18 years helping British businesses
choose better software
Adobe Illustrator
What is Adobe Illustrator?
Graphic design software used for logos, illustrations, graphics, and icons. It helps designers with creating designs, collaborating with team members, and sharing their designs in any format. Features of the platform include global edits, repeat for patterns, vector designs, recolor, customizable effects, and 3D design.
Who Uses Adobe Illustrator?
Not provided by vendor
Not sure about Adobe Illustrator?
Compare with a popular alternative
Adobe Illustrator
Other great alternatives to Adobe Illustrator
Reviews of Adobe Illustrator
Still the standard for 2d design
Comments: I have been using Adobe Illustrator for over 20 years as it's the gold standard it does it's job and gives you great control though the control isn't as good as it used to be. Still other than Figma, there's no really viable alternative.
Pros:
It's intuitive, easy to use. The standard
Cons:
It's getting worse as they fit more AI in and take out other stuff, it's like you have less control over things now. Even thought they are trying to find that balance 2022 or so was really good and then it's slowly getting worse.
Alternatives Considered:
Illustrator, A Powerful Design Tool with No Equal.
Comments: I have been using Adobe Illustrator for more than 25 years.
Pros:
Illustrator is the industry standard and most powerful graphic design vector image creation and editing tool that should be in every graphic designers toolbox.
Cons:
Powerful as it is, Illustrator has a steep learning curve.
The main vector illustration program out there.
Comments: I’ve been using Adobe illustrator for decades; since the 1990s. If I recall they bought out Aldus Freehand which was a far simpler and in my mind far better vector illustration program; I really miss Aldus Freehand - then again I am very old school.
Pros:
Creates scalable vector artwork, which can then be imported into a number of other software application applications.
Cons:
Overcomplicated; earlier incarnations of illustrator were simpler to use. Too many functions available that I will personally never use as an illustrator. Not happy with having to pay annual subscription fee.
The Vector king
Comments: Illustrator has been tool of choice for most of my design work in the last 3 years. Once I figured my way around it, it's been an excellent tool for me.
Pros:
The repeat feature is fast becoming my favorite thing. I also love the Asset Export feature. That is a game changer for how I export Logos and their variations.
Cons:
I hate how bulky some of the designs I've worked on get and when the software means to crash, it crashes with flying colors.
Adobe Illustrator: In-Time Design and a Depth of Customization
Comments: Overall, Adobe Illustrator is an excellent tool in helping me create just-in-time graphics, documentation, and word art for various business use cases. It is a perfect supplement to other Adobe tools, like PhotoShop or InDesign.
Pros:
While Adobe Illustrator has a steep learning curve, the platform's ability to create custom graphics and word art remains a leader in the field. While it used to be difficult to get started, the incorporation of Firefly and generative AI makes it even easier to create.
Cons:
The learning curve. There is a vast amount of options and settings to learn before you can fully create some of the graphics you have in mind.
