ok then i'll just have to rewrite it...
[some time passes by]
before you take anybody's advice, make sure they actually know how to design. message me in private and i can show you some samples of what i've done.
i use photoshop for photos. for graphics, i use flash, whether i'm doing websites, logos, banners, posters, books, secret government masterplans or whatever. it's fun working in vectors, especially once you start doing big brands or work for bigtime clients (such as governments) who'd want shit in all sizes. despite being vector, flash is accurate with the pixels so all you webheads out there need not worry. it's just like fireworks, except it's easier to use and more intuitive, and it doesn't pack shit you'll never need.
on the flipside though, it's also far more powerful. flash is the design program of the future. a lot of experts say that, from architects to graphic/information designers to ruby programmers even. there's just no limit to what it can do. you can design graphics in it, you can make animations in it (though i personally think flash animations on websites is some straight up bullshit, at least until adobe manages to replace swf with their svg format) and you can program applications in it. every day now people seem to find new ways to use flash for something cool. trust me man it's just too big of a tool to miss out on.
for that artsy shit like the stuff on threadless.com though you're gonna need illustrator.
kyrre