Discover how CorelDRAW has revolutionized the way that Ariel Garaza designs

From manual design practices to modern technology

Ariel Garaza has been a CorelDRAW Master for more than six years, however he’s been working in the design field long before the advent of computers, the internet, and before digital design software even existed.

These days we often take for granted how far design technology has come. “It’s challenging to explain to the younger generations how it was even possible to work without the Internet, cell phones, or computers,” Ariel shared. As technology evolved and the tech boom hit, Ariel discovered CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, and it completely transformed the way he worked—saving him time, energy, and ultimately, money.

Back in the day, before CorelDRAW, when Ariel’s clients asked for revisions or other options like making a design larger, changing a background color, or tweaking a font, it meant having to start over. But now, Ariel can respond to clients’ design changes quickly and easily using CorelDRAW—without having to start from scratch.

CorelDRAW has changed the graphic design world and the way we work, and has enabled me to be more efficient and more precise when designing, from taking measurements, to working with shapes and picking colors.

Solving client needs with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

Below is a real-world example of how Ariel uses CorelDRAW today to help clients stay ahead of the competition.

Ariel recently designed a logo for "Side by Side," a counseling clinic based in Melbourne, Australia. In his first logo concepts, which Ariel sketched on paper, he noticed that the uppercase word “SIDE” was vertically symmetrical, with the exception of the letter S. This inspired him to create a reflection with the word, which he moved into CorelDRAW to develop.

From idea to digital design

Step 1: To bring his concept to life, Ariel’s first step was to find a heavy, yet simple and attractive font. He then used a vertical mirror effect and changed the color of the reflection to make it appear like a shadow.

Step 2: While the first concept seemed satisfactory to Ariel, he felt it could still use some depth, so he added a gradient fill to the reflection.

Step 3: Next, Ariel added a boundary to divide the logo. For this, he used a mesh fill with a black center point and a horizontal line. He also added the word “by” to complete the organization’s name.

Step 4: Then he added two lateral nodes to widen the gradient to fit the size of the logo, and added a circle shape behind the word “by” to make it pop.

Step 5: Finally, in order to improve legibility, Ariel decided that the shadow shouldn’t be a mirror of the word. He then colored the logo with shades of blue to inspire a calm, confident, and safe feeling, which is paramount to a counseling agency.

Step 6: Taking the client’s feedback into consideration, Ariel decided to use a new feature in CorelDRAW 2018, Symmetry Drawing Mode, to create a horizontal reflection of the word “Side.” He found it very simple to use, because he only had to choose the side from which he wanted to create the symmetry. After that, the logo was adjusted automatically. He decided to use a lighter font and color, and adjust the case lettering.

Step 7: For a different look, Ariel wanted the letters to appear as if they were getting smaller. He had two options: 1. use the Shape tool (F10) to select the nodes at the bottom of every letter and edit each letter individually, or 2. separate the word by characters (Ctrl+K) to manipulate each one independently. What he loved about the Symmetry Drawing Mode is that he didn’t have to apply changes to both sides of the logo, because as he edited one side, the opposite side would automatically change with it.

Reflecting on CorelDRAW

After finishing this project, Ariel thought about the time and effort that it would have required if he hadn't been using CorelDRAW.

I was able to accomplish every step, every effect, and every change quickly and effortlessly. And more importantly, CorelDRAW gave me the confidence to finish the job, meeting client's timelines and exceeding expectations.