Younger Mac users certainly don't remember the time when CorelDRAW dueled Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand in a world that had yet to see the best parts of vector design.
An era certainly bygone, given that Freehand was the first illustrious victim of the merger of Adobe and Macromedia and that Corel had withdrawn Draw and the suite from macOS.
The flashback is very good news for many points of view: first of all the fact that competition is always good for users, pushing brands to improve their products (and not prices) and secondly because it increases power. of choice, technical and commercial, which is richer and more articulated the more protagonists there are at the table.
We tried CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 for Mac for a few days, examining some of its features and trying, where possible, to be free from the influence of twenty years and past of well-known commands and practices: we can anticipate that the judgment is articulated on more points, but generally while appreciating the effort and perspective, we admit that there is still a long way to go in a very competitive market.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019, the review
First step, installation
The installer starts from the parent company's website, where you can read the main features and proceed with the purchase of the software package or (recommended) download a trial version.
The minimum requirements speak of macOS 10.14, 10.13 or 10.12 updated, 2 GB of Ram (which seems very few to us, we recommend at least 8) and a display at least 1280 × 800, basically what all Macs currently on sale (and also those of a couple of years ago) can offer.
The installer proceeds but to complete the operations you need to create a free account on Corel, through a system that we hope will be revised soon because it is unnecessarily complex and stammering even with a fast connection.
Finally, in the Applications folder there are three Apps: CorelDRAW 2019 for vector drawing and small layout projects, Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2019 for image processing (rasterized only) and Corel Font Manager 2019, a Font Manager designed for the world graphic.
For the sake of completeness, Corel AfterShot Pro 3 would also be fine, an App which however remains paid and out of the suite, suitable for managing RAW files (for the photographic market), even if Mac users can use Photos for this type of passage, less powerful but still free.
The distinctions between the three Apps are quite clear and well defined.
Made for Mac
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 is a professional suite conceived and designed for Mac: this is what we read on the website. What we can say is that this is not a simple port of the Windows version, which existed before this one, but something deeper.
The affinity with macOS is in many details: tested on macOS Mojave CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 offers a dark interface and goes perfectly full screen, the windows are native and the commands consistent with the use of many other Apps.
Something in the translation of some commands here and there must be improved, but some fundamental functions are missing: the drag & drop of files on the icon only works with native formats (and not even with compatible ones) and basically there is still something to do as regards the general speed of the Apps, which we expected to be better, especially on not brand new Macs.
Finally, the previews of the documents are excellent in the icons, less so in Quick View (which is too small, especially in the vector): on the other hand, the compatibility with the menu in the Dock icon is good, which shows the most recent documents.
The interface of the two main Apps (CorelDRAW 2019 and Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2019) is quite similar and single-window (paneled), while reflecting the singularities, while a minimalist interface was chosen for Corel Font Manager 2019.
Despite these similarities, the differences between the three Apps are very high, as it should be, and we have decided to analyze them separately, starting with the most famous.
Corel AfterShot Pro 3, tested here if necessary, is a development tool for RAW photos. Too bad it was not included in the suite, even in a light version
CorelDRAW 2019, the alternative illustrator
CorelDraw's approach to vector illustration is less classic than you think: those accustomed to other types of “illustrative” software are clear that they need some time to get used to an environment that shows substantial differences with what would expect.
General use is halfway between a design software and a layout software, or rather one that treats a small layout like a brochure or a restaurant menu, certainly not a book.
Some choices are very interesting, such as a color palette always present on the right, or a system of choosing overlapping palettes instead of parallel ones: however, a certain practice is lacking in the simplest things, such as the need to center the small black triangle in the tools to open menus with alternative tools, a factor that penalizes a little in speed.
On the other hand, the choice not to show the path when it is selected is very strange, favoring instead the encumbrance, even if this is clearly visible during the drawing with the pen.
Bezier curves are perfect and smudge-free, although creating a mixed point takes more clicks than expected.
1 of 6 
The Effects menu, which processes vector shapes using parametric methodologies, is very interesting but often loads too much on the processor even for basic shapes.
The compatibility of the files is good, since it also opens AI and EPS documents (keeping the levels editable), and saves in the same way in many formats, while favoring the proprietary CDR format: with our archive of AI documents we only had problems with some documents that used grayscale black, which CorelDraw rendered to light brown, while no problem with Black in RGB or CMYK.
Among the major advantages of the software, an automated system for the vectorization of a raster image, with easy and intuitive parameters and very interesting results and a javascript scripting system for multiple document automations.
The vectorization tool, one of the best in the suite: the parameters are easy to understand and edit and the results are also very good
Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2019, great for starters.
As for PHOTO-PAINT 2019, the comparison is certainly more difficult, because over the years the main competitor, Photoshop, has now become a phenomenon of custom as well as the reference software in the world.
The impression that the software gives when using rasterized images (no RAW, as we mentioned at the beginning, for that you need to use Photos or Corel AfterShot Pro) is that the classic potential is all there.
The Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2019 interface
Contrast, brightness, color, hue and RGB and CMYK color spaces control (the LAB method is not operationally reachable by the user, but it can be recalled within the tools), application of masks, layers and management filters.
Here and there the software has sometimes proved to be in line with expectations and sometimes a little slower than expected, especially in the previews of the filters that arrive with a long delay.
The biggest difference in the use of the most important tools is not so much in the tool itself, but in its management as a palette: the impression that Corel PHOTO-PAINT offers is to take the user by the hand within some tools that in fact, they can be very complex for those who have never used them but in the same way everything is redundant for the most experienced professionals.
Here, too, there is no more intimate compatibility with the Finder and with the Dock for opening very common documents such as JPEG, to which this App cannot be associated even from the Open menu with the Information window inside.
Fairly high compatibility with Tiff and PSD files, although it does poorly digest adjustment layers and Smart Objects, but retains all the others.
1 of 6 
Corel Font Manager 2019, the professional side of the font
The CorelDRAW Graphics Suite could not fail to propose a product like Corel Font Manager 2019, fundamental in any graphic and editorial reality: the use of fonts is in fact one of the fundamental keys in the creation of a graphic identity (as we have seen recently).
The Corel Font Manager 2019 interface
Basically Corel Font Manager 2019 is a much simpler App than the others, because the task is to show the installed fonts, filtering the search on certain parameters, and with them also all the available glyphs, and also to locate one or more external folders containing non-installed fonts that can be loaded when needed.
Interestingly, within the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite there are a large number of content to download, including two free fonts (Alegreya and Fira Sans), image packs, textures and much more, some included in the suite and others for a fee.
1 of 3 
The panel for the elements to download, some free, others a payment 
The set of images, free, included in the suite 
Some vector elements to download: in the green box the instructions on where to find the elements in the hard disk, wrong (on Mac they are in the Documents folder)
Considerations
The final considerations on this new CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 take into account much of the effort, not just, that Corel has made in bringing the suite to Mac, after many years of absence, returning to believe in an essential platform today. today, especially in the graphics market.
The applications within the suite are powerful and capable, but it is undeniable that the work to be done both to refine a good user experience and to reach the competition is not little or to be underestimated.
From this point of view, the price seems a bit high to us, even if the hypothesis of the direct purchase of the Suite (one of the two options, in addition to the subscription) will make happy someone whose subscription has never gone down.
The suite is ideal for those who, operating in mixed Mac / Windows realities, want continuity of work and no problems in exchanging documents or archiving, which is legitimate.
We definitely recommend a try, hoping that Corel will continue development by improving an already promising product.
Pro : • Complete interface and in Italian • Active potential, especially in CorelDraw • Excellent tutorials for beginners and for those who want to learn more
Pro : • The porting of the App needs to be improved • The cost is high compared to some competitors • Some technical choices need to be reviewed
Price : 699 , 00 Euro
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 is available as a purchase on the official website at the price of 699.00 Euro, or as a boxed product starting from the Amazon.co.uk pages.
