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Adobe Illustrator

Score8.9 out of 10

1,575 Reviews and Ratings

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What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator CC is a vector-based graphic design software.

Categories & Use Cases

Reviews

What users are saying about Adobe Illustrator.
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Still the industry standard

Incentivized
Andrew Davies
Creative Director in Marketing at Paragon Design Group (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We're a design agency so we use Adobe Illustrator CC to create all manner of vector artwork. Typically clients hire us to produce logos, illustrations, infographics, and graphics for print products like package designs, T-shirts, brochures, displays, and, annual reports. Depending on the style we also create our explainer video storyboards using Adobe Illustrator CC.

Pros

  • Pen tool drawing
  • Logo design
  • Typography manipulation

Cons

  • creating compound shapes with multiple overlapping objects creates unpredictable results
  • Can crash often. Especially when it's a new release or upgrade
  • costly
  • Training AI on subscribers artwork is bad

Return on Investment

  • Allows me to offer a wide range of services
  • Speeds up my design process
  • Opens up new markets or niches in which I can operate
  • Concerns me that I can't easily cancel my subscription

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Canva, Inkscape and Affinity Designer

Other Software Used

Adobe InDesign, Adobe After Effects, Figma, Adobe Premiere Pro, Slack, Apple Keynote, Adobe Audition, Microsoft Powerpoint

Top to Bottom Creative Branding Multi-Tool

Incentivized
Eric GangnathView profile
Creative Director at COOLA (51-200 employees employees)

Pros

  • Vector art.
  • Typography.
  • Packaging.
  • Dielines.
  • Large format artwork.

Cons

  • Cross functionality with video.
  • Image linking.
  • Exporting for different file types.

Most Important Features

  • Print artwork.
  • Brand graphics.
  • Color management.
  • Dieline packaging.

Return on Investment

  • Streamlines print packaging.
  • Conceptual tool for brand development.
  • Precise color management.

Other Software Used

Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator - A Powerhouse for your design needs

Incentivized
Bill BlackView profile
Owner in Professional Services at Black Horse Productions (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Adobe Illustrator is THE industry standard for creating vector graphics and digital illustration. I use it extensively in my graphic design business to create many different kinds of graphics - event posters, custom typography, newspaper advertisements, T-shirt designs, etc. It is a VERY powerful and full-featured software tool for creative types. It integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products - Photoshop, InDesign, Aftereffects, etc.

Pros

  • Handles typography and creating custom type based designs very well.
  • Integrates seamlessly with other Adobe products.
  • Makes it easy to control and manage color (particularly for print purposes).

Cons

  • The user interface is a bit confusing and takes a bit to get used to.
  • Managing the "art boards" is kind of clunky compared to other Adobe products.
  • Other than that, I don't have any complaints or suggestions.

Most Important Features

  • Industry standard so my print vendors also use it.
  • Integration with other Adobe Suite products.
  • Powerful vector design tool that helps me create graphics quickly and professionally.

Return on Investment

  • This is a bit touchy for me. ROI was better when you could purchase Adobe products. That is harder to calculate with their subscription price structure now. With this new model, ROI goes down if you don't use the tool EVERY DAY. There are times when it isn't necessary for a project I am working on... So that is a negative.
  • On the flip side, with the subscription model, I always have the "latest, greatest and most updatest" version of the software - so that is a positive.
  • After getting familiar with the updated interface and working with it for a bit, this is a powerhouse design tool! That is definitely a positive.

Alternatives Considered

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

Other Software Used

Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

Great overall tool for Vector Graphics

Incentivized
Verified User
Employee in Marketing (501-1000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Adobe Illustrator CC for Marketing and Sales purposes. The types of elements we typically create are social media ads, paid digital ads, logos, branding elements, icons, landing page assets, infographics, charts, email banners and graphics, as well as video thumbnails and other video assets. We use these graphics on social media, on our website, for sales tools, and for videos.

Pros

  • Full control of vector elements which work well for any type of scaling for print as well as precise specs for web
  • Many useful tools to make a project's workflow easier
  • Built-in AI assisted tools to improve project speed and eliminate manual editing

Cons

  • Adobe Illustrator CC could use an update in regards to a working gradient on editable text, right now the workaround is a little tedious

Return on Investment

  • The Adobe AI integration within our task management software has increased our productivity due to being able to collaborate directly in the tool
  • Vendors we partner with also use Adobe Illustrator CC so handing off files to print is seamless

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Procreate and Figma

Design Needs in One Spot

Incentivized
Verified User
Manager in Quality Assurance (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Adobe Illustrator CC for product design and tech packs that we send to factories to produce the products in our line.

Pros

  • Symbols - this is a major part of what my department uses Adobe Illustrator CC for
  • Linking - linking external assets within the Adobe Illustrator CC document
  • Libraries - these are so useful to keep assets that the whole team uses often

Cons

  • In my experience, large file sizes tend to force this program to crash often

Return on Investment

  • Adobe Illustrator CC's connection to PhotoShop has enhanced our design experience.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Adobe PhotoShop

Other Software Used

Adobe PhotoShop