I cut my graphic design teeth on early versions of Photoshop and Illustrator, but I have to admit I love the new generation of one-trick pony photo enhancement utilities. Pay a few bucks, get an app that does in seconds what would take an hour in Adobe’s finest. Here’s a perfect example.
The app is called EdgeStudio and what it does is simple, elegant, useful, customizable- all with a few clicks; tops. As the app’s name implies, it takes a photo and puts a creative edge around it in nearly whatever color and design or shape you want.
Here’s an example of a photo blended with a creative edge.
Considering the time consuming nature of creating a customized edge mask, EdgeStudio is surprisingly simple to setup and use.
Start with the library of preset edges and borders. Each of which can be transformed, customized, colorized and altered to match your requirements, then saved to be used again, or modified for a new photo project.
Onscreen tools let you adjust the photo’s edge for color, size, opacity, and more, using a few clicks or simple slider bars which adjust the image on the fly, in real time. Adjusting edge geometry is a trial and error process, but results are instant.
Borders can be rotated, scaled, flipped, and combined with other borders to create a unique edge.
I would like to see more granular controls in EdgeStudio, but I guess that’s what Photoshop and Illustrator are for, right?
The EdgeStudio developer seems to specialize in one-trick pony apps for specific enhancements and I own a few; some are great, a few not so much. The only real problem is that each app in the collection is priced just beyond my personal threshold for throwaway money ($4.99) which is reserved for an app that does not have a try-before-you-buy option.