Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design software developed and marketed by Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to a monthly or annual subscription service delivered over the Internet), Illustrator CC was released. The latest version, Illustrator 2026, was released on October 28, 2025, and is the 30th generation in the product line. Adobe Illustrator was reviewed as the best vector graphics editing program in 2021 by PC Magazine.

History

Versions 1–1.6 (Illustrator 88)

Development of Adobe Illustrator for the Apple Macintosh began in 1985 (shipping in January 1987) as Adobe's second software product after PostScript. Adobe co-founder and CEO John Warnock created Illustrator in late 1986 to automate many of the manual tasks utilized by his wife, Marva, a graphic designer. It used lines and bézier curves to render infinitely scalable graphics. Illustrator was released in early 1987, and became a commercialization of Adobe's in-house font development software and PostScript file format.

Adobe Illustrator is the companion product of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is primarily geared toward digital photo manipulation and photorealistic styles of computer illustration, while Illustrator provides results in the typesetting and logo graphic areas of design. Early magazine advertisements (featured in graphic design trade magazines such as Communication Arts) referred to the product as "the Adobe Illustrator". Illustrator 88, the product name for version 1.6, was released in 1988 and introduced many new tools and features.