Designers Guide to Mac OS X Tiger

One of the many perks of doing what I do is that occasionally I get invited to be a guest speaker at art schools and college design courses. I stand at the front of a room full of the next wave of professional designers ready to take on the artistic world, absorbing their expressions, dreams, and desires.

Of course, the reason I am there is to answer their questions. And students always have lots of questions. There's the usual litany of questions about font managers and color issues, along with the usual concerns about the job market and finding internships. But one day, I was asked a new questionone that was more profound than I realized at the time: "Is there a good book about Mac OS X for designers?"

I replied, "Yes, there are lots of good books about Mac OS X," but that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

He put me on the right path by pointing out that every book he picked up was more or less a general guide to the Mac, but none really focused on his needs. Other students chimed in and made it very clear to me that they weren't looking for more about iMovie, or the extra applications that come bundled with some Macs. They wanted to know about working with fonts, and how to print a document, and how to organize their client projects. They wanted a designer's guide to Mac OS X.

That single question was the catalyst for this book.

This book focuses on using Mac OS X v10.4, or Tiger, as a graphic designer. It includes a basic overview of using Tiger's features and working your way through the Finder, and then jumps into the things you really want to know about, like working with fonts, printing your documents, working with PDFs, color management, finding the right applications for your projects, and more.

I set out to write a book that you can use as a guide while becoming more proficient with Tiger and then keep near your Mac as a handy reference tool later on. A few topics lend themselves to a lot more in-depth information than was feasible for a book this size, so you can find that information on Peachpit's Web site at www.peachpit.com/designerstiger. When you see the special symbol next to certain sections, you'll know there's additional material waiting for you online.

Efficiency is the key to an effective creative workflow, and an effective workflow is essential to a successful design, prepress, or printing business. If you can use the tools of your trade efficiently, you'll be able to complete your client projects faster and with fewer errors than your competition will. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how great a designer you are if you aren't making money.

Your Mac and Tiger are tools to enhance your creative workflow, not the reasons for it. So make your tools work for you, so that you can spend your valuable time on your design projects.