Fundamentals
Currently, it has become more difficult to work on design and modeling using software in Russia – many companies have announced that they are suspending their activities in the country due to new sanctions against Moscow.
Adobe has stopped all new sales in Russia: you cannot buy Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and other programs. So is Autodesk, an American design systems developer, and Figma, one of the biggest services for designers.
Olga Britt, lead designer of Lanit-Tercom (part of the Lanit group of companies), told socialbites.ca that it is impossible for a modern web designer to live without Figma and without Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator products for all designers.
Figma is an online service for developing interfaces for websites and applications with the ability to organize real-time collaboration. “If access to these programs is turned off, designers will be deprived of their working tools,” he said.
Valeria Kachanova, a designer-designer at a construction company, told socialbites.ca that she always uses only popular programs from the Adobe, Autodesk and Graphisoft corporate groups in her work.
“As far as I know, Hungarian Graphisoft is not leaving the Russian market, so Archicad, which is one of the most important design programs for architects and allows you to develop projects in a complex way, will continue to work,” said the expert. Additional.
According to the designer, he currently uses architecture firms Revit from Autodesk and Archicad from Graphisoft.
“These are programs with similar functionality. Accordingly, companies that use Archicad in their work will continue to design without making any changes. It seems to me that anyone who uses Revit will switch to Archicad,” says Kachanova.
Possible analogues
Designer Olga Britt from Lanit-Tercom is sure that creating a Russian analogue of Figma would be a great solution.
“This service is unique in its ability to compete with Adobe XD and replace Photoshop in a range of image processing functions,” he explained.
However, the expert added that the situation is complicated as no single solution can meet all the needs of the designer. “Therefore, ideally, import substitution is required for all major software products,” Britt is convinced.
Construction designer Valeria Kachanova noted that she did not see any Russian analogues for designing models of buildings.
“So, if Archicad still restricts access to residents of Russia, then some difficulties may arise,” he said.
According to him, the situation is better with simpler programs. For example, there is a replacement for AutoCad from Autodesk, which is no longer officially working in Russia. It is a drawing program used in both architecture and other fields of engineering.
“KOMPAS-Graphic has a Russian analogue. “The program has both pros and cons compared to its American counterpart, but it’s quite possible that it will work,” he said.
According to the designer, KOMPAS-Graph, which in the near future can be actively developed and distributed among specialists in the country.
He also explained that he has a Russian nanoCAD program, but he has not met this software yet.
Kachanova noted that domestic analogues are also necessary for the relevant specialists. Among them: designers of power supply systems, designers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, designers of water supply and sewage systems.
“They all work with their special programs, which are linked to those commonly used for drawing. For example, AutoCad,” explained the expert.
You can choose the simpler SketchUp in your work to work with 3D modeling and visualization to replace Autodesk’s 3DsMax, Kachanova said.
“Certainly, a lot of architects and designers still use this program to create quick concepts, develop prototypes, etc. “I think SketchUp will become more popular as the market changes,” the expert said.
Progress of import substitution
Designer Olga Britt from Lanit-Tercom explained that she has not yet seen worthy analogues of Figma, Photoshop and Illustrator among Chinese or Indian programs.
“Hopefully, concerns about removing advanced design programs will remain at the level of concern. In general, the time has come for Russia to engage in such a development.
Designer-designer Valeria Kachanova believes that it is possible to search for options, but it will still be associated with certain limitations.
“Procreate instead of Photoshop immediately comes to mind, but this program is available for download only on the iPad. I think that there are domestic analogues that do not limit their work, but are still less popular due to the widespread distribution of Adobe,” he said.
He recommended software developers to designers and architects to work on the visual of the program. Still, because architects and designers are accustomed to a high-quality painting, “after all, they themselves work directly with it,” said Kachanova.
According to the designer, successful import substitution is accomplished in GIS programs that allow the creation and editing of digital maps.
“QGIS remains one of the most convenient programs for creating maps, analyzing the terrain, it remains free for all users and also available in Russia,” he said.
Alexander Kiselev, founder and CEO of the Rebotica online school of IT professions, told socialbites.ca that design bans play a large role in the trend to accelerate import substitution.
According to him, there is the option of using pirated programs and products. However, large companies cannot afford it, at least not directly, due to their reputations.
“They can turn to contractors who will perform these tasks through a VPN. But this is not the safest way, which in any case will lead to difficulties, ”she is sure.
Kiselev acknowledged that the company can no longer use familiar design tools, including Photoshop and Autodesk. “We can’t pay for Canva or Shutterstock, these services that allow you to design,” the president explained.
But the Rebotica president said his search for alternatives has been partially successful. As an example, he cited the Russian service Alivecolors for processing and retouching photos, and the Supa service for creating videos for social networks.
Source: Gazeta
