Free Design

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Neil

Categories: Development, Graphic Design, Web Design

I am about to step into a room with a large group of Pennsylvania’s finest business teachers. I am presenting a workshop called “Free Design” This presentation takes a brief look at the various Open Source alternatives to commercial design software as well as many of the free web-based resources I use everyday. Hopefully, this presentation is beneficial so that schools across Pennsylvania can provide a better learning experience for their students.

Here is a list of the various applications and online resources presented:

The Alternatives

• PhotoShop – GIMP or GIMPshop
• Illustrator – Inkscape
• InDesign – Scribus
• DreamWeaver – Aptana
• Flash – OpenLaszlo
• Microsoft Office – OpenOffice
• Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 – Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition

Free Learning Resources

• Photoshop
  • PSDtuts.com
• Flash
  • FlashPerfection.com
  • FlashKit.com
  • Kirupa.com
• XHTML/CSS/Web Coding
  • WebMonkey.com
  • W3Cschools.com
• JavaScript/DHTML/AJAX
  • DynamicDrive.com
  • DevSnippets.com
• GIMP
  • GHUJ.com
• Illustrator
  • Ndesign-studio.com > Resources
• Design
  • SmashingMagazine.com
  • Tutorialized.com
  • Mashable.com
  • Pixel2Life.com
  • Del.icio.us
• Commercial Exception!
  
  • Lynda.com – $25/mo

Free Websites

• WordPress.com
• Blogger.com
• Sites.Google.com

Other Goodies

• Moodle – Open source e-learning system
• FileZilla - Open source FTP
• FireFox – Best web browser EVER!
• OSalt – Anything else open source you could ever need.