Here is the story of how a "fountain pen" tool changed the world. 1. The PostScript Foundation (1982–1986)
During this time, Illustrator also solidified its status as the king of logos. While Photoshop was for photos, Illustrator was for identity. Every major brand logo created from 2000 onward was likely touched by Illustrator. history of illustrator
A massive workflow improvement that allowed designers to create entire branding suites (business cards, letterheads, and envelopes) in a single file. 6. The Creative Cloud and Beyond (2013–Present) Here is the story of how a "fountain
In 1982, John Warnock and Charles Geschke founded Adobe Systems. Their genius wasn't in drawing pictures; it was in describing them. They developed a language called PostScript—a code that told laser printers how to print text and images. While Photoshop was for photos, Illustrator was for identity
At the time, the industry was dominated by "raster" (pixel-based) programs like MacPaint. Illustrator was different; it was a program. This meant a logo could be shrunk to the size of a postage stamp or blown up to the size of a billboard without losing quality. The center of this magic was the Pen Tool , which, despite its steep learning curve, became the industry standard for precision drawing. 3. The Cross-Platform Wars (1988–1996)