Adobe Illustrator Versions By Year | 2021

Brought transparency, drop shadows, and native PDF support.

Introduced the Perspective Grid tool and variable-width strokes.

Introduced symbols, slicing for the web, and the Magic Wand. The Creative Suite (CS) Era (2003–2012)

With CS4 came , a highly requested feature that allowed designers to work on different pages or versions of a design within a single document, which dramatically streamlined projects like logo design kits and UI prototyping. adobe illustrator versions by year

Adobe consolidated its products into the "CS" (Creative Suite) bundle, ending the standalone version numbering.

– Released for Mac OS on March 19, 1987, introducing vector graphic editing to the public.

CS6 was the final chapter of the perpetual-license model. It offered a modernized interface, powerful new tracing engine, and a huge performance boost. It remains a beloved version for many who chose to stick with it before the subscription model took over. Brought transparency, drop shadows, and native PDF support

Adobe moved toward a modular, grid-based UI and began integrating Illustrator tightly with Photoshop and InDesign.

Version 9.0 (Matisse) – A major leap that introduced transparency, drop shadows, and native PDF support.

The launch of Illustrator for iPad (supporting Apple Pencil inputs), large canvas support for billboard-scale graphics, real-time drawing previews, and cloud-based file autosaving. 2021: Adobe Illustrator 2022 (Version 26) Launch: October 2021 Platform: Mac, Windows, iPad Key Focus: Advanced 3D tools and cloud collaboration. The Creative Suite (CS) Era (2003–2012) With CS4

– Launched Smart Guides , the pencil tool, and gradient mesh.

– The first version released for Windows (though it was poorly received compared to the Mac version). 1990: Illustrator 3.0

The pen tool remains. The bezier curve endures. And the version numbers keep climbing.