InDesign or Illustrator for package design?

Question

I was debating with my students this week about which software to submit their files in for my package design class. A few advantages of InDesign I see are as follow: - The capability of creating mixed swatches with Pantones. - The ability to customize the links panels so I can see right away which files and in what color mode and resolution, etc. - Better type management, and in many languages. - Getting a warning if I have overset text. - Possibility of lowering the display performance if the file is heavyAfter checking opinions on a few forums, it seems Illustrator is the preferred choice for package design. I've also freelanced in an agency specialized in package design and all their stuff was in Illustrator but after discussing, this seems to have been due to habit and the investment it would have required to switch everything to InDesign... Am I missing something that makes the industry prefer Illustrator over InDesign? What would be the pros and cons of using Illustrator vs. InDesign for package design?

Answer 1

I can understand the advantages you see in using InDesign in doing packaging design. Because InDesign was created as a program primarily for editorial design, things like text editing capabilities are way better than in Illustrator especially if you are handling paragraphs of text. In Illustrator, if you have overset text, you get that same plus sign symbol in your text box but I don't think the program warns you that it exists as you're saving. If you want to see the file / color / resolution on a link, it is listed in the links panel if you use the drop down arrow.

Illustrator is a much much better tool for packaging design because the path editing functions are just superior. This comes into play when you want to make logos from typography. You can convert the type into outlines and go to town editing the shape of them. You can also create intricate icons and artwork in that you couldn't do in ID. Also, editing die lines would be a huge pain if they weren't in Illustrator. As for colors, maybe I'm used to the Swatches palette in Illustrator but I prefer it to InDesign in that IIRC every time you make a new color in Illustrator it doesn't automatically go into the swatch palette. Hope this answers your question. I've actually been at an agency and inherited a packaging design file in InDesign and it was a nightmare to work with. I ended up having to redo it in Illustrator which ended up incurring a lot of extra time I had to charge to the agency.