What is your oppinion about subs that have things whic you recognize to be from a specific program, or other such recognizable feature? For example, one of the photoshop special effect brushes is used as a main feature in the sub... does that automatically count it out for you, degrade it a bit, or have no effect on the design (in your oppinion)?

I personally feel somewhere in the middle... It's not easy to make custom brushes that look good, and if you don't have illustrator, paths are a bitch...