Adobe Illustrator on the Creative Cloud (Final Updated 10/22)

Review: Adobe Illustrator Creative Cloud

Franny Van Eyck – September 29, 2014

What is Illustrator Creative Cloud (CC)?

Adobe Illustrator CC is the most widely used vector graphics program used to create digital graphics, illustrations, and typography for all kinds of media: print, web, interactive, video, and mobile. Creative Cloud is a new subscription based platform for all Adobe programs. This means that Illustrator as a program is no longer bought in a physical form, it is all based online and lives on your computer. However, you do not need an internet connection to use the program.

Want to learn more about Creative Cloud?

Quick Look at Illustrator CC features

• 19.99 / month
• Subscription based service
• Same computer specs
• Features improved upon:
• Improved pen tool
• Better path handling
• New Live Shapes feature
• Easier to search fonts

Pros 

• Pay monthly
• Improved essential program tools
• New features
• Same Computer Specs

Cons

• Nothing drastically new
• Can't buy any physical version of the program
• Can be more expensive than previous versions

In this Review:

• What’s new in Illustrator CC?
• Can my computer run Illustrator?
• How much does Illustrator CC cost?
• Is Creative Cloud really worth it?
• Final thoughts and quick overview

What’s new in Illustrator CC?

Live Shapes
Live shapes allows you to dynamically control and change the dimensions of all vector shapes. A square can easily be grabbed and changed into a rounded rectangle or even a circle. You can change just one corner of a shape or all of them at once simply by grabbing small live shape dots. This is not an entirely new feature but it does make this process faster and streamlined.

Watch a tutorial on Live Shapes

Touch Type
Touch type is another feature that isn't completely new to Illustrator, but makes editing go much faster.   Another dynamically editable feature; Touch Type lets you easily reposition, resize, and rotate characters within a block of text. Within the Character panel, select Touch type to enable this feature. Once enabled, you can chose one character in a block of text to manually edit it. This is all done while the text is directly editable, you no longer have to create outlines on the text. You can still re-type the text as well as change the font all with any alterations to the letters made. This feature lets you hand kern every letter much easier.

Another fix to Illustrator dealing with typography is the missing fonts dialog box. Illustrator CC now allows your to search your system using Typekit for missing fonts before opening the document, all with a single click.

Watch a tutorial on Touch Type

Kuler App

Adobe Kuler is an internet application that allows users to create custom color schemes. The app helps you find analogous, monochromatic, complementary etc. color schemes. You can also upload a photo and find the color scheme from the image. Illustrator CC connects this app to the desktop program.  Within Illustrator just open the Kuler Panel and it will sync any color schemes created within your free Kuler account. The best thing about this is that the Kuler app can be used from mobile devices and then connected to desktop.

Watch a tutorial on using the Kuler App

Overall: Illustrator CC does not have major interface changes or tons of new features; instead, the most common tools were improved upon and upgraded with extra capabilities. Take a complete look at all new features in Illustrator CC.

Can my computer run Illustrator CC?

These specifications are almost identical to the three previous versions of Illustrator. To check your system on a Windows machine click Start > right click Computer > select Properties. To check your system on a Mac machine click the Apple in the top menu bar > select About this Mac. *Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.

Windows

• Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processor
• Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
• 1 GB of RAM (3 GB recommended) for 32 bit; 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended) for 64 bit
• 2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation

Mac OS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X v10.7, v10.8, or v10.9
• 2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
• 2 GB of available hard-disk space for installation

Overall: The computer specifications are very similar to previous versions, if you already have had Illustrator on your computer, in general, it will still work without a problem.

How much does Illustrator CC cost?

You have a few different purchasing options. The monthly payment for just Illustrator is very low. Cloud also has special deals for students, teachers and businesses.

Single App

19.99 / month

Choose from Photoshop, Illustrator, and more, plus cloud features

ProSite portfolio website

Typekit desktop and web fonts

20 GB of cloud storage

Complete

599.88  (one time payment)

49.99 / month

Latest Photoshop, Illustrator, and more, plus cloud features

ProSite portfolio website

Typekit desktop and web fonts

20 GB of cloud storage

Overall: Cloud pricing seems very reasonable. For the Master Collection CS6 (the previous version of all Adobe programs) the price is almost $1,000. For just Illustrator CS6 it would cost about $200. Although you would pay this same price for just Illustrator CC in 10 months, you would not need to upgrade to the next master collection in just one short year. All updates are automatic and continuous instead of in one big package. In my opinion this seems worth it if you are looking to always have the newest tools at your fingertips.

Is Creative Cloud really worth it?

Still not sold on getting Creative Cloud? I would definitely recommend it. The main reason to go for this subscription-based service is the automatic updates. If there is a problem with any of the Adobe programs, they can be fixed in real time instead of waiting a year for the next release of Illustrator to have these fixes. Another great feature of Creative Cloud is that you only need to subscribe to the programs you use. If you only need Illustrator and Photoshop then you can just purchase these two, rather than a Master Collection disc taking up computer space and lots of time to install. Creative Cloud works without an Internet connection and also gives you 20 GB of free Cloud storage space.

Overall: I would highly recommend upgrading to Creative Cloud because of its automatic updates, offline mode and option to choose which programs to utilize. If you are happy with any of the older versions of Illustrator and aren’t excited about the enhancements the cloud offers then there is no need to upgrade! You can always use your single licensed version of Illustrator while trying out Creative Cloud.

Read a complete review of Creative Cloud on PCMag

Final Thoughts

No, this version of Illustrator does not have completely new, ground breaking features. However, the features that have been improved upon are very important and make working in this program much more intuitive and streamlined. Some new features include Live Shapes, Touch Type and the connection to the Kuler App.  Illustrator CC is only 19.99 / month with the Creative Cloud subscription based service and computer specs have not changed. I would highly recommend switching to Creative Cloud and learning more about these improved features of Illustrator.

Pros 

• Pay monthly
• Improved essential program tools
• New features
• Same Computer Specs

Cons

• Nothing drastically new
• Can't buy any physical version of the program
• Can be more expensive than previous versions