History of Computers - CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is the first vector graphics editor released by the Corel Corporation in 1989 in Ottawa, Canada. Today, it is one of the most used graphics editors.

Overview

In 1987, Michael Cowpland, the founder of Corel Corporation, hired two software engineers, Michel Bouillon and Pat Beirne, to design CorelDraw. Using the Windows Operating System, CorelDRAW was released in January 1989. The first full-color vector graphics editor, CorelDRAW combined text and graphics in the same file, a revolutionary task. Two years later, version 3 of CorelDRAW was released. CorelDRAW version 3 was the first all-in-one graphics suite for Windows containing: vector illustration, page layout, photo editing and more. Since the release of CorelDRAW 1, there have been 16 upgraded versions. The most recent of these being CorelDRAW X6 which was released on March 20, 2012.

Vector Graphics

CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor meaning it uses vectors to edit and create graphic designs. By using vectors, the artwork of CorelDraw is created from mathematical equations and thus you can enlarge or shrink the image and it will look the same. Compared to Adobe Photoshop which uses raster programming. Raster programming interprets an image as individual pixels so when a picture is enlarged the image will become pixelated.

Significance

As the first program to combine text and graphics, the effects of CorelDRAW can be seen everywhere you look: posters, signs and banners nowadays are here because of CorelDRAW. CorelDRAW simplified graphic design, and has spurred graphic design into the popularity it now holds. Without CorelDRAW, mass producing banners or posters would take much longer. In the 21st Century, graphic design has become a profession, creating a new job market. This would not have been possible without CorelDRAW and Pixar's Renderman.

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CorelDRAW

http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index.jsp?pgid=5300054&storeKey=us&languageCode=en

by Janine Louie