Adobe Illustrator - The grandaddy of vector programs
October 24, 2017
Adobe Illustrator - The grandaddy of vector programs
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Adobe Illustrator CC
Thinking about how many years I've been using Adobe Illustrator makes me start to feel old. This software has been one of the most consistent tools in my toolbox for nearly a decade and a half, from my earlier days of laying out posters for local coffee shops to my current occupation as a UX designer creating Hi-Fidelity comps for prototypes.
Its massive range of uses is both a strength and a drawback. It does a lot of things very well, which means that if you are well versed as a user, it is an easy go to to start any project. However, the learning curve for new users can be pretty huge, and it never stops - there is so much you can do with this software that you'll forget things before you can learn it all. The myriad stacked tools and menus can be intimidating and confusing for new users and even power users will often admit they have no idea what a certain tool or menu option does, or that they rarely use certain things.
Its massive range of uses is both a strength and a drawback. It does a lot of things very well, which means that if you are well versed as a user, it is an easy go to to start any project. However, the learning curve for new users can be pretty huge, and it never stops - there is so much you can do with this software that you'll forget things before you can learn it all. The myriad stacked tools and menus can be intimidating and confusing for new users and even power users will often admit they have no idea what a certain tool or menu option does, or that they rarely use certain things.
- Laying out screens - grab a UI kit of your choice and go to town. Everything is built for you, you just need to decide where it goes. Easy to copy artboards and make changes for prototype screens
- Vector Illustration - Particularly for video game UI, Illustrator is great at creating illustrative interface objects and manipulating type for titles, all of which can scale without losing quality.
- Logo Execution - quickly create and iterate on concepts at any size.
- Single page print layouts - Layout a letterhead, business card, and envelope in the same document.
- Customizable work space - save common setups for common tasks and switch easily between them.
- Too many options - this thing is cluttered. Every available space is filled with menus that collapse into one another or cover your work area.
- Steep learning curve - this software can be really difficult for new uses.
- Expensive - there are several alternatives on the market that don't require the same costly CC subscription.
- Quickly create, share, and iterate on comps and prototypes.
- Mock up high fidelity concepts for presentations to clients and stakeholders.
- Power users can use it as a glorified whiteboard during screenshares in design meetings - quickly comp ideas and refine later.
- Sketch, CorelDraw and Quark
Since I've used Illustrator for so long, I've become good enough at it that I've never really been tempted to switch away. Newer designers may benefit from evaluating another software that is more specifically suited to the kind of design they are trying to do rather than tackling Illustrator. For me though, I'll always come back to the program that's worked for me from print to video games to web design.