# Adobe Illustrator

Application: Adobe

Also called illustrator, ai, adobe ai

Adobe, Creative

Adobe's vector drawing app. On Windows the process is Illustrator.exe. Logos and type live here. A PSD is the wrong file mental model.

## What you need to know

Illustrator is vector drawing. Photoshop is pixels.

Adobe Illustrator stores paths, type, and artboards in AI files. A logo job that starts as a PSD is already on the wrong mental model. Illustrator.exe is the Windows process.

- **What is it?**: Vector drawing for logos and type

  **Same as Photoshop?**: No. AI is vectors. PSD is pixels

  **How do I get it?**: Creative Cloud, not a random exe host

Feex says

If the file is supposed to stay sharp at any size, I would open Illustrator, not Photoshop. A blurry logo is often a raster export, not a broken Windows font.

## What is Adobe Illustrator?

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor. Paths, type, and artboards are the document. The Windows executable is Illustrator.exe.

## If you have never used it

If you have never used Illustrator, it is the Adobe app for logos, icons, and type that must scale. It is not Photoshop. A PSD is a pixel stack. An AI file is paths. Install it from Creative Cloud on adobe.com, not from a "free Illustrator" download site.

## What is it used for?

**Logos and marks**

Draw a mark as paths so it stays sharp on a card or a billboard. That is the AI file people mean.

**Type on a path**

Set and outline type. This is still Illustrator, not InDesign page layout and not a Word artboard.

**SVG and print export**

Export SVG, PDF, or EPS for web and print. The working file is still .ai.

## Who is it for?

- Designers who draw logos and icons as vectors
- People handing artboards to InDesign or a printer
- Anyone who opened a logo in Photoshop and wondered why it went soft

## Current status

Actively developed as a Creative Cloud desktop app. This article is the Windows Illustrator app, not Illustrator on the iPad.

## How old is it?

Adobe first shipped Illustrator in 1987, before Photoshop. Current builds are yearly Creative Cloud branded releases. A CS6 box is the same family and a different support story.

## Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Creative Cloud (current)

CS6 and earlier boxes

## System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

### Minimum

| CPU              | Multicore 64-bit processor with SSE 4.2, per Adobe              |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| RAM              | 8 GB minimum. Adobe recommends 16 GB                            |
| Operating system | A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per Adobe |

## Resource profile

- **CPU demand**: Follows live effects and complex path stacks

  **RAM demand**: Large artboards and linked rasters

  **GPU demand**: GPU preview when Adobe enables it

## Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

| Illustrator.exe | The drawing window and document |
| --------------- | ------------------------------- |

## Startup components

Illustrator does not need to start with Windows. Creative Cloud may sit in the tray so the app can update.

## File locations

| Typical install | C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator \<year>\\ |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Creative Cloud  | C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Creative Cloud\\      |

## File formats

AI, SVG, PDF, EPS

## Common problems

### Logo started as a PSD

Photoshop pixels do not become clean vectors by renaming the extension. Trace or redraw in Illustrator.

### Missing fonts on open

Type is a document dependency. Adobe Fonts or a local install, not a Windows repair.

## Getting unstuck

### Confirm it is Adobe Illustrator

Open file location. Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator is the app. An Illustrator.exe in Downloads is not.

### Install from Creative Cloud

The Creative Cloud desktop app is the supported installer. A third-party "AI portable" is junk.

### GPU preview first, then prefs

Adobe documents GPU performance settings. Reset preferences after you confirm the file itself opens.

## Alternatives

Affinity Designer, Inkscape, and CorelDRAW overlap for vectors. Photoshop does not replace Illustrator for a logo that must stay a path.

## Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

| Product page           | [www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html ](https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html)What Adobe sells today                          |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| User guide             | [helpx.adobe.com/illustrator.html ](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator.html)How-to and feature help                                       |
| System requirements    | [helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/system-requirements.html ](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/system-requirements.html)CPU, RAM, GPU, and OS |
| Creative Cloud desktop | [www.adobe.com/creativecloud/desktop-app.html ](https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/desktop-app.html)Official installer                    |
| Account                | [account.adobe.com/ ](https://account.adobe.com/)Plan and devices                                                                          |

## Related hardware

RAM and a working GPU matter more than a famous CPU name for everyday artboards. Huge linked rasters want more memory.

## Technical details

Technical details

Creative Cloud year brands change. This article does not pin a build number.

## Related

These entities connect to this article. Type is shown on every link.

[Adobe Photoshop: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/adobe-photoshop)[Adobe InDesign: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/adobe-indesign)[When high CPU is normal: Guide](https://feex.it/wiki/software/system/when-high-cpu-is-normal)

## Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. [How we research](https://feex.it/wiki/research).

- [Adobe Illustrator ](https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html)· Official product page
- [Illustrator user guide ](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator.html)· Adobe help
- [Illustrator system requirements ](https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/system-requirements.html)· Windows CPU, RAM, and OS Adobe lists
- [Foxhole process map ](https://foxhole.feex.it/)· First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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Quick facts

The short identity of this page. Specs, sources, and the full story stay in the article.

- **Developer**: Adobe

  **Category**: Vector graphics

  **Process**: Illustrator.exe

  **License**: Creative Cloud subscription

  **First released**: 1987

  **Official site**: [adobe.com/products/illustrator](https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html)

  **Mapped by Feex**: Seen on Windows PCs in Foxhole

Feex Reviewed: Last verified August 2026

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