Graphics Software

Last year we had a packed graphics category. CorelDRAW and
Photoshop shared the top spot. AutoCAD came up in the second place, followed by
3D Studio Max and Paint Shop Pro. That’s quite a bit of variety, from
vector-drawing programs, to a 3D renderer, and a CAD software. This year there’s
no crowd and we are down to just two–the vector drawing program–CorelDRAW
and the bitmap editor–Photoshop. 3D Studio Max and AutoCAD did gather some
votes, but not enough to enter the User’s Choice Club.

Adobe Photoshop, a steady climber in the last two years, has
taken quite a drop this year. Users are turning to other bitmap editors, but no
single program has made a serious mark this time.

CorelDRAW remains the darling program for vector-graphics
creation. It also appears to appeal to the DTP community, as it’s the runner
up in that segment this year. The other vector-drawing software in the market–Adobe
Illustrator–hasn’t made any impact so far.

CorelDRAW seems to be the preferred choice for graphics in
the South. Other regions showed equal interest, but much lower than the South.
Perhaps it needs to increase its marketing efforts in other regions.

Adobe Photoshop, which shared the number one position with
CorelDRAW last year, seems to have lost a lot of brand loyalty this year. The
current usage responses indicate that it had an equal installed base as
CorelDRAW. However, for some reason, users in the home segment have given their
preferred brand as CorelDRAW, hence making it the winner by a wide margin.

Next year should be interesting to watch. CorelDRAW has a distributed
mindshare over DTP software and the graphics segment. Will it be able to change
that and strengthen its strangle-hold in one segment? Or will it again share the
top spot with contender Photoshop? We’ll "draw" the lots next year.