Summary
For a first release, Expression Graphic Designer is very good. Does it outpace Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop? No, I don't think so. There are some bright spots in the product, such as PhotoMontage and the tight integration with XAML (which I hope to see more of). Overall, however, this is a version 1 piece of software. With that said, it is a very exceptional version 1 and if I were Bruce Chizen at Adobe, I would be expecting Expression Graphic Designer to catch up with Illustrator and PhotoShop very quickly. Finally, Microsoft is delivering a professional product for professional designers. Now all Microsoft has to do is win our hearts.