What is CorelDRAW? Graphic design is a creative job that is much needed by various agencies and companies. Currently, a variety of information is packaged with an attractive visual appearance, both information in the form of education to product promotion. In addition, the visual illustrations created also make it easier for the public to understand the information in it.
This is none other than because people’s habits in consuming information have now changed a lot. The easy access and fast pace of information circulating in the media has influenced the behavior of people who are more interested in the content of brief information, but it is easier to understand. With a short time, people can still understand the information properly and clearly.
Not surprisingly, now many people are interested in this type of work. Of course for those of you who have a special educational background in this field it is a distinct advantage. However, that doesn’t mean those of you who don’t have the provision of education can’t enter this field. Of course you can practice your skills by using a design application like CorelDRAW.
CorelDRAW is a vector-based digital 2D graphic design application. With this application, you can easily create logo designs, flex, brochures, invitation cards, and various other document designs. This application also has several advantages over other design applications.
Here we summarize the meaning, history, some advantages and disadvantages, and tips for using CorelDRAW as follows.
Understanding CorelDRAW
CorelDRAW X8.
CorelDRAW is a graphic processing software that has uses to help designers work. This software was developed by Corel Corporation, a company based in Ottawa, Canada. Quoted from its official website , Corel helps more than 90 million workers to be more creative and productive through their products.
Corel was founded in 1985 or full of experience in this industry more than 30 years. Quoted from a document entitled A Short History of CorelDRAW Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation in Design , the first version of CorelDRAW was released in 1989 and was named CorelDraw 1.0. This software runs on the Windows 2.1 operating system. Meanwhile, the latest version of CorelDRAW is CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2021.
CorelDRAW version 23 was released in March 2021. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2021 is available across platforms and devices, both Windows, Mac, web, iPad, and including mobile devices, with more enhanced capabilities and features.
In simple terms, CorelDRAW is vector or line-based graphics processing software. The resulting object is a combination of several lines, either straight or curved. However, vector-based graphics processing software is not only CorelDRAW. The similar software is Adobe Illustrator, Beneba Canvas, Macromedia Freehand, Metacreations Expression, and Micrografx Designer.
CorelDRAW is a program that can be used to create image and text applications quickly and easily. CorelDRAW has setting and layout features for various products. CorelDRAW is very familiar to graphic design workers because it offers a number of conveniences, both in terms of features and sophistication of capabilities.
CorelDRAW allows users to do things like add special effects, such as frames to images, enable contrast adjustments, color balancing, and more. Modern users of the CorelDRAW program suite can choose from several versions, including one designed for home users and students, one for professional graphic designers, and one aimed at technical illustration.
CorelDRAW is software available for download on the CorelDRAW website. Users can try the software with a free trial version and can purchase an annual subscription, or a one time fee.
History of CorelDRAW
Use of CorelDRAW
Even though it is basically vector-based object processing software, CorelDRAW can be relied upon to execute a number of tasks that are closely related to graphic design. Regarding a number of products that can be produced by CorelDRAW, including covers , layouts , leaflets , advertisements, brochures, calendars, stickers, banners, posters, invitations, business cards, and many more.
Quoted from the book Information and Communication Technology for Class XII SMA/MA by Eko Supriyadi and Muslim Heri Kiswanto, CorelDRAW is object- and screen-oriented software. CorelDRAW has a number of advantages, one of which is when creating a zoom or enlarged design. No matter how much magnification is used, the image is not distorted, so designers can go into greater detail when combining designs.
Several Types of CorelDRAW File Formats
1. .CDR
.CDR is the original CorelDraw file format. This file type is often used to process various types of printing, especially graphic design products. This .CDR file is vector graphic worksheet data, which can contain text, images, lines, effects, colors, and so on. Files of the .CDR type can also store invitation letter designs, brochures, posters, banners, and others. This format can be exported to .jpg, .png, .bmp, .ai, and .pdf formats.
2. .BMP
.BMP stands for Bitmap Image , which is a file format in CorelDraw. This type of graphic file is quite flexible, so it can be read by other graphic design programs and can store images in Grayscale, RGB, and Index Color modes. .BMP can store graphic files with 1 to 24 bit quality.
3. .EPS
.EPS stands for Encapsulated Postscript , which is a vector-based file format that can be used for document exchange purposes in graphic design programs. The .EPS format is a file type usually created by Adobe Illustrator. However, this type is compatible with many graphic design programs, one of which is CorelDraw.
4. .CDT
.CDT is a graphic file that CorelDraw can create, containing objects, pages, vectors. .CDT is useful for creating graphic design documents such as logos, invitation letters, web pages, brochures, and more.
CorelDRAW Featured Features
CorelDRAW is software that has several excellent features, namely:
1. Collaboration
CorelDRAW has collaboration features that can help you work with other designers. You can easily view and edit the file with many others.
2. Typography Tools
CorelDRAW provides typography tools that can help you create or create your own fonts by bolding or attenuating the letters of the font .
3. PowerTRACE™
The last advantage of CorelDRAW is that it can convert bitmaps to vectors in an easier and faster way. You can convert a bitmap to a vector object, try extracting the bitmap’s centerline, or the outline of the bitmap .
Advantages of CorelDRAW
CorelDRAW is one of the mainstays of graphic design software. This software is very easy to use and can be learned quickly. Here are the advantages of CorelDRAW:
1. Easy to Use
CorelDRAW makes it easy for its users to operate. One of them is the help feature and online assistance . The appearance of CorelDRAW is also very pleasing to the eye and makes all of its features easy to learn.
2. Complete File Format for Import and Export
CorelDRAW can use many formats for importing and exporting data, even CorelDRAW provides an AI format. This allows CorelDRAW users to open their files in Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator is one of its rivals. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work the other way around, from Adobe Illustrator to CoreDRAW.
3. Many Tools Can Be Used
The tools provided in CorelDRAW are very diverse and have their respective functions. Some of the tools in CorelDRAW are selection , editing , and also effects. That is the reason CorelDRAW users will find it easy to produce good and attractive images. CorelDRAW users can also use these various toolboxes as needed without having to doubt the quality.
4. Basic Shapes that are Easy to Make
The advantage of CorelDRAW is that it allows you to easily create basic shapes. Through this application, you can make basic shapes which can then be developed into emojis, cartoon sketches, and stickers with various shapes. You only need to drag and drop several shapes such as circles, rectangles, ellipses, lines, ovals, and others.
5. Make a Small Invitation Card
Another advantage of CorelDRAW is that it can make small invitation card designs. By using this application, you can design your own small invitation card with the appearance according to your taste. There are various kinds of tools that can be used to make attractive invitation cards. Not only that, CorelDRAW is also equipped with a variety of color choices, so you can combine colors as you wish.
Disadvantages of CorelDRAW
Conclusion
CorelDRAW is a type of software capable of creating graphic designs or as a vector-based graphic editor. CorelDraw was first launched in January 1989 by the Corel Corporation located in Ottawa, Canada.
The original file format is .CDR, which can contain vector graphics worksheet data, text, images, effects, colors, and others. Many designers or companies use this software primarily to design brochures, book covers, banners, invitations or other graphic purposes.
That’s the explanation we can give about CorelDRAW. Hopefully this is useful in adding to your insight, especially regarding applications that are useful for graphic design. If there is an error in this discussion, we apologize. That’s all and thank you.