The future of the Internet is a place for Web designers?

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Update (27.09.2010): this article caused quite a heated debate in the design community. Please read the rebuttal of this article, called I Want To Be A Web Designer When I Grow Up here, at Smashing Magazine.

— Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine

It seems that new posts about what the Internet has in store for us down the road pop up every week or two. Some propose that the Internet will deliver more of the same, but different somehow (it’s usually ambiguous just how), while others propose such radical changes that it’s hard to believe they could ever happen. And the truth is, none of us really know what will happen with the Internet in 10 or 15 years.

After all, it was only a little more than 15 years ago that Clifford Stoll wrote the now-infamous “The Internet? Bah!” post (subtitled: “Hype Alert, Why Cyberspace Isn’t, and Will Never Be, Nirvana”). In that post he detailed why a lot of things just wouldn’t happen online but most of which are now commonplace.

As web designers and developers, what the future holds for the Internet is imperative for our livelihoods. If the Internet has radical changes in store for us, we need to understand how they might effect what we do to earn a living and what we’ll need to do to adapt and keep pace — if that’s even possible.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you already get your copy of the Smashing Book?]

Look at your mobile phone. If you’re like most tech-savvy consumers, you’ve likely got a smartphone of the Apple or Android variety (or maybe a Blackberry, especially if you’re working in the corporate world). Most of us use our smartphones on a near-constant basis doing everything from checking email to working on projects to entertaining ourselves. How much of all that do you do in your phone’s browser?

The answer is probably “not much”.

We use an app to check email. We use the Facebook app for status updates. We use Twidroid or TweetDeck or the official Twitter app for tweeting. We use a YouTube app to watch videos. We use the Pandora or Last.fm apps for streaming music.

Mozilla Prism is an application that lets users split web applications out of their browser and run them directly on their desktop. Is this the future of mobile applications?

It’s likely a similar scenario on our desktop or laptop computer. We use apps for a lot of our common Internet-based activities. We even have options to create our own apps with single-site browsers (like Fluid or Prism). And Google’s Chrome OS is just around the corner with devices already planned to use the web-based OS.

Look at how many WordPress sites use one of less than a handful of standard mobile themes. It doesn’t matter what the site looks like in a standard browser; open it up in your mobile browser and you’re often greeted with a page that looks exactly like the last 10 sites you visited.

This is because for most users, design is irrelevant. That’s not to say they don’t appreciate good design. Many of them do (and many of them don’t). But they’re on a website because of the content. They don’t care about visual design, and they don’t care about interaction designer that much, either: as long as the design doesn’t give them a headache or interfere with their ability to find what they want, they don’t really care how exactly it looks like or how exactly it is working. The most widely-used mobile themes offer the content in an optimized format for mobile viewing. That makes users happy.

It’s not just apps that will pull data directly, without the need for an actual website. Devices are making real headway in this manner. We have cars now that can pull information from the Internet for you. Soon devices for Google TV will be out in the marketplace, pulling video content from the Internet without the need to visit a website.

Soon devices for Google TV will be out in the marketplace, pulling video content from the Internet without the need to visit a website.

It’s likely that more devices will add Internet integration in the near future. At some point we’ll probably have refrigerators that automatically generate shopping lists for us (including any available coupons and where the best prices can be found that week): based on previous shopping habits; what we currently have; and our average usage rates for different foods. This is just one example of how online data and content will become infinitely more important than the designs surrounding that content.

It’s impractical to have apps for every website we visit. Most of us visit hundreds or thousands of websites every year. What’s more likely to happen is that most of our content will be delivered through aggregators.

Currently, there are three big players on the Internet that are likely to continue to be the primary content delivery platforms. Who are they? Twitter, Facebook and Google. Think about where you spend most of your time online and you’re likely going to find that those are the sites you visit most often. This market share is only going to increase.

Look at how much content is now aggregated through Facebook. They have pages for virtually every topic under the sun (most of which have canned content taken directly from Wikipedia). Post a YouTube video to Facebook and your friends can watch it right there, without ever leaving Facebook. Even third-party applications like Networked Blogs stick pretty closely to the Facebook environment.

Post a YouTube video to Facebook and your friends can watch it right there, without ever leaving Facebook. Even third-party applications like Networked Blogs stick pretty closely to the Facebook environment.

Besides that, look at the gaming environment that’s cropped up on Facebook. I’ve lost track of how many updates in my news feed are directly related to games like Farmville or Mafia Wars. Facebook has grown into such a complete online ecosystem that many users might never find a reason to leave. Facebook shows no signs of slowing down either. They’re expanding their business and their reach – a trend that’s likely to continue for as long as they can sustain it.

Google already has its hands in virtually everything online. It has two operating systems (Chrome OS and Android), its own browser, web applications that allow you to do a lot of things that used to be limited to desktop applications and the most-used search engine in the world put it in a pretty solid position to continue to be a major stakeholder in the future Internet.

Google is also one of the more forward thinking and active participants in Internet policy and technology. It has a vested interest in how the Internet shapes up in coming years and will push to shape that Internet in a way that benefits its business model. I can see a future where Google doesn’t just offer a list of search engine results, but actually shows you the content you’re looking for without ever leaving their sites.

If you look at Google’s complete product offering, it’s easy to see that it wants to be the primary online destination for most people (or maybe even all people). Google is firmly positioned in blogging, video, search, business applications, webmaster tools, ecommerce and even phone services – expect its reach to expand even more.

There are always going to be innovative startups online. Most will fall by the wayside soon after they’re started or are absorbed into other established companies. A select few will go on to become major influencers online. It’s unclear at the moment where there’s room for new companies and services online. The idea of more location-based services (going beyond FourSquare, et al) is probably the most promising as well as services that go beyond normal Internet activities and integrate into daily life more.

If everyone is accessing web content through an app rather than a browser, then no one will care what a website looks like. The way it functions and the content it delivers will become the paramount concerns to users. There will be no more balancing of form and function on a website; function will override form.

Form will retain a place in the design of apps. In all likelihood, content will be open to the extent that APIs will be developed that anyone can then use in application development – so the form in which an app displays that data will become what separates the good from the bad, the great from the mediocre.

There are some big advantages to this kind of model where apps and a small number of content aggregators deliver and control most of the content online. One issue is bandwidth. If there’s no design being transferred to a device (because the application on the device already includes all the design elements), that saves bandwidth. As more and more activities are done online, we’re going to have to consider infrastructure costs. Lower bandwidth use per site will result in more bandwidth available.

Another advantage is that there’s more potential for user control. Users can define their preferences on their device and see content in the way they want. This especially has positive implications when it comes to accessibility. Those who need special settings because of a disability will no longer have issues with unviewable content.

Let’s face it: the technologies upon which the Internet is built aren’t the most efficient ones available. Part of this has to do with building upon infrastructure that isn’t as good as it could be. The Internet has to be backwards-compatible over very long periods of time. We can’t just suddenly change things, even if it is to make things work better in the future, if it causes half the sites out there to no longer function.

With a content-based Internet that uses device-side applications for displaying data and performing tasks, we can create more efficient applications. We won’t need to make sure each application can handle a huge variety of content and processes (as browsers currently have to do), because we’ll know exactly the kinds of data that application will need to process.

Practically, users will have a more integrated experience with the content they view and the services they use online. The Internet will become even more a part of everyday life, incorporated to such an extent that it’s seamless. It’s already happening in bits and pieces.

Again, look at your phone. You probably use apps or widgets for things like checking the weather or generating a shopping list. These apps will become more integrated and will work better with the data available online. For example, you could use that shopping list to automatically find the best prices on products, either online or at your local stores. In all likelihood, that data would be aggregated through a service like Google Base.

An online profile will become even more important for users. Rather than setting up every device or service you have, you’ll simply authorize the device to grab your profile and preference information from the web. Security and privacy experts will have a field day with this, but most consumers will opt to use it anyway if it means the difference between going through a two-hour manual setup process or clicking a button and authorizing it to set everything up automatically.

So what does this all boil down to? If the web becomes app-based and content-based, where do web designers fit in — if at all? The bad news is that if the Internet starts relying much more heavily on access via app rather than browser, there’s going to be a lot less demand for web designers. Companies won’t see the point in hiring someone to create an entirely bespoke website when they can just use a template and then feed all their content to Google and Facebook and Twitter.

Developers, on the other hand, will likely see a boom in business. A lot of money will be exchanging hands for apps that work better than current offerings and apps that might be able to undermine the big players. Of course, all these apps also need design work, but it will be a lot less demand than there is now for website design. It’s likely a lot of designers will need to expand their offerings to cater to content creation rather than just web design.

Websites aren’t going to go away any time soon. It’s likely that there will be a bigger market for templates and themes as companies stop paying for custom designs. And there will be certain kinds of sites (like portfolios or art projects) that will always want to be designed.

Multimedia content will also still have a strong market. Those who can produce high-quality videos and even web-based apps (for things like Chrome OS) will have a strong business for years to come.

If there’s a definite winner in this possible future Internet, it is the content creators. If the only thing that sets one company or organization apart from their competition, then those who can create high-quality content will be in high demand. The thousands of dollars that a company used to be spent on website design will be funneled into website content instead.

Users will also benefit as they’ll have a more integrated, customized experience. Their version of the Internet will be tailored specifically to them, based on their own wants and needs. They’ll get content in the manner they prefer and find most usable.

Application developers will also likely win in all this. While the APIs and the data available will be pretty standardized, the manner in which it’s displayed will become a battleground of creativity. Innovation here will be key, doing something different and better than what everyone else is doing is the only way an app will stand out.

Update (26.09.2010): We’ve got quite many negative responses for this article, like Web Designers Won’t Die Out, They Will Transition. At Smashing Magazine, we are aiming for strong, high quality articles and after reading the article we do think that it raises some valid points, and now in retrospect we understand why the title and the content may appear to be aggressive. We also can see where the accusation of trying to be sensationalist comes from. But it was never the intention of the article.

We are trying to do our best to provide only relevant and high qualilty content, but apparently sometimes we see our things differently than our readers do. We do appreciate constructive criticism like the above post on Drawar. And we are listening to what you are saying. And we will certainly keep it in mind for our future articles.

Update (27.09.2010): this article caused quite a heated debate in the design community. Please read the rebuttal of this article, called I Want To Be A Web Designer When I Grow Up here, at Smashing Magazine.

— Vitaly Friedman, editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine

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Turning all clients in the dreams of the client (or the most common problems that client)

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Clients can be tough… real tough. Working side by side with some clients can be an agonizing experience — an experience so painful that you often wonder what exactly you have gotten yourself into. On the other hand, some clients are an absolute dream to work with. Every day spent working with them reminds you why you became a Web designer and just how enjoyable your job actually is. The question then is, how do we take our most difficult clients and turn them into dream clients? The answer may be easier than you realize.

Clients often require a bit of hand-holding. When dealt with correctly, this is not too overwhelming; it just calls for some simple guidance. You may be surprised by how a few extra emails here and there can make a world of difference. Outlined here are some of the most common client difficulties our Twitter followers have run into and how to best resolve them.

Also consider our previous articles:

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that we are publishing a Smashing eBook Series? The brand new eBook #3 is Mastering Photoshop For Web Design, written by our Photoshop-expert Thomas Giannattasio.]

“They have no idea what they want!” (@daveom)

More often than none, clients have no idea what they want and look to you for your expertise. For a designer, it can be annoying. Then again, how many times have you been to a restaurant and had no idea what to order and asked for a recommendation? Clients are no different. They are looking for recommendations, not fixed solutions. Talk it over with them, get all the details, and then start making educated recommendations. As ideas start to bounce around, one will hit home and provide a base from which to work.

It takes a great deal of patience, but getting all of the necessary information and building a solid starting point will not only help you throughout the project, but also reassure the client that they made the right decision.

“They never feel ‘in the loop’ — so to solve this, I try to call them each week for an update and a chat.” (@jaaved)

Communication is the foundation of any successful client relationship. When this foundation starts to slip, the relationship begins to crumble. Starting a project on the same page as the client is easy, but staying on the same page throughout the project requires tenacity.

At the beginning of each project, create a calendar outlining a timeline of events for the project. The calendar should explain when the client can expect certain tasks to be completed and when they will need to provide certain information. A calendar is just the start to keeping the client in the loop; it should be followed up with regular emails and phone calls. If you are making a change that will take up to a day or two, send a quick email to let the client know. A quick email takes only a minute to send, and it assures the client that you are indeed working. Simple and small efforts such as these keep the client happy and informed of the entire process.

“Clients agreeing to the brief and all suggestions, and then changing their mind when they actually see it built.” (@hawkpie)

It’s bound to happen sooner or later: you start a project, things are going well, and then the client gets a new idea. They request that you scrap what you’ve done so far and move in another direction. All of your hard work and effort, which the client originally wanted, is wasted — or so you suspect.

In reality, merging what the client originally wanted with the new direction may be completely possible. Keep an open line of communication and work out the reasoning behind the new direction. What they want might not be far off from what you’re actually doing, and mixing in a few new details may not be too difficult.

The initial shock of a request for a new direction is often worse than it seems. Keep a good attitude, and work it out with the client professionally. If the client refuses to meet you in the middle, you should have a solid contract to back up the project, and bill them for the extra work accordingly.

“General lack of knowledge.” (@robbclarke)

When I take my car into the shop for a repair, the mechanic knows to speak to me in terms I will understand. If they go into detail about how my carburetor is not getting the right fuel-to-oxygen intake ratio of 14.7:1, then I look at them as though they are speaking a foreign language. The same is true with our clients. If I explain to them that the layout is based on a 12-column 960-pixel-wide grid, in which everything in the left column needs to stay within 220 pixels, then they would look at me as though I was speaking a foreign language as well.

Our job as Web designers is to educate our clients. That is neither easy nor glamorous, but working with an educated client is much more pleasurable. When a client fully understands what you are doing and why you are doing it, then they are much more welcoming of your changes, and they’ll often even offer quality suggestions. Remember, what is obvious to you may not be obvious to them, so be as accommodating as possible.

“Asking specific questions and getting vague replies, then clients thinking you’re slow in some way when you ask again.” (@Shellra)

Client requests are not uncommon. If a client is not a fan of a blue button, they will tell you so. Being such a polite designer, you change the color of the button. But upon changing it, the client mentions that what they really meant is that they want the button to stand out more. Again, being the polite designer, you make it stand out more. Following this change, the client says that you are getting closer to what they want but that they would like to see the button in blue. Not so politely anymore, you want to know what the problem is. Your button was blue to begin with — what really is the problem?

This type of situation happens all too frequently and is extremely frustrating. The client thinks you are senseless for not understanding what they want, and you think the client is ignorant for not giving you all the necessary details. The quarrel could go on for ages, and no one would win.

When a client provides insufficient detail, go back to them and explain in great detail that you are not too sure what they are looking for. Explain that the more information they give and the better they describe what they’re looking for, then the better you can deliver what they want. Ask for an example or approximation of what they’re looking for. Make sure they understand that the more guidance you get, the better. If you feel you are not getting the details you need, don’t be afraid to jump on the phone with them to hash out the details. Playing the guessing game is the quickest way to burn out. Avoid it at all costs.

“How about expecting the earth on a shoestring budget and wanting it by 5:30 pm.” (@fruitymilk)

One of the most difficult parts of being a Web designer is managing client expectations. Clients will often come with a list of requests that they presume is not all that difficult to achieve… and that they expect will turn their website into the next best social network. On top of a laundry list of demands, the client also informs you that they are working on a very limited budget and short timeframe. To them, you “do this kind of thing all the time,” and so doing it for them should be a walk in the park. Sadly, they are wrong, and no one but us is at fault.

Christina Krasovich puts it best: “If you don’t manage client expectations, you will never exceed client expectations.” If we do not regularly communicate with our clients about what we are doing and what is feasible, then no wonder they think we have the power to move oceans. Continually keep them informed of the project’s progress, and discuss complications as they arise. A client who is kept in the dark will not know how difficult anything is to accomplish. They will be dumbfounded when you balk at a request.

When negotiating a new project, explain to the client the difficulty of what they are requesting. Let them know that the task they would like to be performed requires time and money to complete. Correctly managing expectations keeps the client at bay. Exceeding expectations will have them praising you.

“Paying on time is my biggest difficulty with clients, especially with larger companies.” (@thefunkhouse)

Staying afloat is extremely difficult when a client struggles to pay on time. Even one late payment is enough to cause a great deal of suffering. But as in any industry, when you take on a job, you run the risk of not being paid in full. You never expect not to be paid, of course, but you can take certain steps to soften the blow when a client struggles to pay.

To begin, keep your expenses as low as possible. Do you really need an account for stock photography, or are enough free resources online for you to work for the time being? Just because your income is at a certain level does not mean you need to spend it all. Save your money for operational costs the next time a client pays late.

Also, write a solid contract, and request a decent deposit before starting. If a client is sluggish about making a deposit, this may be a strong indication of things to come: proceed with caution. In the contract, clearly state when payment is due and what are the penalties should the client pay late. Review this part of the contract with the client before signing it, making sure they are fully aware of the penalty.

Be open and honest with the client about payment. Stay on top of them, pleasantly reminding them when their invoice is coming up and when payment is due.

At the end of the day, the very least you can do is treat your client with respect and hope they treat you in turn. All of the communication and assistance in the world will not mean a thing if it is done with contempt.

Some clients will be rougher than others, and that’s fine. Keep your head up, and don’t give in. Continue to work with them, educating them, making compromises and working together. When you and a client are happy with each other, the opportunities are endless. Before shrugging off the next client who throws a fit, take a different approach. With a little extra effort, you never know — they may just end up being the client of your dreams.

(al)

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Creating charts in Adobe Illustrator

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Office applications are getting very advanced these days offering all sorts of fancy features for data visualization. Graph generation is a standard feature in desktop applications like Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc, but it can also be achieved in non-spreadsheet applications like Adobe Illustrator.

If you’re unfamiliar with the process of creating graphs in Adobe Illustrator, this article will help in giving you some insight into the work-flow. It might also help you decide whether Illustrator is the right tool for this kind of assignment.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that there is a Smashing eBook Series? Book #2 is Successful Freelancing for Web Designers, 260 pages for just $9,90.]

Adobe Illustrator offers 9 graph types to visualize data. You can choose from the following:

Column GraphStacked Column GraphBar GraphStacked Bar GraphLine GraphArea GraphScatter GraphPie GraphRadar Graph

There is also the possibility for making combinations from the existing graph types to achieve greater diversity. The only graph type that can’t be combined is the scatter graph.

Creating graphs in Illustrator is as simple as selecting the Graph Tool (from the Tools panel), clicking on your Artboard and dragging and thus forming the area size of the graph. It is also possible to type in the width and height of the graph, which is useful if you want to create graphs with specific dimensions. If you decide to type in the dimensions of the graph, you should bear in mind that those dimensions are applied to the whole graph object (including labels, legend and x, y values), not just the graph chart.

Once you create this graph size and shape you will see that it’s available as a single element (layer) in the Layers panel, usually with the name . This might seem confusing at first but you’ll get used to it very quickly.

Creating graphs in Adobe Illustrator is generally a straightforward task but once you get into advanced techniques of graph design, functionality can get quite annoying. You’ll be surprised to discover that basic tasks like scaling and aligning are not instantly applicable on graphs.

The reason for the initial exceptional lack of functionality of the graph objects in Illustrator is that they are quite simply, ‘objects’. That is to say, they are special groups of sub-elements that have a limited number of attributes the user can control. Graph objects are less flexible than usual Illustrator layers, layer elements and groups of layer elements.

Here are most of the limitations of Adobe Illustrator’s graph creation functionality that are instantly noticeable:

Transform panel is not available for graph objects.No transform controls are available for selected graph objects, thus no instant scaling or rotation is possible.Graph objects cannot be aligned to other objects nor can other objects be aligned to them.Two or more graph objects cannot be grouped.It’s not possible to create a clipping mask from a graph object.A graph object cannot be transformed into a symbol.

Maybe it’s not really wise to initially dig for limitations, as you may get the impression that you’re left with very few things that you can actually do to graphs in Illustrator. Of course, that’s the wrong impression. As noted, creating graphs in Adobe Illustrator is generally a straightforward task.

But through knowing the limitations of your tool can actually help you plan early and work smarter.

Illustrator Graphs have sub-elements. The sub-elements are the brightest aspect of the graph creation process in Adobe Illustrator. They are flexible and you can do all sorts of modifications to them. From repositioning, scaling, mirroring, adjusting opacity and offsetting paths to applying special effects like brush strokes, glowing edges, pixelation etc. Sub-elements are your true friends as long as you don’t make further changes in the graph data!

The appearance of the following sub-elements can be modified:

lineslabelsdata pointsgraph legendsgraph shadowsvalue axisescolumnspieces of pie graphs

However, if you make a change in the graph data, you instantly loose the control over the sub-elements’ appearance and reset it to the bare minimum – fill + stroke. Actually, you reset the appearance of sub-elements with any action that causes the graph object to regenerate. That’s why, as even Adobe advises, the sub-elements in graphs should always be styled as the final design process of a graph.

Is it possible? Absolutely. As long as you’re aware that ungrouping graphs removes the possibility of further changes in the graph data. Having this firmly in mind, it is only useful to ungroup a graph object once you’re sure that you won’t have to revisit its “Graph Data”, “Graph Type” or “Graph Design” windows.

Graph ungrouping means simultaneously an increase AND a decrease in flexibility.

Ungrouping the Graph Object means an increase in flexibility because it makes all graph sub-elements behave like usual Illustrator layers, thus unleashing the full power of layer editing in Illustrator.

It is at the same time a decrease in flexibility because it’s a one-way road. After the ungrouping, the graph object turns into a group of layer elements (as funny as this sounds), and looses its touch with the special graph creation functionalities.

So, it’s wise to use Adobe Illustrator for designing graphs one step at a time. First prepare graph data, than design the graph. This might seem too obvious, but it’s very, very easy to get carried away in the creative process, forgetting about the two faces (before and after ungrouping) of the graph object. I know, as I have made this mistake several times.

That’s a very legitimate question and it deserves a decent answer.

You most certainly can select several graph objects at once, and apply various effects and transformations to them. With the help of the Group Selection tool, you can even select sub-elements from different graph objects and style them as you wish. Besides other things, you can also change the Graph Type of multiple graph objects at once.

Unfortunately, what you can’t do is change graph data on more than one graph object at once. It’s impossible and it’s a shame. Instead of being able to change the data of 50 various graphs in an instance, you will need to do 50 separate changes (and waste valuable time).

Every incremental release of Adobe Illustrator offers options for saving working files in legacy formats. This way you can ensure that your designs will work in older versions of Adobe Illustrator.

However, even though the possibility is there, the practical value of this Illustrator feature, for graphs, is minimal.

While preparing the final release of “The Graphs2”, saving to legacy formats added extra “features” to my designs. For example, while working on a legacy AI file, after editing the graph data on a randomly chosen graph object, the graph object repositioned itself to false coordinates, and made the design appear to be broken. After testing this on other graph objects, I figured that it was a rule and not an exception. I wasn’t able to get rid of this “feature” until I decided to minimize the backwards compatibility of my designs and save into Illustrator CS4 format.

Adobe does warn about the consequences of saving in legacy formats, but this is certainly a feature for Illustrator Graphs that could be improved.

It would be really nice not to have to worry about loosing touch with the graph data after graph ungrouping. Why do graph objects have to be limited? In fact, why do graphs need to be generated in the form of objects? Why not serve them in the usual way – as a group of separate layers?

Perhaps Adobe should spend more time modularizing the graph creation functionality and serve them throughout the whole Creative Suite. Data visualization is important and shouldn’t be treated as a gray zone, as a pending process in the development of the Creative Suite, especially not in the development of Adobe Illustrator.

In terms of flexibility and accessibility, Adobe Illustrator’s graph creation functionalities are not polished at all. The main features are very obvious, but a lot of small pieces are missing for a rock solid graph creation module.

Axes: Though it might be illogical for some, why isn’t there an option for generating graphs without value axes? Hiding them manually takes additional time and it’s specially annoying if you need to use the “Show All” option for hidden layers, while trying to exclude the value axes from reappearing. An extra option that will allow hiding and showing of value axes is needed in the “Graph Type” window.

Shadows: Why would you implement a shadow sub-element for graph objects if you don’t provide proper options to control its appearance? And, who needs rough shadows these days when ray-tracing has spoiled us like children? We need realistic shadows for graph objects in Illustrator. We need to be able to control the light angle, the dens and the opacity of the shadow, the level of softness. We need all things that you normally get when applying a “Drop Shadow” layer style on a Photoshop layer. While saying this, there are manual ways of getting smooth graph shadows, like applying “Drop Shadow” effect on sub-elements or applying “Feather” effect on the default graph shadow sub-element.Inter-object styling: What’s the point of providing styling options for graph sub-elements, when there’s no freedom in choosing when to apply them. The appearance reset for graph sub-elements has to go away! Data has to be separated from presentation. We need to be able to make unlimited changes to graph data regardless of the appearance of the graph object or its sub-elements. We need to be able to change things whenever we feel like we want to, not necessarily last.

Here is a summary of the most important features of graphs in Adobe Illustrator.

Graphs are special groups of sub-elements and have a limited number of attributes you can control.You can create 9 main types of graphs in Adobe Illustrator.You can import graph data from external files.You can copy and paste data from spreadsheet applications into graphs in Illustrator. You need to paste the data into Object ? Graph ? Data window for this to work.

If you ungroup a graph you cannot make changes to its data.You can apply all sorts of effects to the sub-elements of a graph and not so much to the graph object itself.Graphs and symbols do not get along quite well. A graph object cannot be converted into a symbol. However, there is an option for importing symbols into graph designs.It is possible to create graphs with custom designs (by including images and symbols), but we won’t explore this in detail in this feature. Maybe you can write a great article on this topic?You can copy and paste charts from Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc into Illustrator.Illustrator offers excellent support for exporting graphs in SVG file format. Graph data remains editable in Illustrator, for SVG files created with Illustrator.If you require advanced graph creation features, make friends with spreadsheet applications in famous Office suites.

Here are a few quick tips (shortcuts) that might come in handy for beginners or may act as a reminder for advanced Illustrator users. These are all obvious things that will help you from wandering aimlessly around Illustrator menus and the workspace.

Instead of going to Object ? Graphs ? Data…, anytime you need to access the data of a specific graph, select the graph object and double click the Column Graph Tool icon from the Tools panel. Or, you can achieve the same by selecting the graph object, choosing “J” from the keyboard and then pressing the “Enter” key.Right click a graph and you will find another quick way to access specific options for graph objects, including: Type…Data…Design…Column…Marker…

Instead of selecting graph sub-elements within isolation mode, use the Group Selection Tool to select them without isolating your view in the workspace.Click and drag a graph while holding the “Alt” key on the keyboard, to quickly duplicate it.Delete graph objects with “Backspace” or “Delete” from the keyboard.If you want to create Line graphs with curved lines apply “Round Corners…” effects (Effect ? Illustrator Effects – Stylize ? Round Corners…) to line sub-elements.If you want to create a Pie Graph with empty space in between pieces, apply an “Offset Path…” effect (Effect ? Illustrator Effects – Path ? Offset Path…) to the graph object, and a miracle happens!If you want to create a 3D graph, apply an “Extrude & Bevel…” effect (Effect ? Illustrator Effects – 3D ? Extrude & Bevel…) to the graph object. If you don’t want to transform the whole graph object, apply “Extrude & Bevel…” effects to specific sub-elements you want visualized in 3D.If you want to use “Offset Path…” effect together with “Extrude & Bevel…” on a single graph object or a single sub-element, make sure you place the offset effect below the Extrude & Bevel in the Appearance panel and you’ll be fine. Otherwise you’ll get the offset plane extruded also.Don’t forget to use the “Drop Shadow…” effect (Effect ? Illustrator Effects – Stylize ? Drop Shadow…) as a replacement to the poor shadow feature that’s served by default for some graph objects.

I used Adobe Illustrator to create “The Graps2” and I can say it was an interesting experience. It wasn’t as delightful as I would have liked it to be but it sure was challenging.

After reading the above article you may feel discouraged in using Illustrator for graph design. What I would certainly recommend is at least trying Illustrator for creating graphs. It’s the only way of getting in touch with the work-flow and making a personal judgment of whether Adobe Illustrator is mature enough for your graph creation needs.

At the end of the day, keep in mind that with Adobe Illustrator you’re creating vector art. Vector art can be re-sized infinitely, without any consequences in terms of graphics quality, thus can be fitted in almost any type of medium.

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