Adobe Illustrator Versions By Year 〈No Sign-up〉

focus. Version 25.0 brought a massive 3D panel (realistic 3D extrude, revolve, and lighting with ray-tracing). It also added Share for Review (send a link for stakeholders to comment on designs without needing Illustrator) and Improved cloud saves .

– The first version for Windows. It was not well-received compared to the Mac version, lacking many features. 1990: Illustrator 3.0 – A significant update that introduced and the ability to edit text directly on the canvas. 1992: Illustrator 4.0 adobe illustrator versions by year

Introduced transparency, drop shadows, and native PDF support—essential for the growing web design market. – The first version for Windows

From a 96KB black-and-white Macintosh curiosity to an AI-augmented, cloud-powered, 3D vector engine: Adobe Illustrator has not just adapted—it has defined the visual language of the last 35 years. 1992: Illustrator 4

| Year | Version | Code Name / Key Innovation | |------|---------|----------------------------| | 1987 | 1.0 | The original "Picasso" | | 1988 | 1.1 | Color separation | | 1989 | 2.0 | First color & Place command | | 1990 | 3.0 | Pen tool + Bezier handles | | 1992 | 4.0 | First Windows native | | 1993 | 5.0 | Layers & Type outlines | | 1996 | 6.0 | Align palette | | 1997 | 7.0 | UI unified with Photoshop | | 1998 | 8.0 | Pencil tool & Magic Wand | | 2000 | 9.0 | Live Transparency | | 2001 | 10.0 | Symbols & Envelope warp | | 2003 | CS (11) | 3D effect | | 2005 | CS2 (12) | Live Trace + Live Paint | | 2007 | CS3 (13) | Isolation Mode | | 2008 | CS4 (14) | Multiple artboards | | 2010 | CS5 (15) | Perspective Grid + Width tool | | 2012 | CS6 (16) | Last perpetual license | | 2013 | CC (17) | Touch Type + Cloud fonts | | 2014 | CC 2014 (18) | Curvature tool | | 2015 | CC 2015 (19) | Export for Screens | | 2016 | CC 2017 (21) | Puppet Warp | | 2017 | CC 2018 (22) | Properties panel | | 2018 | CC 2019 (23) | Freeform Gradient | | 2019 | CC 2020 (24) | Auto-wrap text | | 2020 | CC 2021 (25) | Cloud Documents | | 2021 | CC 2022 (26) | 3D & Materials | | 2022 | CC 2023 (27) | Text to Vector (beta) | | 2023 | CC 2024 (28) | Generative Recolor | | 2024+ | CC 2025 (29) | Vector Model + Pattern AI |

Adobe Illustrator was originally developed by Adobe Inc. and released in 1987. It began as a companion product to Adobe Photoshop, focusing on vector graphics (lines and curves) rather than raster images (pixels). Over 35+ years, it has evolved from a basic path-editing tool into a complex, AI-driven design ecosystem used globally for logo design, typography, and illustration.