J2S is recognized as a worldwide expert in the development of InDesign and InDesign Server, expertise which we implement throughout Simple Workspace. But our knowledge also extends to historical applications (Acrobat, Photoshop, etc.) now integrated into the Adobe Creative Cloud.
The development of plug-ins is part of our DNA.
J2STemplateMaker is a solution based on an extension and a plug-in adding functionalities to Adobe Illustrator.
In the fashion world, whatever the organization, Adobe Illustrator is an almost indispensable application in the design process. Designers will use artboards 1 to be able to work on the same document with several people, thus avoiding the multiplication of files. Artboards are very important tools in Illustrator: they allow you to divide the workspace of a document into different areas that can be processed in various ways.
Therefore, J2S created the first version of J2STemplateMaker in 2018 to speed up work in Adobe Illustrator and automate visual exports. The goal is to save time and limit the risk of mistakes: the solution allows to build a document by dynamically adding sections and artboards according to actual product-related needs. This avoids the need for users to use a multitude of Illustrator document templates, often heavy, containing all the sections and artboards potentially required by a given product. To secure the process, the names of the work plans and sections are subject to a naming convention, if necessary, to respect the organization’s charter and reduce the risk of error during input. Thus, when creating a section or a work plan, the J2STemplateMaker palette offers a predictive input to control the name assigned by the user. For example:
J2STemplateMaker also allows stylists, pattern makers and others involved in the design process to dynamically reorganize the layout of work plans grouped in sections before exporting them to a target folder that can be synchronized to feed a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution 2 or Simple DAM for example.
An example of a document built with J2STemplateMaker :
In addition, an alert informs the user when the file exceeds a certain size to optimize exchanges on the network.
The solution is now used by teams working for Gémo, RougeGorge Lingerie, etc. with documents that sometimes include several dozen artboards.
Developing on an SDK that is more than 20 years old and requires rare skills to extend Illustrator’s functionalities does not make our developers dream. At J2S, we like challenges and above all, we like to reach our goals. As we said recently [^3], our partners are our priority! While the SDK had many challenges to overcome and we spent a lot more time than initially planned, we finally managed to tackle the technological difficulties to get closer to Centric Software’s solution! The latest version of J2STemplateMaker is now compatible with the extension for Illustrator that Centric Software delivers with its PLM.
The stakes are high for J2S because the elements created in Adobe Illustrator will be used in Simple Workspace to automatically generate collection plans in connection with Centric Software’s PLM. These collection plans, also known as overviews, contribute to the design process by facilitating the overall visual monitoring of the progress of collections. This topic will be the subject of an upcoming article at J2S.
Gémo’s thoughts on it
J2STemplateMaker is a time-saving tool. The integration with Adobe Illustrator makes the use very intuitive and in the same environment. Adding an artboard with predefined names in a section is very simple. This way we work with lighter files that help us reduce the weight on our internal servers. They are also faster to open and save. Another advantage: I can reorder my sections and artboards using the J2STemplateMaker palette… one click and the document layout is automatically updated while respecting our business settings. What a time saver!
Cécile Arnauné, Stylist-Graphic Designer
Richard Loubéjac
Cofounder of J2S
In Adobe Illustrator, an artboard is an area in the document that represents an entire printable or exportable area. Find out more about artboards : https://helpx.adobe.com/fr/illustrator/using/using-multiple-artboards.html . ↩︎
A PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is a solution for managing the product lifecycle, from design through manufacturing to sales. Please refer to the definition of the PLM: Product lifecycle on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle , as well as to the vision of PLM according to Centric Software: https://www.centricsoftware.com/what-is-centric-plm/ ↩︎