Gallery: Apple Alum Builds an Ingenious App for Designers
01Context-Booklet 0474
Joshua Distler's Context software allows designers to see their concepts in real-world environments while they design. *Image: Joshua Distler*
02Context-EditingBooklet
The Mac app works in tandem with Adobe Illustrator so designers can see their designs take on life-like forms in real time. *Image: Joshua Distler*
03Context-SurfaceStore
The Context Surface Store features more than 350 3d surfaces that designers can choose from. This includes bags, billboards and bottles, to name just a few. *Image: Joshua Distler*
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The software instantly analyzes artwork and wraps it around the chosen surfaces in a couple of seconds. *Image: Joshua Distler*
05Context-BlankButtons
From the beginning of the creative process, Context gives true-to-life environmental, textural and material context to designs. *Image: Joshua Distler*
06Context-EditingButtons
The goal of Context is to radically reduce the time and effort it takes to realize a fully-developed design, which in turn will allow designers to focus more on brainstorming great ideas and less time on the mechanics of bringing them to life. *Image: Joshua Distler*
07Context-Adjustments
Live Inks allow designers to simulate metallic foils, silk screening, embossing and more all from Illustrator, using the standard inks swatches palette in combination with Context. *Image: Joshua Distler*
08Context-Project+LiveView
The Live View window is a floating window that floats over the Illustrator art board to allow users to see their artwork rendered photo-realistically while they work in Illustrator. *Image: Joshua Distler*
09Context-Plus-Box-Rotation-1
"Plus Surfaces are resized proportionally and in 3D. Maybe the angle isn't right, or the designer wants to walk around their packaging idea? Plus Surfaces can be rotated in 3D space in realtime," says Distler. *Image: Joshua Distler*
10Context-Booklet 0544-Detail
"Different inks handling light and shadow differently. Some inks, like fluorescents, actually emit more visible light than they receive," says Distler. "Factor in hundreds of artwork objects and simulating something like this in Photoshop wouldn't even be a consideration. Context does this in near realtime. And all of the lighting and compositing factors are adjustable with a few sliders." *Image: Joshua Distler*
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A mocked-up billboard in real-world context. *Image: Joshua Distler*
12Context-Booklet 0544
The idea that iterating is the key to successful design pushed Distler to create a tool that would make it easier for all designers to work under Apple’s prototype-to-perfection mind frame. *Image: Joshua Distler*
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Distler hopes Context will fundamentally change the way designers work. *Image: Joshua Distler*
