Communicating ambience

With features such as multiple master pages, InDesign CS2 makes it easier to compose lengthy documents and enhance their consistency. Transparency and sophisticated typographical controls enable designers and architects to incorporate eye-catching design details into everything from proposals to internal presentations.

Multiple-language publishing made easy

InDesign CS2 also enables Perkins Eastman to incorporate Asian language fonts into its workflow, a crucial factor because the award-winning firm has offices in Asia and has completed numerous projects in China, where hefty proposal books are the norm and competition for projects is fierce. Support in InDesign CS2 for Unicode and Unicode-based OpenType® fonts enables Perkins Eastman to input text into layouts in any language and read left-to-right without the need for special composition treatment such as vertical or right-to-left composition.

The firm began evaluating InDesign in 2003 due to problems producing lengthy proposals in Chinese. "We were thrilled when we discovered that InDesign supported Unicode fonts, allowing us to lay out books in Chinese just as we would in English," says Gillen.

Reliable, fast output with Adobe PDF

InDesign CS2 software's integration with Adobe Acrobat® software and Adobe PDF is another plus for the firm. Before sending proposals and other materials to printers, the Perkins Eastman team converts layouts in InDesign CS2 to Adobe PDF for high-quality, reliable print output.

"Whether we're producing a proposal or brochure, we are always on short deadlines and don't have time to package fonts and files and send out materials on CD," says Gillen. "Now we post materials on the web in Adobe PDF for our printers to download, saving us the hours and money we'd otherwise spend collecting the right fonts and files and overnighting CDs."

Streamlined design

Adobe Creative Suite 2 has become pivotal for creating the elements that make up project proposals as well. Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 are the primary tools for creating site plans, sketches, and renderings of structures, for instance. Architects or designers often export wireframe diagrams created in CAD software programs to Illustrator CS2 for colorization. Or, they sometimes start with a wireframe diagram and use it as the basis for color studies or renderings in Photoshop CS2. While there is no set workflow, designers and architects at Perkins Eastman appreciate the ability to move fluidly between vectors in Illustrator CS2 and pixels in Photoshop CS2 - all while incorporating CAD drawings.

"Products in the Adobe Creative Suite 2 integrate so well together that they feel like a cohesive design environment. The Adobe Creative Suite 2 helps us improve our efficiency and the quality of our project proposals," says David Levo, Perkins Eastman architectural designer. Levo also appreciates the fact that Adobe continues to add important enhancements to individual products. For instance, he says the Live Paint and Live Trace features will save time and effort when scanning architectural sketches and converting them to vector artwork for colorization.

With Adobe Bridge in Adobe Creative Suite 2, managing a variety of components of project proposals - site renderings, photos, building specifications - is greatly streamlined. "Adobe Bridge gives me an easy drag-and-drop way to combine elements of a proposal into a single layout," says Gillen. "The thumbnail views and enhanced file identifier features in Adobe Bridge enable me to find the images I want in seconds."

Improved consensus building

By improving the quality of project presentations, Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2 have been instrumental in helping the firm gain city approval on designs that previously could have been denied. For example, Perkins Eastman has had to win over planning commissions on such high-profile projects as the Embassy Suites and several residential towers in the heart of Manhattan.

Perkins Eastman is now taking its persuasive powers to the next level using Adobe Video Collection software. The firm is collaborating with several other organizations to raise money and support for a massive proposed project in Father Duffy Square in the heart of Times Square in New York. The purpose of the project is to improve the pedestrian experience in the square and create an international showpiece. In an effort to help garner support from the city of New York, investors, and others influential in the project, Perkins Eastman created an architectural animation on DVD.

The DVD incorporates collages of graphics and photos put together in Photoshop CS2, as well as drawings and charts created in Illustrator CS2. The firm also added short video clips and aerial footage using Adobe Premiere® Pro software. Three-dimensional models created in 3D Studio Max were added and animated using Adobe After Effects® software and Adobe Premiere Pro. By using Adobe Encore® DVD software to author the DVD, the team was able to add sophisticated menus and buttons to help show the project in visually compelling ways. For instance, viewers can click a button for each floor of the proposed project to watch an animated presentation that walks them through the floor's amenities. Due to the integration of all the Adobe software, the Perkins Eastman team can leverage assets - photos, drawings, and other elements - whether they are working in print or interactive media.

All under one umbrella

For Perkins Eastman, Adobe software has become an integral part of virtually every process at the firm, from initial designs and consensus building to winning new projects and seeing them through. "In architecture, we have to sell ambience and ideas in clever, abstract ways,” says Levo. “That's what Adobe products enable us to do. With the Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Adobe Video Collection, Adobe has integrated all the parts and pieces we need to accomplish our jobs under one umbrella."