Should you use Adobe Illustrator in 2025?

Honestly, I've been using Adobe Illustrator since Easy Web's early days, and even long before that. It's one of those tools that has remained a mainstay of our daily workflow. Over the years, it has always evolved with our needs. What amazes me and what I particularly appreciate is its surgical vector precision.

When it comes to creating logos, icons, illustrations for the web, or even complex UI/UX mockups that need to look perfect on any screen resolution, Illustrator is the gold standard. Its vector-based nature guarantees impeccable sharpness, regardless of zoom level or medium. It's the ideal tool for deliverables that need to be flawless, without pixelation.

However, be aware that Illustrator can quickly reach its limits when it comes to pure photo editing or very text-heavy layouts with lots of raster images. It is clearly not designed for this. It also requires a certain amount of investment to learn how to use it; it is not a "plug and play" tool like some others. And as is often the case with Adobe, the subscription cost is a significant factor for small businesses.

We often hear that Illustrator is a beast to tame, reserved for pros. However, believe me, it has incredible potential for beginners. At Easy Web, I've seen junior designers get started and quickly master the basics. The primitive shape tools (circle, square) are your best friends for sketching logos or icons. The Pathfinder palette, which allows you to assemble or subtract shapes, quickly becomes second nature for more complex designs with simple logic. It's a great springboard, in fact.

The great thing is that even if you only know a fraction of its capabilities, you can still create professional-looking designs. The huge number of tutorials and the community are a huge help in improving your skills. And above all, it's a vector-based tool. Your creations can be resized infinitely without any loss of quality, which is a major advantage for the web in 2025, where versatility reigns supreme. Investing in learning Illustrator means investing in lasting skills.

The cost of Adobe Illustrator is always a key consideration, especially for us design professionals. Think of it as a strategic investment. For a freelance designer or agency that focuses on pure vector graphics, the "Single App" subscription is ideal. For around $30 per month, you get Illustrator with all its cutting-edge features for visual identity creation and illustration, plus 100 GB of cloud storage. It's precise and efficient.

If your work is more varied, involving retouching, video, or layout in addition to vector graphics, the "Creative Cloud All Apps" subscription is the complete solution. For around $75 per month, you get access to the entire Adobe suite—Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, and more. It's a significant cost, of course, but the integration and versatility offered are a major asset for the efficiency of a multidisciplinary agency or studio.

When it comes to Illustrator, the major advantage that makes it indispensable for us at Easy Web is clearly its vector graphics management. You create illustrations based on mathematical equations, not pixels. In practical terms, this means that your logo, icon, or illustration can be enlarged infinitely for a billboard or reduced for a favicon without ever losing quality. No more blurring or pixelation, regardless of the scale. For professionals, this is non-negotiable.

Next, a feature that our teams use every day and that really changes the game is artboards. You can have several independent design areas in the same file. Imagine: a desktop version, a mobile version, and even an icon for the App Store, all managed in one place. This greatly streamlines the workflow, especially when you're working on complex projects with multiple deliverables. It saves a tremendous amount of time, believe me.

When managing projects with multiple variations or recurring elements, the "Global Modification" feature is a game changer. I remember when we first started at Easy Web, we wasted a lot of time adjusting each instance of a logo or icon on different mockups. Today, it only takes one click to modify a specific element wherever it appears. This saves a tremendous amount of time and drastically reduces errors, which is crucial for brand consistency on large deliverables.

Another feature that has revolutionized our approach, especially with the AI integrations of 2025, is the "Recolor Illustration" tool . It's no longer just for changing a color palette. Now you can explore complex harmonies, specific shades, or even extract palettes from existing images in the blink of an eye. For branding variations or adapting visuals to new graphic guidelines, it has become a must-have. No more trial and error—make way for creative efficiency.