forth only to realise the creator of this comment thread (yourself) was acting hypocritical all along.
I take your words on board and I like the point you say about being more in depth, this is good feedback I can work with definitely! :)
I love learning new things and taking in new thoughts and feedback. But sending personal attacking messages ("Now if you can make a more pertinent case for why you think that is not the best way to deal with people like Matthew"), People LIKE me, really?
Or sending hypocritical messages "Whatever it was, keep it off DN please." then saying "I am trying to say that just like you have the right to express your views and go tell Matthew how great you think his article is and why you enjoyed it, or say nothing if you don't really believe that, so should I have the right to criticise him for what I believe is a pointless article.". It's a bit confusing if anything Cristian.
I really don't see the point in this argument, if you have nothing better to do than to try and win an argument then I feel for you. Myself and Adam have both stated that we actually agree with some of your points but other points you have stated are not constructive. So mixed reviews really.
I think you have blown this way out of proportion. I like to write, I write different stories, some people like them, some people don't....the best part is I enjoy writing and I'm not going to stop. If DN were concerned about people showing their writings or Dribbble shots or work shots they wouldn't have introduced the "Show DN" option when posting a link. If you do not like it do not read/open it. Like you keep saying, you have an opinion you are entitled to :) Just remember not to TELL people what to do and maybe ask them or advise them constructively ;)
I'm not going to rise to this anymore as I have bigger issues at heart and I'm sure you do to. I wish you well as a creative Cristian and in life itself! :)
Regards, Matt
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Wow. I didn't know some people were so negative and narrow minded in this day and age. I wrote the article because I like writing and thought I'd express my opinion in regards to useful programs (what I think are useful). When I was a creative starting out I found it difficult to choose between programs here and there, I thought I'd put across my opinion/advice for other creatives. I frankly don't care if it gets 1 read or 10,000 reads, I enjoy writing.
Designer News is a community and one of the options when posting a link, funnily enough, is "Show DN" (show DN your writings, work, dribbble etc.). I understand not everyone likes these kind of posts but if you're THAT concerned don't use it. After all Designer News stands for News revolving around Design, which I'm guessing involves peoples creative work or there wouldn't be an option to "Show DN" would there Cristian? We, as creatives, like to gain feedback and advice from other people. But like I say, if this type of feedback is not constructive then there's not much point going out your way to post it is there, unless thats your highlight for today.
If you have nothing constructive to say other than being a keyboard warrior then thats your issue, but it certainly won't ruin my day as there's far bigger things to worry about in this world :) So thanks but no thanks.
Clay MacTavish, 6 years ago
What's your rebuttal towards this article?
I still think Adobe Illustrator is pretty amazing and powerful. I'm assuming this is the " 30 year old software " you were talking about.
btw you sound like a winey 20yo junior designer.
I explained my reasoning for criticising the article above, please read that. I am by no means against Illustrator - it's a great tool.
James Lane, 6 years ago
Hi Matt,
Your story has been sunk (check the guidelines to see what happens with sinking stories) as it violates the 'unwelcome stories' section of the DN Guidelines being a list-style story.
Whilst I'm all for stating your opinion on the best options for designers, developers, freelancers etc. this seems overly advertorial (even though there are no adverts as such). E.g. I personally think you should try the affinity range before putting it in the article rather than basing it solely on what other people have said.
To be a fair review of each product, you must have at least used the all the available candidates. You don't see a magazine review of the top 10 TV's without the reviewer trying all 10 (although it is questionable as to who decides the top 10).
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Hi James,
I understand your concerns, I will just remove this post if you like? As it is causing more hassle than it is worth in all honesty.. I will point out, as I clearly state on the article it's just my opinion on what I have used and why I'd recommend the products I have used. It is NOT a review of each particular item.
Yes, I have learnt that a more in depth article would be best and I respect and appreciate your comments and feedback....I will actually take this on board as I enjoy writing and thank you. However it would be more well appreciated if it were in a less-sarcastic or patronising manor, especially being a DN community staff member James. I've noticed on a few posts a similar style of response from yourself.
Like I stress, I state multiple times it is my brief findings and that of my opinion on what I have used/learnt. I understand your advertorial concerns, however I was only trying to be helpful, after all isn't this the point of DN? I understand if I've been "reported" by a certain someone, but I don't think I'm the only one who found SOME of his comments ridiculous and unnecessary. Please notice the entire thread to this article.
I am always open to change and reason, but it has to be backed up with some substance. If you notice in the comments of the story and this post I am always open to learning new things and regularly talk with my fellow creatives :) I enjoy feedback wether that being good or bad, its what makes me better as a creative :)
Thanks again for your time, I respect DN very much and enjoy being a part of it.
Matt
I'm not removing this post, I don't think it's necessary. I just thought I'd let you know what I've done and why I've done it.
As far as I know, you haven't been reported as such, and even if you were, it would have no impact on a moderator's decision (mine or others).
The second part of my reply was my opinion. I apologise if you thought it came across as sarcastic, that wasn't my intention and never is - blunt and to the point is the best way of saying something imo, I'm not going to pussyfoot around anyone just in case I hurt their feelings.
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Okay no problems :)
I appreciate that, definitely don't "pussyfoot" at all, be straight, I'd rather you do that :) Just maybe be more friendly with folk and less aggressive and sarcy, i doesn't give a good impression from a DN staff member tbh. After all isn't DN's motto "be nice...or else" :)
Conner Sinclair, 6 years ago I notice you don't mention Adobe XD as a comparison with sketch, why is this?
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Hi Conner, as I state on the story many times, it is based on my opinion and experience with the programmes I have used, some extensively and some briefly.
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Conner, is XD any good?
Suleiman Zakari Mohammed, 6 years ago
Yep, very. Give it a try.
Connor Norvell, 6 years ago
I just used it for my personal site redesign, it was spectacular. loved it... honestly a little better than sketch in some ways.
Matthew Cooper, 6 years ago Oh wow! Really Connor!? How do you find its responsiveness and speed when introducing multiple art boards and variables in to the equation for example?
Does it seem smoother than PS?
For me is was 10x smoother than PS. PS has always been an image editor to me. with multiple artboards it handled everything like a champ, I wish PS would get an XD makeover, along with the rest of the CC suite
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