Before switching to Illustrator CC 2017, I mainly used Illustrator CC 2015 for vector illustrations, branding, and icon design. While it worked fairly well, it struggled with some tasks.
For instance, aligning elements to a pixel grid wasn’t seamless, and to change fonts I often needed to jump between different tools, which was time-consuming. On top of that, when handling bigger projects with multiple artboards, I often experienced performance issues and lags.
This latest version of Illustrator introduced a handy Pixel-Perfect Design feature and fixes alignment issues by smoothly snapping objects to the pixel grid. This ensures your web and screen designs are crisp and polished. The upgraded Properties Panel offers quick access to frequently used settings and streamlines your workflow like never before. Plus, the enhanced Font Search functionality made it quicker and easier to find the right font for your project.
While working on FixThePhoto branding assets and detailed icon sets in Illustrator CC 2017 64-bit version, I saw a big improvement in how quickly it handled large designs. Plus, the smooth connection with Creative Cloud Libraries and Adobe XD made teamwork easy, especially for projects that required using multiple applications.
File name:
|
Illustrator_CC_2017_Setup.exe (download)
|
File size:
|
2.5GB
|
File name:
|
Illustrator_CC_2017_Setup.dmg (download)
|
File size:
|
2.5GB
|
File name:
|
Illustrator_CC_2017_Setup.exe (download)
|
File size:
|
2GB
|
File name:
|
Illustrator_CC_2017_Setup.dmg (download)
|
File size:
|
2GB
|
File name:
|
Top_Free_Illustrator_Fonts_1.zip (download)
|
File size:
|
16KB
|
File name:
|
Top_Free_Illustrator_Fonts_2.zip (download)
|
File size:
|
20KB
|
✔️ Enhanced pixel-perfect precision. After downloading Adobe Illustrator CC 2017, I discovered that the developers introduced pixel snapping, helping designers create sharp, precise graphics that fit perfectly with pixel grids. This feature is pivotal for those who design web and screen-based graphics.
✔️ New typography features. The 2017 update enhanced OpenType functionality, allowing users to effortlessly access stylistic sets, alternate glyphs, and ligatures directly from the Character panel without trouble. This made working with custom fonts smoother and more seamless than before.
✔️ Live shapes and path improvements. The newer version offers improved tools for working with shapes and paths, making it easier to refine corners and edges. Thanks to them, I worked with intricate designs more efficiently and with better control.
✔️ Improved performance. This free vector graphics software introduced by Adobe has been fine-tuned for better performance, delivering faster speeds and improved efficiency when managing larger files. Whether you’re tackling intricate vector designs or working on expansive artboards, the software minimizes lag, ensuring a smoother experience.
❌ Steep learning curve for beginners. Illustrator is a fully functional software that offers tons of features, so novice users may get confused at first. So, if you are new to the field, you are likely to spend much time mastering the software.
❌ Limited collaboration features. Although Creative Cloud Libraries make sharing assets convenient, Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 fell short in offering strong real-time collaboration tools, which are crucial for remote teams working distantly.
❌ Resource-intensive. The software runs flawlessly only on powerful computers with much RAM and a strong GPU. On older systems, the software may struggle with performance, potentially slowing down or crashing, when managing bulky files.
Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 full version offers many useful features that make creating vector designs better and easier. While it’s a great tool for both pros and beginners, there are still some areas that could be improved.
If your budget is not enough to purchase professional design software and prefer legal options, there are many free Adobe Illustrator alternatives. While they may lack some of Illustrator's advanced features, they are suitable for performing different design projects.
The company frequently offers Adobe discounts, which you can always take advantage of, especially during periods like Black Friday or for specific groups such as students and educators. If you're planning to work on complex projects, it’s worth subscribing to the All Apps Plan to try Photoshop Trial, Lightroom, InDesign free and a lot more.
Gravit Designer will help you cope with various design tasks, such as creating illustrations, IU and screen design, logo design, and printed artwork. It has a lot of features similar to those offered by Illustrator. For example, a freehand drawing tool that automatically smooths your lines, allowing you to create custom shapes, functions like the Pen Tool for precise path creation.
You may use a browser version of Gravit Designer or download a desktop program for Mac OS, Windows, Linux, or Chrome OS. This free graphic design software supports various vector and raster formats, such as AI and Sketch files. You may save the result of your work in the .gvdesign format and then export it as SVG, PDV, PNG, or JPEG.
Inkscape is a great alternative to Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 and is much better to downloading the pirated tool, as it offers many useful options. It is a free open-source program that uses an SVG format. Moreover, it’s lightweight so even low-powered computers will handle it. Inkscape provides such effective features as layers, object grouping, drawing, shape, calligraphy, pencil and pen tools, path simplification with variable threshold, bitmap tracing and Boolean operations.
The interface may seem simple, but Inkscape provides excellent SVG integration and has enough tools. You may open AI files using Inkscape but to save them, you should export them in PDF and then change the file extension into .ai.
One more program that needs no introduction ‒ Sketch. It is often called a UI-specific product. Sketch is developed for Mac and that is why it has nothing extra. Original system tools are used even to display projects. You will also find a full set of picture editing tools, as well as the possibility to add artboards (your screenshots).
Although it is not a free drawing software, you may download a free trial version for the Sketch website. Mind that AI files have limited support and may be opened only as one layer.