Adobe Illustrator Versions By Year May 2026

The Evolution of Adobe Illustrator: A Comprehensive Look at Versions by Year

Adobe Illustrator 1.0 (1987):

Born from Adobe’s proprietary PostScript language, the first version was a radical experiment. Released exclusively for the Apple Macintosh (the only machine capable of displaying graphics at the time), version 1.0 lacked color or fillable shapes. It featured only grayscale and the infamous pen tool, which remains the software’s backbone. It was less a drawing program and more a precision typesetting tool for tech manuals.

The Cloud Deep Dive.

Adobe Illustrator CC (21.0) – 2017